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Shortbus, 2006

Shortbus

English

USA

Rating:6.6
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Profile of Shortbus

The mood of Shortbus is sexual, biting, and clever. The plot centers around gays and lesbians, couples, and love and romance. It is a drama, independent, and erotic movie. Stylistically, Shortbus involves multiple stories and stars an ensemble cast. In approach, it is serious and realistic. The pacing is slow. Shortbus takes place, at least partly, in an urban environment. The setting is New York. It happens in contemporary times. Shortbus is known for being controversial and an award winner. Note that it includes strong sexual content, drugs/alcohol, and nudity.

Summary of Shortbus

Writer/director John Cameron Mitchell follows up the cult classic HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH with another salacious slice of sex-laden cinema. Mitchell interweaves three separate tales of highly sexed and sexually frustrated New Yorkers, all of whom find some kind of salvation at an underground club named Shortbus. Anything goes at Shortbus--wild orgies between people from different ages, backgrounds, and sexual preferences are treated as commonplace, and most of the sex scenes shot through Mitchell's voyeuristic lens are completely unsimulated. Mitchell allows little time for his audience to pause for breath, opening SHORTBUS with a frantic collage of copulation and carnality that features most of his central characters. These include Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee), a sex therapist who has never reached full orgasm; gay couple James (Paul Dawson)--who begins the movie by fellating himself--and Jamie (PJ DeBoy); and Severin (Lindsay Beamish), a dominatrix who finds herself unable to find true love.

Mitchell lets his cast of characters unravel their tales of woe, interspersing the touching and mostly sad stories with eye-popping scenes from Shortbus and swooping birds-eye shots of a computer simulated version of New York City. The director also draws heavily on an indie-rock soundtrack, making repeated and effective use of the beautiful "Winters Love" by Brooklyn-based group Animal Collective. But it's the sex scenes that will really get tongues wagging, and its testament to Mitchell's fearless and uncompromising vision that he depicts sexual acts that run the full coital gamut, from amusing to titillating to shocking. Amid all the boundary-pushing there is a tender heart buried in SHORTBUS's central narrative--which revolves around the search for identity and acceptance--but less sensitive viewers who seek amusement in the singing of the National Anthem into a prominent orifice will also find plenty to enjoy here.

Details

Language: English
Country: USA
Release date: 15 September 2006
Runtime: 101 min

Cast and Crew

Raphael Barker

as Rob

Lindsay Beamish

as Severin

Photos

Shortbus (2006)
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Clips

Shortbus
Shortbus: Official Trailer
Shortbus
Shortbus: Official Trailer
Shortbus
Shortbus: Theatrical

Critics Reviews

TV Guide
A darkly comic trifle that follows in the footsteps of such films as Catherine Breillat's "Romance" (2000), "The Brown Bunny" (2003) and Michael Winterbottom's "9 Songs" (2004) by incorporating hard-core sex into a nonpornographic narrative.
Chicago Tribune
It's refreshing to see a non-mainstream movie that wears its heart and lust on its sleeve, and has anything but violence on its mind.

Users Reviews

This film is John Cameron Mitchells message of love to the world. Yes, there is a ton of extraordinarily graphic sex, but the actual meat of the story - about several people struggling to find and make honest, human emotional connections - is the...
Love, love, LOVE this film. Shortbus is incredible!! Such a beautiful, joyous, realistic, bittersweet, and unique American movie. My friend and I spontaneously applauded at the end of it. It is not merely about superficial sex; rather it is about...
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