Body Shots

Four single horny twenty-something guys prepare to go out to a nightclub in order to hook up with four twenty-something single young horny females. They drink, they meet, they dance and they f*ck. Some of the drinking, partying and sex is cool and fun, and some of the drinking, partying and sex is not cool and not fun. An accusation of date-rape is the center of the film’s second half.

This film seemed to have two levels of entertainment. One part of the film was about a bunch of guys and girls talking about sex like it was bubble gum, while the second part of the film essentially turned into an ugly date-rape situation, in which everyone is asked to figure out which half of the “he said/she said” scenario they are more comfortable believing. Or then again, as Roger Ebert mentioned in his review, this film is probably less about date-rape than it is about alcoholism. I tend to agree. Everyone in this film drinks…and I mean drinks! It’s obvious by the end of this film that alcohol played a large part in the night of every one of these “kids”, and that sex and alcohol could provide for a lethal combination. But does all this make for an interesting movie? Not really. I thought the actors were all okay, although not a one stood out of the pack. Actually, I take that back.

Mr. Ron Livingston was the highlight of this film with his hip doofus character sprinkling the movie with much needed humor from time to time. The screenplay did also provide for some interesting insight into the different perspectives on sex from both sides of the fence, with at least one engaging, yet overlong, deliberation about blowjobs sure to keep most guys interested for at least that little while. Other than that, most of the characters were kinda boring, each with their particular “way of thinking”, and the direction of the film was needlessly over-stylized with several slo-motion shots and views of the city feeling out of place in a character-based story. The film also offered direct interaction with many of the characters, as each one spoke to the camera every now and again. This seemed like a good idea, but once again, the lack of charm or spark from most of the actors, and the director’s camera trickery, just seemed to take away from anything which may have come from this addition. All in all, an over-stylized TV Movie of the Week for those folks who actually don’t enjoy watching the classics like GO and SWINGERS over and over again. Luckily for me…I am not one of those people. And if you’re really in the mood for a picture of rich, snooty kids who like to take drugs and f*ck the world, check out LESS THAN ZERO…now there’s a good movie!

PS: Note to studio. If you want to label a film as one that will “define a decade”, how about you make sure that all of the twenty-something characters to which we’re all supposed to be able to relate, don’t drive Mercedes Benz’s, live in beach houses and have just signed $5Million contracts to play for the Oakland Raiders. I’m sitting in the theatre in a Tee and Bermudas with nachos running down my face, and somehow, I don’t see myself in the same boat as these rich brats. But I digress. Burp!

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian