Double entendre!

The 2008 flick Shortbus by ThinkFilms and director John Cameron Mitchell is a deconstruction and total reversal of the American storyboard/storytelling experience.  Mitchell began casting for this film then built his and tailored his script around the chemistry of his actors. Through the hard work and hashing out of the original screenplay during workshops they altered the destination, and Mitchell was able to leave us at place no one anticipated getting off at.

Many obstacles were laid out before the final shooting of Shortbus and the eventual relises at Sundance in 2006. Including the loss of two financial backers and two main actors pulling out. Sook-Yin Lee (who plays Sophia) is a prominent air anchor in Canada and due to the racy nature of the film, had her job threatened if she continued working on the project. She did, the community came to her defense and film proceeded.

We begin entering the lives of our paramour’s midst the throws of passion and hatred, in New York.  Here is where we first experience Rob (Raphael Barker) and Sophia (Lee), our married couple; The Jamie’s (Paul Dawson and PJ DeBoy) our homosexual couple ; Severin (Lindsay Beamish) our dominatrix and Caleb ( Peter Stickler ) the cognitive narrator/ stalker for all intensive purposes.  Each of these people needs something. They are equally unfulfilled in some disproportionate way, balancing together on the Shortbus itself. As is the case often in life what one person lacks, another had fine attributes in the way of. Sophia has never had an orgasm. Rob can’t get off since he can’t give her one. He put it best when he said, in theoretical discussion about his wife’s client (located the deleted scenes)”A man knows when his lover doesn’t cum!” he knows…

Some of our character’s may view their deficiency’s as purely psychological, however as we get to know then better we get to see the total person perspective and the fact that it is a physical uncertainty that belongs to them as well. The Jamie’s consult a couple’s counselor (with a focus on sex therapy) when the idea opening up the relationship occurs. This is where they meet Sophia. All of our characters come to a head while arriving at underground salon “for the gifted and challenged” as told by the Maitre d' and proprietor Justin Bond (who plays himself). Some of the scenes in the underground are not unlike that of the reel-to-reel footage of Ken Kesey’s journey and is indeed a Magical Trip of its own. This is also where we meet members of the house band, including Bitch, whose been known to wonder in to Al’s bar once or twice.  

Defy the logic of your sex laws. Take this movie in without considering it as such or comparing it to that of the pornography industry.  The mechanics of having real sex on camera has a lot of work involved, including HIV and STD testing for all of the actors/ ‘sextras’ ( don’t worry if you don’t know what that is, by the time you board the Shortbus you will) and locating a condom that doesn’t look like they are wearing one. Do yourself a favor and watch the deleted scenes, they are not only hilarious but include scratched subplot.

Shortbus has an abundance of sexual content in it (including a ten minute opening) so my advice is to watch this alone or with someone you love..physically.



Director John Cameron Mitchell, amongst the world he created.