Shortbus
Firstly, thanks to my fellow Connoisseur for providing a nice plot summary of the movie Shortbus, allowing me to get to real meat (yes, that is a pun) of the issue right off the bat.
What’s the big deal about Shortbus? THE SEX.
Shortbus uses sex as the main vehicle for creating conflict, emotional upheaval, and ultimate reconciliation and acceptance. It is in my humble opinion that this is quite genius and truly encapsulates the human experience. Sex becomes a normal thing to see during the film; as normal as a character going into a monologue in Shakespeare, as normal as the narration covering the show about pandas on Animal Planet. It is comforting to finally view a movie accepts that its audience is mature enough to handle graphic sexual content and not freak out, running to the MPAA for guidance and solace (go see “This Film Is Not Yet Rated” NOW!!!). Particularly, the use of real sex, sex that is neither graceful nor visually stunning gives the audience a closer glimpse into the characters being portrayed.
What’s the small deal about Shortbus? The music and the NYC model
Throughout the film we are flown through a model of good old NYC. The model looks as if it were made of slightly cancerous play dough that moves of its own accord. I particularly enjoyed this model; I felt it showed you how very small NYC can feel and yet how fantastical and constantly changing a city of its size can be.
The music of the movie really takes the cake. Most of it is incidental, on an overarching soundtrack like most movies have. But then there are those gems that are actually performed during the film at Shortbus itself. There is a special place in my heart for soundtracks that manage to be both part of the action of a film directly and indirectly. And to add a special artsyness to the soundtrack, some of the music is written by the actors themselves.
What can we take from Shortbus? Comfort in being adults
It eases my mind that we can finally have a semi-mainstream movie that treats adults like adults. The fact that the film is unrated, unabashedly so, knowing that it is an uphill battle to market an unrated film makes me feel like applauding all involved. Many of the actors in this film had to make great sacrifices just to be in it, and the monetary risk of the producers is no small pittance. Movies should be able to do this; they should be able to contain sex, homosexual themes, foul language, and whatever else is deemed necessary to fully eviscerate the film maker’s vision. It is nice to know that a group of determined people can make a film like Shortbus; possibly, it will open the gates for others to do the same.
My disagreement with my fellow Connoisseur.
While I respect the opinion of my fellows Connoisseurs most highly, I do have to disagree with them from time to time. That is the nature of the beast after all. In this particular instance I must take issue with that statement The Right Honorable Gentleman made about the “happy” ending of Shortbus. I do not really think the ending was happy at all, simply a continuation of things that had been in progress throughout the full film. Jamie and James are still going to have issues.