Last night I went to see a screening of Shortbus; John Cameron Mitchell's follow-up to Hedwig and the Angry Inch and it was the most joyful movie experience I've had in ages. There is something audacious and exciting going on here... something that maybe hasn't been seen in American film since the 60's. Shortbus is laugh-out-loud funny and sink-in-your-seat to hide your tears sad. There's a message of 'acceptance' and 'we're all in this together' to be received... you just have to want to hear it (and that, in itself, will present a problem to a fair number of moviegoers who are just unable to let it in.) The explicit sex isn't just a gimmick... it really feels like it comes from an honest place with these characters. It's playful when it needs to be, angry at other times, sometimes it's tentative and unsure. Just like how it is in real life (as opposed to porn) which is why it works so well.
