Relax...It s Just Sex (1999)

Unexpected Comedy and Drama With The Right Blend O

By Collectonian  Jan 6, 2006

Pros: Great acting, thought provoking issues presented, does a great job in dealing with "sensitive" scenes and having an erotic undertone

Cons: The "sensitive" people and those ignorants among us might have problems with the same-sex intercourse scenes or with the gay bashing/rape incident

I was channel surfing one night when I saw the title of this movie on the HBO listings. Read the description and since there was nothing else on, I turned to it, though it was half over. I was glued for the rest of the movie. I watched it when it cam...e on again (though again I didn't realize it until it was half way over). I finally was able to get set up to record it, and I'm glad I was finally able to see it from the beginning. The basic idea of Relax...Its Just Sex is to follow a group of friends as they deal with some serious problems, while maintaining contentment and happiness in their own lives. During the first 30 minutes or so, we get to meet this well rounded group of friends, which are composed of two gay male couples, a lesbian couple, a straight couple, a single (involuntarily) gay male and a female who jumps from a 9 year lesbian relationship to a heterosexual one. Tara, well played by Jennifer Tilly, is a slightly hyper, but adorable to watch woman trying to have a baby and deal with her boyfriend Gus who is constantly claiming he is leaving any minute to explore the world. She is the main central friend who seems to have connected most of the others to each other. Her beau's gay brother Javi (beautifully done by Eddie Garcia) has recently been diagnosed with HIV. Mitchell Anderson's Vincey, one of Tara's best friends, is dealing with the joys of being single. It doesn't help when a guy he meets and brings to dinner, Buzz, falls for Javi instead. Diego and Dwight are fun to watch as a Christian gay couple. Serena Scott Thomas plays Megan, who dumps her lesbian lover, Sarina, for said lover's male cousin. Sarina, done by Cynda Williams, turns to the very butch lesbian Robin, who is played perfectly by Lori Petty. Paul Winfield makes a cameo or two as an outrageous friend of Vincey's who is gay and effeminate. Now, I think the acting in this film was great. TC Carson shows his true acting abilities bringing Buzz to life in this film, and Lori Petty was the perfect choice for the role of Robin. Lori does a great job in subtly showing Robin's joy at having her own secret dream come true (getting Sarina) while also having the frustration at Sarina's desire to go slow apparent. I'm not a person who watches a film just because its this or that, so I haven't seen that many "gay" films. I don't really consider this one to be, but thats because I don't really think along those lines. To me, this movie did a wonderful job of presenting relationships, gay, lesbian, and heterosexual, in a normal light. The sex scenes were tasteful and erotic, but they also didn't shy away from them. One of the things I liked best about this movie was its subtlety. On the surface, its basically a movie about normal people with some tragic and major events occurring. But it also has several interesting views and ideas introduced that, unfortunately, do get lost in the film's "normality" during that first viewing. Buzz's controversial statements on AIDS and HIV, for example, are not that far fetched and could provide for interesting debates among friends. The gay-bashing incident will probably have viewers discussing the lines of right and wrong, whats going to far when punishing someone, etc. The film quality might appear to be poor, but in fact its shot in a style similar to the hit TV show Homicide: Life on the Street, to underscore that "normalcy" feel to things. Obviously this movie isn't for anyone who is ignorant when it comes to homosexuality. I think this film would make a good film for a group of friends or a couple, for its thought provoking qualities. Read more Less