Sunday, August 12, 2007

The wheels on the Bus...

...go round and round, and up and down, and in and out...
- - -
By accident last night we saw the film SHORTBUS. It came on just after LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (another great movie!)

A few months back friends of ours in Ottawa, Chantal and Darren, recommended Shortbus to us, but we never got around to renting it. Last night was the premiere on the Movie Network and so we watched it.

...how does someone describe this movie... well there's a lot of sex in it, graphic, conventional and non-conventional sex, straight sex, gay sex, bi sex, group sex, S&M, B&D, and on and on and on. There's a lot of sex! And that sex is real, all the sexual activity that is filmed was live, real, boy on girl, girl on boy, boy on boy, girl on girl... sex. BUT, and here's the thing... it's not pornographic, or lewd, or gross, (even the straight sex, heh!) or gratuitous. There's a detachment from the actual sex on the screen. It's integral to the plot of the movie.

It's about a group of people in NYC, that get to know each other, through a sort of underground sex-club/cabaret/lounge. It's far more about their replationships with themselves as well as each other, rather than their sexual activities. It's just that through their sexual lives you get a handle (as do they) on the rest of their lives.

The film was written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, the same person responsible for HEDWIG and the ANGRY INCH. In fact he was also HEDWIG him/herself. And there's a feeling of Hedwig in Shortbus, that freeing, exhilarating, age of Aquarius-enlightenment and down right irreverent view of life. This is no more true, certainly, than with the music, and evocatively so of the last number of the film "In the End"

I think what I liked most about this was that it's not a Gay film, although there's a major sub-plot with a gay couple/triad; and it's not a Straight film, although it's got a straight couple or two, and it's not even a BI film... It takes all the "Us vs. Them", the 'differentness' if you will, from what is Gay, Straight, Bi sex / life. More importantly that in the end we're not all that different... Sure, WHO we may love, sleep with, share our lives with may be different, but that we DO all love, sleep with and share our lives is the same. This film captured that for me.

I want to see this one again, in fact I've already decided I need to get a copy for my DVD collection. It's been a long time since I've seen a film I want to buy.

The tagline of the film is "Voyeurism is Participation". It's nice to know that even as you watch life go by sometimes, you're still a part of it.

- - - -

Misster-Kitty is gonna give this flick 9 hairballs outta 10.

8 comments:

Bruno Laliberté said...

i'll have to let you know about this one....
:D~
9 hairballs, you said, eh???
:)~

Sean Newbury said...

Indeed... NINE Hairballs... ;-)

Where the hair is from, I leave up to your imagination! ;-)

I think you might like this one... then again you might not (Covering all the options here)

I swear, I've been thinking about this movie almost non-stop since watching it. I wish there was a place like ShortBus, here in Montréal!

Maria said...

Sounds like an intresting movie. I on the other hand don't think I could attend a place like that even if there was one in Montreal.
Thats just me, the rest of you kids can go ahead and have fun! I am a boring old fart!

Sean Newbury said...

If I find such a place you are SOOOOOO going!

Maria said...

I am sooooooooo going?

I think I am sooooooo not going!
I would not know what to do with myself and sitting by the door drinking my Shirley Temple (as I don't drink) is not my idea of a fun way to pass my day or night!

But by all means YOU go and I will be here so you can tell me all about it!

Sean Newbury said...

OK FINE!

I'll just have to go and be extra kinky for you... ;-)

But seriously/... a Greek and an Italian...and you don't drink?

Not even Grapa?...
Wine?...
Ouzo?...

You know it's not healthy to deny your heritage! ;-)

OK. OK. I'll drink for the 2 of you as well! ;-)

Maria said...

you do that. Drink for us.

It is kinda weird that with the mixture of our heritage and we don't drink any alcohol. We do have a bar full of drinks though so if anyone comes over and they are drinkers we are well prepared. Only thing is they will have to mix their own drinks as we don't know what goes with what.

Sean Newbury said...

LOL

A bar with no bartender... *sniff* that's sad.