Americans in Bed

HBO Documentary Films—no stranger to nonfiction intimacy-cum-voyeurism productions (Taxicab Confessions, et al.)—here crosscuts between 10 couples from a wide spectrum of ages, races, and genders (two couples are gay/lesbian), who talk about various facets of their relationships while filmed in sleepwear, reclining in their beds together. It's not exactly groundbreaking; in the U.K., the late rock-star-wife Paula Yates did an entire talk show that way, and Americans in Bed often feels like an ocean-leaping translation of the BBC's The British in Bed. No particularly startling revelations emerge here. Naturally, the mature couples who are longest-married (one pair of seniors marking 71 years together, in fact) come across as the healthiest, most loving, and respectful in their attitudes to each other, whereas the younger ones—at least the heterosexuals—attach utmost importance to regular sex and fervent desire. Infidelity, jealousy, and serial breakups also feature prominently among the younger lovers, while some oft-divorced middle-agers give the impression of having just surrendered carnal ecstasy to the passage of time, settling for amicable companionship. The overall happiest husband and wife? In this sampling, it's possibly a traditional Muslim pair, of Egyptian descent, the woman demurely clad in her headscarf even in bed. While the documentary features mature language and themes, this is actually pretty light, by HBO standards. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)