Let's Get it On
Young People Fucking Directed by Martin Gero
Sex, Lord Chesterfield once wrote, the expense is damnable, the position is ridiculous, and the pleasure fleeting. But sex, despite its potential drawbacks, is also a fantastic litmus test for what kind of person you are. And despite its smugly vulgar title, Young People Fucking is a smart and funny look at how people react under extreme sexual pressure.
Similar to John Cameron Mitchells Shortbus in its effort to plumb the depths of sexuality in search of humanity (but without Shortbus absurdity and pretentiousness), Young People Fucking is neatly divided into five sections (The Exes, The Friends, The First Date, The Threesome and The Couple), which are then subdivided into six chapters: prelude, foreplay, sex, interlude, orgasm and afterglow. Needless to say, few of the fornicators afterglows are particularly glowing.
Screenwriters Martin Gero and Aaron Abrams have carefully crafted six very different encounters, ranging from a first date to two friends looking for a way to recover from their disastrous relationships. Though the revelations and admissions are derivative of dozens of different romantic comedies, the details that Gero and Abrams invest their film with are what separate Young People Fucking from the rest of the pack.
Take the movies weakest plot, an awkward threesome between roommates Dave (Peter Oldring) and Gord (Ennis Esmer) and Gords girlfriend Inez (Natalie Lisinka). Obvious in almost every way, all of the characters still manage to come across as real people thanks to specific writing and skilled playing. Few other films would include the roly-poly Gord watching his roommate screwing his girlfriend while eating a roll of cookie dough, or Daves strange, throwaway shoe fetish.
Likewise, the wittily specific dialogue (particularly about the meaning of cleavage-baring dresses on dates) between exes Eric (Josh Cooke) and Mia (Sonja Bennett) largely salvages a stale tale about two people still not entirely over one another. Both Cooke and Bennett exude a believable chemistry, sharing minor jokes and guardedly exploring each others new lives without one another while lying tangled in Mias sheets.
But when the actors and the writing are both working in high gear, the results are hilarious and touching. The Friends, about Matt (screenwriter Aaron Abrams) and his longtime best friend Kris (Carly Pope), includes what is possibly one of the greatest sex sequences ever captured on film, featuring all of the hallmarks of ones first time having sex. Alternately sexy and awkward, Kris and Matt stumble their way through a night of hot, supposedly meaningless sex, frequently stopping completely to laugh or trade jokes. Their Interlude chapter is the funniest of the five, involving Matt trying to satisfy Kris need for dirty talk by talking about fucking her so deep that her breath will smell like his dickand promptly horrifying Kris. Both Abrams and Pope (whose low-profile career remains a mystery) play the sequence for all its worth. Similarly, The First Date story includes some wickedly funny moments and great acting from the gorgeous Callum Blue as a player and Diora Baird as the female co-worker who also has a few shockingly selfish and funny dating tricks up her sleeve.
The only time Young People Fucking turns disappointing is in the married-couple sequences. Both Kristin Booth and Josh Dean, as Abby and Andrew, seem far too young to play the tired scenes about a bored young couple grappling with their diminished sex life. Even when their plot gets a sudden jolt thanks to a surprise sex toy, neither Abby nor Andrew ever become real people. Instead, they are their creators puppets, tugged and pulled about on a set by strings. But, much like real sex, the boring bits are soon dispensed with and the exhilaration returns.