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Shortbus was a MAGNIFICENT movie. I went with a group of friends to see this movie that I knew nothing about. Within the first few minutes, you see three different scenes with people having three types of sex. So you may think, wow, is this a porn? Ok, so I see everything on all these people, EVERYTHING. But it wasn't. There are roughly three stories that take place. Story 1 is an asian sex-therapist woman who is in a wonderful marriage with a great man but she has never had an orgasm. You see them try to work together along with other friends/people to help her with this challenge. Story 2 is a gay couple who are in love with each other yet one of them is holding a secret. (you will find out the secret within the movie) So they bring in a third person to "enhance" their relationship. Story 3 is about a girl who is into S&M but only gets off when she is role-playing but doesn't really know who she is.

I do not want to share too much into each story because I do not want to ruin the movie. But I will say that the sex scenes are there as a way to help tell the story and explain the struggles of each of these groups of people.

The title Shortbus is kind of like the small bus that the challenge kids would take for school...back then. Shortbus is a place where people can go to explore their sexuality or resolve their sexual challenges.

Overall this movie has some funny scenes, sad scenes, intense scenes, and scenes that make you think. I would recommend it to the majority of my friends. The friends I would not recommend it to are the ones that are pretty closed minded, even though they are the ones that probably should see this. Enjoy the movie!!!

Saw this at the theatre. Graphic sex from the opening shot becomes routine as the variety increases. It's very funny but this humour masks a deeper layer of exploring one's sexuality as a personal journey. Unfortunately, it played in only one theatre in a metro area of 4 million thus denying many people the chance for a good titillating cinematic romp coupled with relevant insights portrayed with humanity. Much of the film was "scripted" by the cast as it evolved so it's wonderfully fresh and natural.

"Shortbus" deals with many of the same issues as "Hedwig" and the "Angry Inch," but in a new and equally groundbreaking way. Yes, there is hardcore sex, and honestly, there should have been even more, it is used as another layer of paint on one of the most poignant canvases I have seen in years. This film is part of a new breed of cinema that dares to force actors to cross over the line from acting in a film and portraying a fictional character to actually being a subject in a documentary: the once strict line that distinguishes where a character begins and an actor ends has become totally blurred and is no longer recognizable for the actors or rather beautiful and real human beings who appear on screen in this film.

As much as this film is about its characters and their lives, it is about the state of underground or lack of underground art and culture in New York City, particularly the lower east side art scene - a nostalgic yearning for a time and an age of culture and community that is sadly gone in present day Manhattan. Theoretically, "Shortbus" forces us to question the nature of the spectator in a movie theater, watching a TV screen or computer monitor, or looking through the viewfinder of a camera. It is rare for any film these days to ask and provoke the kind of emotional responses and questions about the nature of spectatorship, voyeurism, censorship, viewership, and pornography while at the same time pushing the boundaries of cinema, redefining cinematic, and fusing multiple aesthetic systems that "Shortbus" does in under two hours. The actors were earnest in their efforts (and brave to perform the sex scenes), although no Oscar-winning performances I'd say. I did find Paul Dawson to be quite effective in his ability to convey emotion, esp. in the scene where he's looking out the window at PJ DeBoy. Despite not speaking or moving, we can feel his emotion.

A note about the ending without ruining anything: many people that will balk at it for not being realistic or digging deep enough or as deep as the rest of the film may be missing part of the point. The whimsical CGI animation used throughout the film should immediately tip you off to the fact that there is a magical fantasy element present in the storyline that is represented by "Shortbus" itself. This when combined with the nostalgic seedy underground art scene depicted in the film causes one to realize that the ending and resolution of each character's issues is in fact a just a continuation of that nostalgic fantasy for the bygone lower Manhattan cabaret scene, and thus adds another bitter sweet layer to the film. We can already guess the brutal reality of what will happen to each set of characters and their relationships in the film, but that doesn't mean it is what has to happen on screen. What happens inside "Shortbus" is a hopeful and optimistic fantasy set in a burlesque and erotic theatre of the absurd, what happens outside is our hardboiled reality.

If you cannot find yourself somewhere in this film, somewhere in the mythical "Shortbus," you might not actually exist.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Moving & resonating
Yup, at first it can be odd to see sex treated in such an open manner but it is such a beatiful movie & so well done that you honestly don't notice the nudity or sex. Read more

Published on July 23 2009 by Andrew J. Dillon

5.0 out of 5 stars If you can handle its graphic nature this is a must have!
I've only seen it once (in theatres) and it's one of the best films I've seen in a long time. Shortbus was full of laughs and yet had some really stunning moments. Read more

Published on Feb 26 2007 by Trixi

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