This is one of those indie films that I’m sure had either a really bad title or a really good title at one point, but when it was acquired by the distributor, the Suits decided to go with something snappy, like, oh, I don’t know, Tool Talk? Or Girlie Show? Or, hey, I got it, let’s name it after that Salt-N-Pepa song that nobody has heard in eight years! The kids’ll love it!
Needless to say, in Let’s Talk About Sex the characters do, in fact, talk about sex, amongst many other topics, but the film itself is not necessarily about talking about sex.
What it’s about is difficult to pinpoint. Jazz (Troy Beyer), an advice columnist for the Miami Herald, has three days to compile a presentation tape for a television show she is pitching entitled Girl Talk (perhaps the original name of the movie?). Aided by her two roommates, Michelle (Paget Brewster) and Lena (Randi Ingerman), Jazz sets about interviewing women on issues of sex, men, other women and shopping. The documentary footage serves to bookend vignettes examining the lives of the three young men as they struggle with love, parents and each other.
The interviews were, by far, the most interesting part of the film. I can only assume they were actual interviews—if not, they were, at least, improvised by terrific actresses. While, at times, the segments degenerated into vapid, whiny manbashing, a few of them were truly inspired. The best moment of the film, in fact, is a monologue from a British woman who likens orgasm to tasting heaven. Unfortunately, you have to watch the entire film to find this kernel. It is the last scene of the movie.
As the freshman outing from writer/director/star Troy Beyer, Let’s Talk About Sex is a valiant effort, but, sans narrative, the docu-footage would have provided a far more interesting examination of the same issues. And the title…oy
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