Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)

A sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writer:

Steven Soderbergh

Stars:

James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 15 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
James Spader	...	Graham
Andie MacDowell	...	Ann
Peter Gallagher	...	John
Laura San Giacomo	...	Cynthia
Ron Vawter	...	Therapist
Steven Brill	...	Barfly
Alexandra Root	...	Girl on Tape
Earl T. Taylor	...	Landlord
David Foil	...	John's Colleague

Storyline

Ann is married to John, who is having an affair with her sister Cynthia. Ann's a quiet type and unwilling to let herself go. When John's old friend, Graham, shows up, all their lives change. Graham likes to videotape interviews with women.

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Plot Keywords:

sex | husband wife relationship | therapist | sister sister relationship | sexuality | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sex, Lies...

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$24,741,700

Company Credits

Production Co:

Outlaw Productions (I), Virgin

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Duchovny and David Hyde Pierce both auditioned for the parts of Graham and John.

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Goofs

When Anne comes to Graham's apartment to make the tape, she rests on the side of a doorway with her hand in her back pocket. In the next shot, her hand is in her front pocket.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ann: Garbage. All I've been thinking about all week is garbage. I mean, I just can't stop thinking about it.

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Crazy Credits

This film is dedicated to Ann Dollard 1956-1988

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Connections

Referenced in Fantasmes! Sexe, fiction et tentations (2013)

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Soundtracks

Garbage
Written by Mark A. Mangini
Performed by Mark A. Mangini

User Reviews

Calling All Proclivities

A classic case of where the mechanics of marriage become the insidious culprit to sexual indiscretion...John Millaney is the overly mortgaged white collar malcontent who is callous with his regard toward marital fidelity...He has an affair with his wife's sister, Cynthia Bishop, she is a morally bankrupt loner who resents her sister's relatively structured existence...Gram Dalton is the voyeuristic creep who preys on the dissatisfaction of married women with the seven year itch syndrome, and other disgruntled and socially misplaced women as well!! He perceives vulnerability in women to be sexually stimulating!! His ultimate undoing is his creative resolution to boredom, and this basically backfires in an absolutely horrendous way!!! Ann Millaney (John's wife) is torn between a perfect marriage and an emotional millennium.. She is convinced that not only does doing things her way work, IT MUST!!. It is not necessary to have all the missing pieces to the puzzle in her marriage because she realizes the ramifications of such a heinous plight!! What presses everyone's buttons? Is it kink, is it bi, or bi for the night, is it emotional nurturing?...James Spader's character (Gram Dalton) has a life that is based on comparative stability, everybody (mostly women) can expose their lewd nuances while he keeps his a secret, once someone has tampered with his quirkiness which is close to the vest, he has no ability to cope, thus, he exaggerates his mistakes!!!All of the characters in this film are hit with the grim reality that not accepting responsibility accomplishes nothing....They all engage in a form of permanent self destruction!! Being flippant about immorality has a definite rude awakening!! What seems complicated is really very simple, and the depraved intrigue of perversion merely brings out all of their most dreaded skeletons in the closet!!!! Seldom in a film is there such a precise poignancy about things that bother people that really should not bother them at all...This is what gets them into so much trouble!! Steven Soderbergh's production efforts in this film were merely a harbinger of things to come, as he has gone on to produce and direct fabulous movies ("Good Night and Good Luck", "Syrianna", and "Traffic", to name but a few!!) This film effectuates a noteworthy devotion to an unintentional and sordid sexual authenticity!! Sundance is a network for the non-conventional.."Sex Lies and Videotape" is testament to the fact that what appears gray flannel is not always the panacea people would like to believe it to be!! Marital upheaval is all about emotional affliction in this movie. Latent reactions are a manifestation of psychological insecurity. You are never going to get what you want out of a relationship because you don't know what that is!! This was the summon substance of what the film "Sex Lies and Videotape" was all about!! This film had a personal dedication to it as well!!

A very well made film, I give it 5 stars!!!