Watching film critic Matt Singer act out (after wisely removing his glasses) the unintentionally hilarious swimming pool sex scene from Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls (1995)—with Kyle MacLachlan and Elizabeth Berkley thrashing about like Jaws victims—is nearly worth the price of admission alone for Indie Sex, an IFC-aired documentary miniseries which claims to offer a “revealing look at sex in cinema.” Ironically, the most revealing material—definitely worth a retroactive NC-17—is included in the first program, “Censored,” which features explicit snippets taken from early stag films, during a somewhat scattershot history of censorship. Operating under the restrictive Hays Code of the mid-1930s forward, for instance, we learn that filmmakers were forced to use metaphoric shortcuts to suggest hanky-panky onscreen; ergo: smoking = sex, fadeouts = sex, slapping = sex, fireworks = good sex. After the MPAA ratings arrived in 1968, filmmakers could be more upfront about sex, leading to films such as Midnight Cowboy, Last Tango in Paris, Basic Instinct (with Sharon Stone's infamous leg-crossing, hoo-ha flashing scene), and Henry & June. The second and third episodes, “Teens” and “Extremes,” cover teen sexuality in cinema and pushing-the-sex-envelope onscreen, respectively. Interview clips with critics (such as Singer, Jami Bernard, Bilge Ebiri, and Stephanie Zacharek), directors (including John Cameron Mitchell, Fenton Bailey, and Martha Coolidge), and actors (Roseanna Arquette, Ally Sheedy, and Peter Sarsgaard, among others) are intercut with a smattering of film excerpts that range from the pertinent (Elia Kazan's 1956 Baby Doll) to the pointless (Lee Daniels' 2005 Shadowboxer), while cultural trivia tidbits are routinely flashed onscreen for quick historical context. Surprisingly, the very best episode of the series is buried in the extras: “Taboos,” which features John Waters, Atom Egoyan, and film critic Elvis Mitchell, among others. Additional DVD extras include an extended stag film scene and a sex-in-cinema timeline. Although decidedly a hit and miss affair (with a number of IFC films spotlighted over other more relevant films, and some oddball interviewee choices—Ally Sheedy?), Indie Sex is recommended, overall, for more adventurous collections. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)
Indie Sex
(2007) 2 discs. 199 min. DVD: $29.95. Genius Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). ISBN: 1-5944-4831-0. Volume 23, Issue 3
Indie Sex
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