Sex Is Comedy (2002)

A director struggles to film a difficult, intimate sex scene between two actors who happen to hate each other.

Director:

Catherine Breillat

Writer:

Catherine Breillat

Stars:

Anne Parillaud, Grégoire Colin, Roxane Mesquida

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anne Parillaud	...	Jeanne
Grégoire Colin	...	The Actor
Roxane Mesquida	...	The Actress
Ashley Wanninger	...	Leo, the first assistant
Dominique Colladant	...	Willy
Bart Binnema	...	Director of Photography
Yves Osmu	...	The sound engineer
Elisabete Piecho	...	Continuity Girl
Francis Selleck	...	Production Manager (as Francis Seleck)
Diane Scapa	...	The production designer
Ana Lorena	...	The make-up artist
Claire Monatte	...	The other make-up artist (as Claire Monnatte)
Arnaldo Junior	...	The chief electrician
Elisabete Silva	...	The boom operator
Júlia Fragata	...	The set dresser

Storyline

Jeanne is a director struggling with a difficult sex scene between two actors who can't stand each other. Aided by her loyal assistant Leo, Jeanne is hell-bent on getting the scene right without compromise. Inspired by Breillat's own experiences (particularly those in "Fat Girl"), "Sex is Comedy" explores the comedy of social manipulations, sex and power that takes place within the confines of a film set.

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Plot Keywords:

sex | actor | director | film set | male frontal nudity | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content including graphic nudity and dialogue

Details

Official Sites:

IFC Official Site [France]

Country:

France Portugal

Language:

French Portuguese

Release Date:

5 June 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

A szex komédia

Filming Locations:

Portugal

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$3,370 (USA) (22 October 2004)

Gross:

$40,274 (USA) (14 January 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

CB Films, Canal+, Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Jeanne: Words are lies, bodies are truth - I have to show the truth.

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Connections

Referenced in Brows Held High: The Anatomy of Hell (2012)

User Reviews

Don't think that you know what kind of movie this is, just by reading the title.

I had certain expectations when reading the title of this movie. No, I didn't think it would be a porn movie, but I hoped it would be a light-footed comedy about relations and sex. But big was my surprise when I actually saw it. It hasn't much to do with comedy or relationships. It's about Jeanne, a female film director who has a lot of troubles with her two main actors. They both hate each other, but are asked to play a difficult sex scene together. She has written and created the scene and knows exactly what she wants but she isn't able to make them do it right...

If you ask yourself why this movie has such a confusing title then, I'll explain to you what might have happened. Even though this is a French movie with French dialogs, the title is in English. However, I guess they have translated the title too literally. In French it would be something like: "Sex, c'est jouer la comédie", which could be translated as "Sex is faking it". That would make a lot more sense, because the actors have to pretend they like each other and that they like to have sex together while in reality they can't stand each other and don't want to do it.

The main problem that I had with this movie was that much didn't happen. It was all talking, talking and even more talking. I'm not saying that I wanted a big sex scene or a huge car chase, but this movie just seemed to drag on eternally, without offering something special. Normally I like European movies, but this one really didn't do it for me. Somehow I couldn't really care for the different characters, even though they didn't do a bad job. I give this movie a 6/10.