paulclaassen
At first glance this sexually explicit comedy drama might seem like a porn movie, but delve deeper and you discover a truly moving and emotional film with exceptional acting. It also teaches us to look for signs when someone might be in need of guidance and advise, or detect suicidal notions. Ultimately, I believe, the film is about finding your inner bliss. This was an unusual but wonderful movie experience.
Jason Shaw
Shortbus the 2006 American sexually charged comedic drama shocked and delighted audiences around the world, it has since gone down in history as one of the most sexually explicit films ever to be granted a general distribution certificate by film boards around the world. There is no skirting the issue, this is an explicit movie, it has full on sex which is as real as the bodily fluids that get spurted on faces and bodies, although not pictures. However, before you jump to the conclusion this is just hard-core porn by another name, be aware that it was written and directed by respected filmmaker John Cameron Mitchel, him from Hedwig fame and it transcends normal sexually explicitness with a deeply affecting storyline and a journey of self-discovery.It achieved a worldwide box office total or around $5.5 million, although DVD sales have way more than matched that, it also went to win many awards at various festivals all over the world and was critically acclaimed, at least in the most part. It certainly has gained a fair slice of publicity for the many actors in the film, not least the lovely Jay Brannan, who plays Ceth and has a song on the soundtrack, the deceptively deep SodaShop. His infectious smile, simpering nervous giggle and delicate voice hint at a vulnerability that makes everyone want to look after him, before or after they shag him senseless. John Cameron Mitchell bases the plot around an endearing sex therapist/couples counsellor Sofia Lin in New York City, she is married to the dishy but dim Rob who has amazingly potent and dexterous contortionist sex, yet there is a problem. One of the couples seeking counselling she encounters is James, allegedly a former rent boy and Jamie a former child actor, they need to communicate more, however in the common cruel twist of therapy it is the clients that come to help the therapist. She confides in them that although she is a sex, sorry couple's therapist, she is pre-orgasmic; meaning she's never had an orgasm, not ever! To help her hunt for the big O, they invited her to the freakishly good underground sexually expressive artistic boutique like salon they go to called Shortbus!The host of Shortbus, the club is an infamous New York entertainer, Justin Bond, who helps Sofia open her eyes and her mind to all the new experiences around her, of which there are plenty. Not least of all a mass orgy scene of writing naked bodies engaging in all manner couplings and sexual expressions, even the director is somewhere in the mêlée of human flesh on display. She strikes up a friendship with a dominatrix whore by the name Severin, who we saw earlier in a side scene whipping her client to surprising and incredibly far reaching conclusion. One of the guests at the salon is a young handsome model come singer by the name of Ceth, who is seen using a hand-held device to find a suitable mate, gosh sounds so familiar to these days when gay guys about town are switching on their mobile smart phones and turning to Grindr! What's the about art imitating life? Anyway, that flunks out and he meets James and Jamie and jingle jangle sparks fly and we have ourselves a funky threesome of fine fanciable fellas. All this is closely watched by a stalker kind of character, which does not quite make a whole ton of sense, but then this is the movies and anything can happen, although on the DVD you will find excess deleted scenes which exemplify this character with an even more implausible line of story as an assistant to the US President. The hard on three-way sex scene between Jamie, James and Ceth is one of the best and one of the funniest sexual explorations I have ever seen in a film of this sort. It is erotic, exotic, sexy yet also strangely empowering and thus works on many levels and I wonder how many people have since gone on to use a penis as a microphone and sung a national anthem into such a place? I don't know about you, but I think I noticed a few bum notes!  It has an interesting and charming cast, from sad song singer Jay Brannan as the delightfully giggly Ceth, to PJ DeBoy and Paul Dawson as Jamie and James. I adored Canadian radio star Sook-Yin Lee as Sofia Lin who excels at this role and performs with such understated passion and honesty that I was practically feeling her orgasm with her. Raphael Barker is the cheeky straight boy next door, the jock with a heart, Rob and is interesting to watch. Peter Stickles is exemplary as the stalker character and I feel almost betrayed that the bizarre deleted scenes were not in the final cut of the movie, such is the ability of that actor. Justin Bond should be credited for a fine performance, how I would love to have him at my next garden party. A small, but nonetheless significant role was that of the former New York mayor, played by Alan Mandell, who spoke so eloquently and for older gay folk everywhere with aplomb. Read more and find out where this film made it in the Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time book, search on Amazon for Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time, or visit - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007FU7HPO
David J. Glenn
This film could have been a great film, but whoever wrote and directed this film was obviously forcing unnatural events in order to fit sex scenes in.For example, there's a scene where James is masturbating and comes in his own mouth on camera for his boyfriend. Having him just masturbate would have been understandable, put going to this extreme when it has nothing to do with the story just shows how horny this director was while making the film.There's another scene where Sofia is having sex with her boyfriend and this scene shows several different positions, and is way longer than necessary.And another scene where a dominatrix just beats on this dude for awhile, this part of that scene could have been ten seconds long and got the same point across, but yet again it drags on for an unnecessary amount of time.The writer and director of this movie used sex scenes and other sexual related acts to film time. And it shows his lack of self confidence with himself. This was a great story, and had several interesting characters.James had sever depression, Severin had emotional connection problems, Jamie had relationship issues that were out of his control, Sofia couldn't orgasm and it was ruining her sexual relationship with her boyfriend, Ceth felt alone and struggled to find a partner, Caleb has extreme mental problems and had an obsession with James and Jamie.These characters are all dynamic, and unique. This movie could have been amazing. But the people putting this story together on film ruined it, and the sex scenes, and nudity overshadows the amazing characters and takes time away that could've been spent focusing on the actual story.I'm not against sex scenes and nudity, but when you're movies entire reputation is dependent on that, it's bad.This movie could've been so much more, but they dropped the ball.
