Shortbus

John Cameron Mitchell, USA, 2006, 101 minutes

Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee) is a happily married sex therapist (actually, she prefers the term couples counsellor) in New York City. James (Paul Dawson) and Jamie (PJ Deboy) are a gay couple who have been together for five years. When James decides that he would like to open up the relationship, sexually that is, they both go to see Sofia to talk it over. During the session, Sophia looses it, slaps Jamie and then tearfully explains to them that she is “pre-orgasmic”; she has never had an orgasm. James and Jamie send her to an exclusive club called Shortbus where Sofia joins a group of sexual misfits and outcasts.

The film follows six or seven main characters, all drawn to New York to different reasons, as they and their relationships progress and develop. Sophia and fellow Shortbus attendee Severin (Lindsay Beamish) quickly form a beneficial friendship. Severin agrees to help Sophia reach orgasm and Sophia offers her services as a therapist to help Severin form meaningful relationships. James and Jamie invite Ceth into their relationship, which does not go unnoticed by Caleb, an only slightly mysterious stalker.

James Cameron Mitchell developed the script and characters in collaboration with the actors over the course of three years. Perhaps this explains why an almost entirely inexperienced cast delivers such convincing and natural performances. They draw us in to their fabulous and fun world of theme rooms and very explicit, unbelievably honest conversations. Walking through the door of Shortbus, we are invited into an accepting and frivolous but far from carefree world.

While undoubtedly Sophia is the main character, and Sook-Yin Lee delivers her performance with confidence and beauty, this is really an ensemble piece. Paul Dawson and PJ DeBoy deliver engaging performances in their first major roles in a feature film. The script flows smoothly between storylines linked by characters’ visits to Shortbus.

One of the more minor and more touching characters is the former mayor of New York City (played by Alan Mandell) who is haunted by the way his administration dealt with the AIDS crisis in the late 1980s as a result of him being in the closet. While Shortbus brushes some serious issues, it never takes itself too seriously and never tries to preach to or talk down to its audience.

Much of the publicity surrounding Shortbus focuses on the explicit sexual nature of the film. It certainly was a feat to get this film into US cinemas given the graphic portrayals of a few not so traditional sexual acts from the very beginning of the film. There are no clever camera angles, no carefully placed sheets and no holds barred. At times, I wondered if Cameron Mitchell put some scenes in purely to see if they would get through the censors. Despite the sometimes eyebrow raising moments, it was refreshing to see a film that treats sexuality and sex as normal and desirable. Shortbus is anything but pornography.

Perhaps my only, and very small, complaint is that the ending was a little too contrived and it all wrapped up a bit too neatly (albeit with a bang!). I wanted to continue watching the characters develop from my comfortable seat in the cinema. After all, voyeurism is participation!

Review by Heather McCluskey & Nicola Osborne
Written for EUFS Programme Autumn 2007