Monday, November 14, 2011

1638 - AutoErotic

Saw this randomly on netflix and thought I'd give it a shot.  It wasn't until a few minutes in that one of the director's names started to nag at me, then I realized that Joe Swanberg also directed Nights and Weekends which is another indie comedy that I found on netflix.  I can't imagine these films are costing (or making) all that much, but good on Swanberg for pumping them out.  His imdb page shows that he's made roughly ten films in the last two years.  Just a ridiculous output, especially considering that his films are pretty darn entertaining.  I don't think they'd appeal to all, but they definitely speak to an audience.  I'd love to chat with the guy about his process and just how he gets it all done.  Very fascinated by this guy.
So this film is more like a series of vignettes that tells four stories all based around the sex lives of four couples.  A man whose penis is too small, a girl who is turned on by everything, a pregnant woman who has lost the ability to orgasm, and a man whose now-engaged ex wants him to delete the porn videos they made together.  The first of the stories is the most over-the-top and the rest have a far more grip on reality.  Regardless of how you feel about the film itself you have to give kudos to the cast for just being absolutely fearless when it comes to the material.  Good on them.
In terms of pure cinema it's by no means a dynamic film.  To say that it's poorly shot would be missing the point, perhaps, but I think that the visuals in this film are probably the least of the filmmakers concern.  They serve their purpose.
I quite enjoyed this and I'm pretty sure that I'd give anything Swanberg made at least a chance based on the two films of his that I've seen.  Looking forward to checking out the rest of his work as it becomes available (I can only assume) on netflix.

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