SHORTBUS Reviewed by Harvey S. Karten
THINKFilm
Grade: B-
Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell
Written By: John Cameron Mitchell
Cast: Sook-Yin Lee, Paul Dawson, Lindsay Beamish, PJ
DEBoy, Raphael Barker, Peter Stickles, Jay Brannan
Screened at: Broadway, NYC, 9/7/06
Opens: October 6, 2006 Sex has been the principal staple of drama since Agamemnon was killed by his wife, Clytemnestra, for having an affair with Cassandra, but the Greeks–like just about every other culture and in every other century–performed the sexual acts ab skene, i.e., off the screen. Since the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, however, the hot parts have been with us in the movies, but with “Shortbus,” we get perhaps the most graphic sexual contortions that an indie or commercial movie can give us without its being part of the porn industry. “Shortbus” evokes the signature style of director Johon Cameron Mitchell, whose “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” five year earlier treated the survivor of a botched sex-change operation whose dumping by his idol has left him dazed and embittered. The characters in “Shortbus” are not as compelling as those in the previous work, the sex becomes repetitious, and narrative does look as though it was developed (as Mitchell admits) in consultation with the cast. But the film will be seen by a specialized audience, and deservedly so, because Mitchell’s imagination is lively, some scenes humorous, and the principal actress worth watching. The opening scene is an illustrated poem of love to New York, as Frank G. DeMarco’s camera pans past the Statue of Liberty into a colorful, animated version of Our Town’s skyscrapers. Within the world’s most exciting island are people who are not fulfilled, some sexually, others emotionally, usually both. We in the audience play voyeur to some pretty raunchy scenes, the first one honing in on a young man, James (Paul Dawson) in a bathtub who plays with himself in the conventional way, then uses his apparent familiarity with yoga to enrich himself with more imagination. In another, a dominatrix, Severin (Lindsay Beamish) whips a wisecracking guy in the shadow of the 9/11 tragedy, the fellow asking her whether she smiles when she takes a picture in front of Ground Zero. On the analyst’s couch, the aforementioned James and Jamie (PJ DeBoy) discuss with sex therapist (aka couples counselor) Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee) whether to open their relationship. When they find out that Sofia has never had an orgasm, they invite her to a Shortbus party, which looks like the set of the play Dionysus in 69. Inside a large apartment people are talking, coupling, doing their thing as though the sixties had never ended. The master of ceremonies (Justin Bond) announces the action, taking Sofia into his confidence. The Dionysian set forms the stage for the folks to whom we’ve been introduced: James and Jamie dig up Ceth (Jay Brannan) for a threesome which involves their singing of the Star Spangled Banner in a way that some in the red states might not approve (don’t ask). Will Sofia finally achieve her orgasm? Will the dominatrix learn to relate to people without the use of whips and chains? And what do we make of the gay octagenarian, far older than anyone else at the Shortbus party, who declares that he was once the mayor of New York? (No, he does not resemble anyone we’ve seen in City Hall.) How much importance does director Mitchell place on the orgasm? Consider this. During the most recent blackout in New York, the lights went out, as depicted in the director’s vivid animated recreation of Manhattan Island. When Sofia gets an orgasm for the first time–climaxing the movie, so to speak–all the lights go on, everywhere in Manhattan. 102 minutes 2006 by Harvey Karten
harveycritic@cs.com Member: NY Film Critics Online | 
