Movie Notes: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex

June 17th, 2009

= 4 stars

Starring Woody Allen, Louise Lasser, Tony Randall
Directed by Woody Allen

Synopsis

Random vignettes documenting the broad nature of human sexuality.

The Good

• Some funny, memorable bits: the initial period piece, the Italian sex-in-public-places bit (featuring Woody Allen’s former wife, Louise Lasser), the sadistic sex researcher climaxing with a gigantic breast (no pun intended), and a surreal look at inner workings of the human body featuring Allen as a reluctant sperm.
• A handful of familiar faces: Gene Wilder plays a doctor who falls in love with a sheep, Burt Reynolds and Tony Randall are workers in a human body, Regis Philbin plays a panelist on the game show “Guess My Perversion”, and John Carradine appears as a demented doctor.
• Each segment features a different visual style, demonstrating some experimentation seemingly in preparation for later Allen flicks: The period piece foreshadows Love and Death, the subtitled Italian Antonioni / Fellini satire foreshadows Stardust Memories, and the white interior of the human body, the futuristic Sleeper.

The Bad

• Some vignettes are rather uneven and end rather poorly. This is mainly due to the sex stuff not being as titillating to modern audiences. I mean, humping a pie is now considered mainstream fare.

Conclusion

While more smirk-inducing than the previous two films, I actually found Allen’s experimentation and broadening of directorial techniques the most interesting part. Then again, there’s the surreal visuals of a giant breast and Allen as a loser sperm. I won’t soon forget any of it, which is notable.

IMDB: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex
Wikipedia: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex
Rotten Tomatoes: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex 88%