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Ah, the sex comedy. Designed to be both a laugh generator and boner inducer. Problem is, how many times have you laughed while having an erection (male or female)? Sure it’s happened but, nine times out of ten, you’re too much into serious cave man face mode, to have a sense of humor. Those humorous times are usually relegated to things like, poorly timed bodily noises, over-contorted facial gestures, and failing to imitate the Kama Sutra by collapsing into an unrecognizable pile of limbs and body hair. For me, it’s looking into the mirror with one. I believe what makes the sex comedy so enticing, is the fact that from an outside view, sex in and of itself, looks funny. I mean, have you ever seen two tortoises slapping shells? It’s damn hilarious. Some sex comedies do it right with things like, good casting (American Pie), a sense of heart (The 40 Year Old Virgin), or down right well written teenage debauchery (Porky’s). Some take a premise and exploit it for all it’s worth (That’s My Boy). And some are just plain terrible (Tomcats).
Sex Tape is a sex comedy that falls sort of in between the goods and bads of the genre. It has things that work. But the things that don’t work slightly outweigh them. First of all, the chemistry between Jason Segel (The Muppets) and Cameron Diaz (The Counselor) is believable in a way that should make for a great comedy. They sold me on the belief that these two people truly love each other. But the sex scenes between them came off as two actors pretending to have sex. I don’t understand how one dynamic could work so well, yet not on the other. The moments of honesty with Segel and Diaz at the film’s beginning, get partially replaced by scenes of coincidental situations that move the plot forward. How uncreative must a writer be to use something as lazy as the “It’s a small world” excuse for connecting characters? The rest of the film consists of predictable (but fun) scenarios where Segel and Diaz test the resolve of their marriage by working together to erase their personal porno. I wonder, what were the makers of this film trying to convey with this movie? On one hand, the film goes through the motions of a sex comedy but, by the end, it almost turned into a family film (with f-bombs). In the trailers, I don’t think that there was even a hint about the protagonists having kids. Bad marketing.
Although the story is nothing special, the charisma of the actors keeps this movie watchable. Rob Corrdry (Warm Bodies) and Ellie Kemper (21 Jump Street) as “the friends” were funny yet underused. With a longer running time than 94 minutes, they could have offered a bit more to the story. Rob Lowe’s two scenes in the film were both odd and funny. It seemed like he was making fun of his old party self. The Jack Black (The Fatties) cameo near the end was probably the highlight of this movie. Everyone else who was in the film was there for a little more than a blink.
The Good- Jack Black’s rundown of the many internet porn channels. The entire sequence at Rob Lowe’s mansion- German Shepherds, cocaine snorts, and Slayer. The Hangover style sex tape viewing at the end.
The Bad- The only thing sexy in Sex Tape was Diaz on roller skates. How could two butt naked people having sex still look like they were dry humping? What happened with the mailman?
The Ugly- You have not seen classic Disney characters until you’ve seen them in a painting with Rob Lowe’s face. Creepy.
On the long list of sex comedies, where does this one rank? Is Sex Tape funny? Yes. Hilarious? No. Sexy? Not really. Not a bad movie but, nothing memorable about it either. Worth a look as a rental. Hopefully the director’s cut is a little ballsier. Rating- 5.5 out of 10
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