Shortbus | Review

Mitchell attempts merges softness with hard core.

After his instantly likeable, trans-atlantic/trans-gender, musical comedy debut, agent provocateur John Cameron Mitchell offers up another sampling of social misfits trying to blend in with the rest of the crowd. The duel tale of an odd man out/odd woman out will likely not offend admirers of challenging queer cinema, but while Shortbus is a sophomore feature that aims to please, perhaps the emphasis should have been placed less on the ‘nuts’ of the sex-ploration and how to frame the sex acts but rather develop the ‘bolts’ of the immature narrative.

Set in an underground gathering point for friends with the same “interests”, this sees a sex therapists’ search for the big O and a gay couples’ inability to connect. Here Mitchell’s discourse is one that explores society’s obsession with the center of their universe (genital organs) and superimposes it on top of the center of the universe (New York City). Very much about the need for a support system, at times this comes across like an episode of television’s Friends – there is even a reference to Jennifer Anniston, but the straight and gay storylines are not unlike some of the post-9/11 essays where we find people in need of healing and where being honest with the person in the mirror or next to you is wilted by the inaccessibility to sharing the truth. Disguised as a three-way male orgy, a humorously shocking rendition of the Star Spangled Banner clearly demonstrates the need for patriotism which in the simplest form signifies – being loyal to in this case one’s self and one’s intimate surroundings.

Low-budget aesthetics and the conversation heavy segments display the film’s true colors – that of a collective art experiment which Mitchell manages to describe with a contemporary vibe and under the guise of a 60’s the world-is-a-giant-oyster type of playground. Whether the actors have their mouths full of words or orifices, the brave ensemble give such varying range of performances that the more work-shopping would have been a plus in the non sex-act department.

The cornucopia of unobstructed hardcore positions makes for an opus to sexuality that is more interesting than recent predecessors that are merely gunning for the X notoriety, but the inclusion of comedy and acrobatics in the equation makes the discussion less enviable. It’s the isolation, the solitudes and the situations in which the characters find themselves in and not the character themselves that are an interesting by-product of the film, and it becomes clear at the midway point that it’s not the anatomy of naked person that is of interest but the possible personality of the naked soul that might be more engrossing. Cameron still manages to bring good things to life – but unlike Hedwig, art-house audiences might find themselves saying “it didn’t ‘blow me’ away like I would have wanted it to’.

Festival du Nouveau Cinema 2006.

Rating 2 stars