Sex and Breakfast is not an especially easy movie to like since the characters that inhabit it are not particularly likable. They’re alternatively egomaniacal, clueless, deceptive or just kind of pathetic.
The movie tells the story of two dating couples who at the outset are complete strangers. Both couples, though, end up at the same seminar by a woman who offers advice for finding a more satisfying sex life through, for lack of a better word, swinging. The therapist believes that by sleeping with more people a person can become more free to ask the partner they’re actually with to give them what that want in bed.
One couple is coming to seek her help because the woman in the relationship feels their sex life has become boring. One couple is coming because she’s not having orgasms any longer despite the fact that she loves her boyfriend.
The movie follows these people as they face down the decision they’ve made to seek this sort of help but also then the after-effects of having sex with someone else and watching their partner have sex with someone else. There’s also emotional fallout from some people who veer into offering too much honesty regarding sexual fantasies and related issues.
The movie is a tight 80-some minutes, meaning there’s no annoying sub-plot tacked on to pad it out. If you’re alright with some frank discussions of sex and sexuality and don’t mind an occasionally bit of nudity (not much) Then you’ll probably enjoy the movie. It’s well acted by all four of the leads, a list that includes Macaulay Culkin and Eliza Dushku. Everyone gives a loose, natural performance that allows the story to come to the forefront.
It’s recommended, especially if you’re looking for what might be considered a more polished version of the “mumblecore” films that are gaining in popularity. It explores some of the same issues those films do but it’s much less amateur looking. That’s not a knock against the films in the “mumblecore” genre – in fact it’s one of the things I like about them – but I’m just using that as a point of differentiation.
(spout x-post)
