Comments on: Review: Shortbus

By: Maia

Maia — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 04:49:47 +0000

Livy - or it could be that the people who the director liked most were young, white thin and conventionally attractive.

In the end it doesn’t matter - if he could only get young, white, thin, conventionally attractive people then he should have made a move about young, white, thin, conventionally attractive people. Rather than sticking a few tokens in and pretend that it stood for everyone.

By: Livy

Livy — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 04:01:27 +0000

I understand your issues with the casting, but don’t forget that everyone was cast based on their response to an open casting call to perform sexual acts on camera. Is it possible that more young, thin, conventionally attractive people are willing to do this? This review says a little about the casting, both of the extras and of the main character, played by Sook-Yin Lee (Who’s work I like, I admit it!).

By: Scott Lemieux

Scott Lemieux — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 07:12:43 +0000

Very interesting take. Like the first commenter, I may wait to rent it even though I’m trying to get my top-10 list finished…

By: Round-Up Sans Rodeo at Faux Real Tho!

Round-Up Sans Rodeo at Faux Real Tho! — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 02:51:53 +0000

[...] ▪ Feminist take on Shortbus (movie) ▪ Minimum wage rises, sky does not fall ▪ What it’s like to be married to/live with a chef ▪ If you can’t say something nice, what the hell do you say? ▪ “Guilt” and “Innocence” in the Duke lacrosse rape case ▪ Mary Tyler Ivins, 1944-2007 ▪ On Ruth Bader Ginsberg and female “sensitivities” ▪ The cement mixer gets it all ready ▪ TOMS [...]

By: Tito

Tito — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 07:02:30 +0000

I share your criticisms, but you have to admit that scene where they were being chased by the cops and the bridge was out so they jumped the shortbus over the ravine totally rocked. I also enjoyed it when that one guy got a blowjob.

By: Sage

Sage — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 07:46:32 +0000

I haven’t seen the film, but I saw an interview with John Cameron Mitchell. He said something to the effect that we all feel like we belong on a shortbus once in a while. We all feel that we just don’t belong with “normal” people. He wanted to explore that “otherness” that’s common to us all.

“Hedwig and the Angry Inch” is one of my favourite movies because it celebrates people in the margins. It makes me feel like everyone belongs. (It makes me feel normal). I’m hesitating to see “Shortbus” because I’ve read other bad reviews, and I’m not quite ready for Mitchell to fall off my pedistal.

By: Maia

Maia — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 23:10:12 +0000

Blue - Shortbus is the name of the club where everyone comes. The person who runs the club said something along the lines of “normal people ride the big yellow school bus, gifted and challenged people ride the shortbus.” Of course none of the people there were in any way physically disabled.

Thanks for the spelling corrections - that’s what happens when I write a post late at night.

By: Alison

Alison — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 21:26:39 +0000

Also, Manhattan has no E in it.

By: Blue

Blue — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 21:24:10 +0000

I hadn’t heard of this movie before. What does the title mean in this context?

By: Tanooki Joe

Tanooki Joe — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 19:14:28 +0000

“But it was more than that, the extras in the scenes set in the club were remarkably similar for a movie that was supposed to show us a broad section of human experience. They were almost all young, conventionally attractive and white. The exceptions were tokenised to an extent that felt insulting.”

Exactly. In addition, I felt most of the characters in the film were shallow and poorly written — we end up with little understanding of their motivations. The film seems more interested in making its characters “quirky” rather than compelling, sympathetic, or even coherent. I really think all the flaws in the film outway any of the good features it has.

By: beth

beth — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 17:31:21 +0000

sorry to be that guy, but i really can’t help myself in this instance–it’s consensual, not consentual. the fact that this misspelling occurs so many times in your piece in this instance really detracts from what is otherwise a very thoughtful commentary.

By: Katie

Katie — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 17:26:46 +0000

You know, I had a real problem with the movie too - I definitely felt like it painted this carefree sexual paradise that was actually very exclusive, or rather, exclusionary.

Also, the plot was so thin you could see through it.

And aren’t we a little over the whole notion of “frigid woman whose sexual problem get solved so all other problems in her life get solved too?”

By: Myca

Myca — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:31:37 +0000

Well goddammit. I was really looking forward to this movie, but all of your criticisms are personal pet peeves of mine . . . so . . .

*sigh*

Maybe I’ll rent it.

By: feminist blogs

feminist blogs — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

There are a lot of good things you could say about this movie. It’s got lots of lovely and real moments, humour and wit, and, most importantly, it shows people having sex. Not just soft lighting and fading to black, but people having sex in […] Continue reading at Alas, a blog … posted 8:20 am at Alas, a blog