Body Shots (1999)

A tale of the mysterious, but necessary, mating ritual between men and women of today and everything they think about sex but are afraid to say.

Director:

Michael Cristofer

Writer:

David McKenna

Stars:

Joe Basile, Scott Burkholder, Liz Coke

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joe Basile	...	Bartender
Scott Burkholder	...	Man in Bar
Liz Coke	...	Girl #2
Allison Dunbar	...	Girl #3
Sean Patrick Flanery	...	Rick Hamilton
Edmund Genest	...	Sara's Dad (as Edmond Genest)
Adam Lieberman	...	Burger Joint Cop (as Adam Gordon)
Mark Hicks	...	Bodyguard
Larry Joshua	...	Detective Richards
Elizabeth Liebel	...	Mrs. Drofsky
Ron Livingston	...	Trent
Marc Lynn	...	Disco Bartender
Jerry O'Connell	...	Michael Penorisi
Lou Paget	...	Oral Sex Instructor
Amanda Peet	...	Jane Bannister

Storyline

Four hip women get ready for Friday night in LA: they dress, talk about sex, and hit a bar before meeting four men at a rave. The men prepare by talking about sex and drinking. Rick and Jean, two attorneys, have set up the evening, connect at the club, and have a good time. The pairings of Shawn, Trent, Whitney and Emma are more serendipitous. But it's Mike and Sara's night that has serious repercussions: he's an NFL player, loud, swaggering; she's a party animal who drinks a lot early that evening. At 4 AM, she appears at Jean's, disheveled and bruised, saying Mike raped her. Arrested, he says he's innocent, and in flashbacks we see both sides of the story.

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Plot Keywords:

sex | bar | flashback | attorney | drinking | 

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Taglines:

Tonight it's for sex. Tomorrow it's for real. (Unrated VHS Version)

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content including graphic sex-related dialogue, language, violence and scenes of alcohol abuse

Details

Official Sites:

New Line

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 January 2000 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Jello Shots

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$488,342 (USA) (22 October 1999)

Gross:

$239,894 (USA) (7 January 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Colomby/Keaton Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 103 min (R-rated) 106 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's title was changed from "Jello Shots" to "Body Shots" because of threatened litigation on the part of Kraft Foods (owner of the "Jell-O" trademark).

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Quotes

Michael Penorisi: Things are going to get U-G-L-Y.

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Crazy Credits

Opening quote: "I'll go for a ride on your jelly roll. But I won't give you nothin' from my soul." --Anonymous

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Connections

References Cleopatra Jones (1973)

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Soundtracks

"Modern Day Jazz"
Written by Courtney Pine
Performed by Courtney Pine
Courtesy of The Verve Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Special Markets

User Reviews

For the love of god, do not see this film!

I rented this movie out of curiosity. As a twentysomething, I was hoping it might have something new to say about dating and my generation. Let's just say, I want the two hours of my life back!

This film is supposed to be a social commentary on the ups and downs of sex and dating life. However, the writers have created a soapy drama that focuses on a group of people I have nothing in common with. Their jobs are unrealistic, as are their dwellings (how can a struggling actress live on the beach?)

The acting, on the whole is terrible. The ONLY saving grace is Ron Livingston, who plays the eccentric Trent. Amanda Peet is better in indie fare (see Southie). Sean Flannery seems to disturb me in every movie he is in (is he a dead-ringer for David Cassidy or what?) The directing is at times fast-paced, and then slow mo (Amanda Peet on the dance floor was an unintentional laugh). Where is the director going?

This should have been a direct-to-video film. If this exemplifies twentysomething culture, consider me insulted.