In "Shortbus," strangers meet at an underground salon to fulfill their sexual fantasies, and director John Cameron Mitchell faithfully records these encounters in all their graphic, non-simulated, unobstructed glory. Sounds obscene, doesn't it? Surprisingly, "Shortbus" - for all its onscreen lewdness - is strangely tame.
Mitchell became famous ("a star of stage and screen," as he would put it) with "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," an off-Broadway musical turned award-winning film. "Hedwig," an ironic tribute to gender-bending 70's glam rock, was both affectionate and sharp. The latter quality is oddly missing here.
"Shortbus" was formed out of workshops where the actors (chosen through an open casting call: hopefuls sent in tapes describing an emotional sexual experience), helped develop the characters and the dialogue. It shows. The characters are drama class clichés. There's Sofia (Sook Yin-Lee), the sex therapist who can't have an orgasm; Severin, the dominatrix who just wants to be loved; and Jamie and James, the perfect couple that's actually not. Only Lee, with her battle-weary gaze, transcends the flimsy material and presents a person, not a list of character traits.
The plot is a series of mini-conflicts that advance with such squeamishness that no momentum builds. Nothing is unnatural, and nothing is surprising. The attendees of "Shortbus" are so soft and sensitive that they never collide with any force. "It was kind of like a mini group therapy," Mitchell said, and that's the problem.
In one confessional meeting, Severin tells Sofia she just wants "to have a house and a cat." Sofia replies eagerly, "I've been waiting to hear you say these things." So much for subversiveness. Mitchell seems determined not to sensationalize his pornographic project of a film, and he goes too far the other way.
The humor also lacks bite. Jamie always repeats the tagline from the show he starred on as a child, even while having sex. Severin shares a real name with a famous actress. Couples meet through a cell phone "Yenta" dating service. This kind of subtle social comedy is amusing, but too mellow to make up for the lack of drama.
Mitchell became famous ("a star of stage and screen," as he would put it) with "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," an off-Broadway musical turned award-winning film. "Hedwig," an ironic tribute to gender-bending 70's glam rock, was both affectionate and sharp. The latter quality is oddly missing here.
"Shortbus" was formed out of workshops where the actors (chosen through an open casting call: hopefuls sent in tapes describing an emotional sexual experience), helped develop the characters and the dialogue. It shows. The characters are drama class clichés. There's Sofia (Sook Yin-Lee), the sex therapist who can't have an orgasm; Severin, the dominatrix who just wants to be loved; and Jamie and James, the perfect couple that's actually not. Only Lee, with her battle-weary gaze, transcends the flimsy material and presents a person, not a list of character traits.
The plot is a series of mini-conflicts that advance with such squeamishness that no momentum builds. Nothing is unnatural, and nothing is surprising. The attendees of "Shortbus" are so soft and sensitive that they never collide with any force. "It was kind of like a mini group therapy," Mitchell said, and that's the problem.
In one confessional meeting, Severin tells Sofia she just wants "to have a house and a cat." Sofia replies eagerly, "I've been waiting to hear you say these things." So much for subversiveness. Mitchell seems determined not to sensationalize his pornographic project of a film, and he goes too far the other way.
The humor also lacks bite. Jamie always repeats the tagline from the show he starred on as a child, even while having sex. Severin shares a real name with a famous actress. Couples meet through a cell phone "Yenta" dating service. This kind of subtle social comedy is amusing, but too mellow to make up for the lack of drama.
