Sex Is...

In the spirit of Marc Huestis' quasi-documentary Sex Is..., let me be blunt: this is a jerkoff movie for some gays. I say some because, just as I'm certain that some heterosexuals would not want to watch a "documentary" about sex which was indiscriminately peppered with porn film clips, I suspect that some gays wouldn't want to watch Sex Is..,. which is loaded with hardcore sex scenes from porn films, live stage shows, and home video. And that's unfortunate since some of the interviews with the 15 gay males profiled in the film (from Lulu, a "single housewife" who's looking for a nice guy with brains, to a cuddly couple celebrating a long relationship) are funny, candid, insightful, and often moving. a few of the stories are a hoot (one interviewee, recalling male TV and film stars that made him hot, cites Gomer Pyle as a major turn-on). Other stories are very sad, as interviewees recall lovers they've lost to AIDS, and the sense of frustration and fear that now spills over into otherwise happy and satisfying sexual relationships. Some are thought-provoking: one black interviewee is angry because people don't understand that his attraction to S&M sex has nothing to do with racial oppression (black acquaintances can't quite understand a black man that likes to be whipped). But these flashes of interest are few and far between: too many of the interviews are given over to redundant "I blew him, he blew me" stories. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)