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(More customer reviews)Told through first-person narration, Sex and Death 101 is a little like the Wachowskis' The Matrix collides with Shainberg's Secretary (stick with me here). The premise: a (sentient?) "machine" has begun interfering with humanity, issuing e-mails that reveal a person's fate. While many people received an e-mail revealing their death-day, Roderick Blank was "gifted" with a list of every woman he has and WILL sleep with. Sounds great, right? Well, what the viewer learns is that "the chase" is fairly boring when the results are a given. Watching Rodrick try to plow through his list is dark and hysterical (especially when we reach Bambi and Thumper ... a world-class, lesbian power-couple). Now for the twist, the FINAL person on Roderick's list is a notorious serial-killer ...
With a budget of five-million, Waters created a pretty slick film. The casting is quirky (in a fantastic way!!). Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens and Ratatouille) plays a lascivious lackey to the "Morpheus-like" Alpha. I'm entirely biased here (since I think Oswalt is one of the most adorable, underrated actors in Hollywood), but his character alone makes the film worth watching. Moreover, Mindy Cohn (The Facts of Life) was a brave and fabulous choice. All grown up, Cohn rocks her character. She adds sweetness to (what could have been) your typical "lesbian" character. Kudos!! Julie Bowen, Winona Ryder, and Simon Baker nicely round-out the cast. Overall, the acting is wonderfully on-point. We could genuinely loathe the character of Roderick BUT Baker brings an irrefutable charm to him. And, this is where the film is a success. Roderick may be a slick, handsome, fast-food King ("Have a startling and unique day!!"), but as he resigns himself to fate he becomes brooding and vulnerable. Love it.
Why should you watch this work? One: it has a montage of lower-back, Chinese-symbol tattoos to represent the passage of time (a great joke resides in this moment ... pay attention). Two: watching Roderick don faerie-wings just to join Bambi and Thumper (in slow-motion) ... TOTALLY WORTH IT! (And so funny). Three: the scene with the school bus ... that's all I can say (by far, the absolutely most unpredictable, wildly amusing moment).
I noticed that this work is receiving some seriously scathing reviews. As a harsh-critic, I respect the opinions of others. I have a feeling this film appeals to a niche crowd: one which seeks dark, erotic, adult faerie-tales (a la Shainberg's Secretary ... see, I told you to stay with me). If, like me, you find the American Pie style of films trite and juvenile, give Water's work a spin. It won't disappoint.
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Roderick Blank, Simon Baker, is a successful modern man, content with his personal and professional life. However, a week before his wedding to a suitably stuffy fiancee, Rodericks perfectly planned existence is upended by a mysterious e-mail containing the names of every woman he has had sex with and, eerily, every woman he will have sex with in the future. He is stopped in his tracks when he meets a femme fatale, Winona Ryder, who targets men guilty of sex crimes against women. Co-starring Patton Oswalt and directed by Daniel Waters, writer of the cult hit Heathers.
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