The hallmarks of a true collaboration between the director and his actors are everywhere, and their performances are what raise the film above any of its shortcomings.
Shortbus (2006)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:118
Fresh:77
Rotten:41
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: The sex may be explicit, but Mitchell integrates it into the characters' lives and serves the whole story up with a generous dose of sweetness and wit.
Theatrical Release:01-12-2006
Synopsis: Writer/director John Cameron Mitchell follows up the cult classic HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH with another salacious slice of sex-laden cinema. Mitchell interweaves three separate tales of highly... Writer/director John Cameron Mitchell follows up the cult classic HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH with another salacious slice of sex-laden cinema. Mitchell interweaves three separate tales of highly sexed and sexually frustrated New Yorkers, all of whom find some kind of salvation at an underground club named Shortbus. Anything goes at Shortbus--wild orgies between people from different ages, backgrounds, and sexual preferences are treated as commonplace, and most of the sex scenes shot through Mitchell's voyeuristic lens are completely unsimulated. Mitchell allows little time for his audience to pause for breath, opening SHORTBUS with a frantic collage of copulation and carnality that features most of his central characters. These include Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee), a sex therapist who has never reached full orgasm; gay couple James (Paul Dawson)--who begins the movie by fellating himself--and Jamie (PJ DeBoy); and Severin (Lindsay Beamish), a dominatrix who finds herself unable to find true love. Mitchell lets his cast of characters unravel their tales of woe, interspersing the touching and mostly sad stories with eye-popping scenes from Shortbus and swooping birds-eye shots of a computer simulated version of New York City. The director also draws heavily on an indie-rock soundtrack, making repeated and effective use of the beautiful "Winters Love" by Brooklyn-based group Animal Collective. But it's the sex scenes that will really get tongues wagging, and its testament to Mitchell's fearless and uncompromising vision that he depicts sexual acts that run the full coital gamut, from amusing to titillating to shocking. Amid all the boundary-pushing there is a tender heart buried in SHORTBUS's central narrative--which revolves around the search for identity and acceptance--but less sensitive viewers who seek amusement in the singing of the National Anthem into a prominent orifice will also find plenty to enjoy here. [More]
Starring: Raphael Barker, Lindsay Beamish, Justin Bond, Paul Dawson
Starring: Raphael Barker, Lindsay Beamish, Justin Bond, Paul Dawson, Yolanda Ross, Jay Brannan, Shanti Carson, Sook-Yin Lee, PJ Deboy, Peter Stickles, Bitch, The Hungry March Band
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Producer: Howard Gertler, Tim Perell
Studio: ThinkFilm
Reviews for Shortbus
If you want to explore the ideas of love and emotional permeability while seeing a narratively complex world of sexual self-exploration to which few are privy, then this is the movie for you. Otherwise, run for your life.
Mitchell worked with his cast to develop the various stories and the improvisatory effort may not have resulted in a Mike Leigh sort of drama but it has yielded wondrous moments. The cast is very good with the best performances coming from Lee as Sofia (w
Um raro exemplo de produção norte-americana que encara o sexo com maturidade, o filme é um estudo de personagens com sucesso apenas moderado, já que não consegue desenvolver todas as subtramas com o mesmo cuidado ou interesse.
Everybody has a right to pursue what makes them happy, so long as they don't hurt anyone else in the process. That's a sweet notion, but not a particularly deep one. The movie's all skin and heart; very little brain.
Another telling example (The Brown Bunny, Anatomy of Hell, Bellocchio's Devil in the Flesh) that hardcore sex seems better suited to hardcore sex films.
Despite the movie's matter-of-fact approach to (and depiction of) graphic acts, the point isn't the sex, it's the genuine emotion generated by the actors, who helped develop their roles with Mitchell.
This is a film for the adventurous. A colourful and wondrously imaginative sexual adventure that integrates humour, symbolism and emotion
Simply a terrific movie -- the most courageous (not just because of the sex), inventive, moving and captivating film I've seen this year.
You know something is amiss when the spiky-haired dominatrix is a more relatable character than the movie's ostensible leading lady.
[Shortbus] will give adults who aren't put off by zoo-naked sex more to talk about, even in disparagement, than anything showing at the Cineplex.
One woman’s quest for the perfect orgasm may strike sophisticated viewers as the stuff of sexual farce at best, but Sook-Yin Lee’s Sofia brings both emotion and eroticism to the proceedings, and for this Mr. Mitchell should be commended.
Shortbus doesn’t quite delve as deeply as it ought into its characters’ emotions: It has more breadth than depth, perhaps due to its improvisational methods.
Wearing its controversy-courting eagerness to shock on its sleeve, the film aims to challenge taboos, but comes up short.
I would like to commend Mitchell for making a warm, funny and very human film about people who don't just want sex but want to enjoy sex with someone they love. What a concept!
Latest News for Shortbus
October 31, 2006:
RTIndie: Can Indie Studios Survive Without Big Studio Backing?
With the sale of independent-minded ThinkFilm last week, can indie film distributors survive without big studio backing? More...
October 09, 2006:
Box Office Wrapup: Leo and Matt Face Off at #1 with The Departed
Martin Scorsese scored the best opening of his career, and his first number one film in fifteen years, with the star-studded gangster thriller "The Departed," which... More...
October 06, 2006:
RTIndie: All Hail "The Queen" as Smaller Pics Deliver
It's a good week for the small picture. While Scorsese's "The Departed" is garnering critical acclaim as the best reviewed wide release of the year, it's in sparse... More...
October 05, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Departed" Is Best Reviewed Wide Release of 2006
This week at the movies, we've got cops and robbers in Boston ("The Departed," starring Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matt Damon), chainsaw massacres in Texas... More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 67% 67% | Public Enemies |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 95% 95% | The Cove |
| 85% 85% | World's Greatest Dad |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.





