Shortbus � ThinkFilm

Sook-Yin Lee .... Sofia
Paul Dawson .... James
Lindsay Beamish .... Severin
PJ DeBoy .... Jamie
Raphael Barker .... Rob
Peter Stickles .... Caleb
Jay Brannan .... Ceth
Justin Bond .... Himself
Alan Mandell .... Tobias, the Mayor
Jesse Hardman .... Jesse, the John
Ray Rivas .... Shabbos Goy
Bitch .... Herself
Shanti Carson .... Leah
Jan Hilmer .... Nick
Justin Hagan .... Brad

Well, I�m sure you�ve heard about shortbus� Especially if you�re Canadian and a child of the 90�s. Sook-Yin Lee basically doing porno�

It is soooo not that. John Cameron Mitchell, (known most notably, for doing Hedwig and the angry inch) puts the joy back into sex�

Full review/ synopsis follows� Please be careful of spoilers�


The plot revolves around 2 couples. A gay couple James, and Jamie who are having trouble in their relationship, and are thinking of bringing a third into it to spice it up. The second couple is Sofia, and her husband Rob. Sophia is a couple�s counselor who can�t have an orgasm, and has been faking it for years with Rob. They meet and mingle in a salon/sex club called shortbus. Where the gifted and the challenged meet and mingle.

James is making a movie, and is very secretive about it. Jamie is worried that James is growing distant. They hire Sophia as a sex counselor to consult if they should start swinging. Sophia breaks down and tells them she has never had an orgasm. They invite her to Shortbus. There she starts exploring her own sexuality, and learning about others. She Meets Severin who is a depressed dominatrix. Severin starts to show Sophia her own sense of wisdom and they meet weekly in a sensory deprivation chamber to talk. Sophia starts to expand her own sensuality, and learn why she cannot have an orgasm. James and Jamie find a third, Ceth. A cute model/singer that falls in love with the two of them. In reality James has been growing Ceth to replace him as his video is a suicide note, and he doesn�t feel loved. Unbeknownst to either James or Jamie Caleb who lives across the street from them has been watching them and living vicariously through them for 4 years. He sees Ceth as an intrusion and confronts him., He later goes on to save James from his own suicide attempt. Writing his phone number and email address on his unconscious face. James calls Caleb, and they meet up. James Cannot love, and its not Jamie�s fault. He doesn�t want to be like that. Caleb and James talk about what happened, and why it happened. They eventually make love, James allowing Caleb to top him. Sophia starts to get close in her fantasy, and Jamie and Ceth watch James suicide note. Just as all three get to the climax, quite literally, the lights go out. Jamie and Ceth are worried about why James hasn�t contacted them after the suicide attempt. They all go to shortbus during the blackout. Rob having found himself in Severin, and Severin finding some peace with Rob. Caleb, and Ceth make out, Jamie and James get back together. Sophia finally lets herself go, and has a three-way with a handsome young couple. Finally she achieves orgasm. And the lights come on across the world.



This movie is one of the most graphic, and adult themed movies I have ever seen. But it is no way porno. There is almost every kind of sex act I have ever heard of being performed in this movie, man on man, woman on woman, man on woman even� with pretty much every combination possible thrown in for good measure. All of this is done with little regard to the actor�s body.

John Cameron Mitchell let this film evolve more naturally, the actors were all chosen for their ability to let the movie go as far as possible, and to perform actual sexual acts on screen, and I have to say that he succeeded. Despite, or even because of the graphic nature of the movie the characters innocence shines through. It plays something like a modern fairy tale. The scale model of the city, done to such exacting standards, but still childlike paper mache. It shows the innocence up of all the characters. A particularly touching scene is a former mayor of new york talking tearfully about how the AIDS crisis drove him deeper in the closet, but despite criticism he did what he could to help.

Shortbus might be nonstop sex, but it�s more than that. Somehow its innocence and love rolled up into one. One of the lines in the movie is somewhat wrong, Justin Bond looking out over the assembled crowd at shortbus says the Sophia, �it�s like the sixties, but with less hope� I don�t think he could be more wrong. The hope that I get from this film was overwhelming.