Sex Monster

If Binder sold HBO on his pathetic "Mind of the Married Man" series based on having written and directed and starred in this film, it wouldn't surprise me, as both had a lot of the same elements and ideas, and both were equally lame.

Binder is no Woody Allen. For that matter, he's no Albert Brooks either. He's not even a Gene Wilder, about the most unlikely actor for a sex farce I can imagine, but then maybe women see some kind of appeal to that sad puppy personna..

But someone must think Binder is funny, else they wouldn't be throwing money at him as HBO did..

Sex Monster (don't let the title deceive you.. this isn't a movie about Godzilla humping Tokyo).. can be taken as a prequel to Mind of the Married Man with one exception.. instead of fantasizing and visualizing in his mind, other women in bed with his wife, this film explores the possibilities in a very tame way. If you're looking for Mariel Hemingway nude, forget it. In fact for a sex romp, this film has alarmingly little nudity at all. Lots of tease shots, and women moaning and groaning behind a closed bedroom door, one almost topless shot in a swimming pool, that's about it.

Mariel Hemingway, still gorgeous after all these years, and quite a screen presence, plays Binder's straight and faithful wife to whom he pitches the idea of a second woman in bed with them.. most every guy's unfulfilled fantasy.. at first put off by the concept, she aims to please him, she warms to it, then dives face first, as it were, into it, to the point that he got what he wished for and now he wants to un-wish it..

The way this film was shot and edited reminds me of an even tamer version of the way "adult" hardcore videos are presented on tape, versus how they end up on channels like "Spice" where you see the tops of a lot of heads bobbing up and down..

I kept waiting and waiting for the big payoff.. but this is a sex film with no "money shot", both literally and figuratively.

It's a one line joke that somehow got stretched to an hour an a half, and it moves at such a glacial pace that I actually fell asleep the first time I tried to watch it.

Mariel Hemingway is still beautiful, still talented, and she deserves to be pitched much better scripts than this one, and someone needs to tell Binder that his fantasies are simply just not rip-roaringly hilarious..

This movie is moderately funny and humorous in spots.I would have liked to have "seen" a little more. It would have been nice to have seen Mariel Hemingway or Renee Humphrey or Missy Crider or any of the other actresses actually naked!!! I'm not talking about hard core or explicit scenes but just a little bit of what's supposedly going on on the bed between the women or even one of them walking around topless would have been okay. The sex wasn't there. The plot was however and the "monster" that was created by the husband's urgings became slightly funny. Not a great film but one that was amusing in some respects. Maybe worth watching keeping in mine that it's there for the implications and the laughs.

I've often heard it said that reality is never as good as fantasy. That's one of the lessons found in this movie. Marty (Mike Binder) is feeling a bit bored in his marriage to Laura (Mariel Hemingway.) To "spice" things up a bit, he suggests that they invite another woman into the relationship - although one suspects that Mike's real purpose is to fulfil his own fantasies rather than to spice up the marriage. After resisting, Laura agrees very reluctantly to invite one of her co-workers into their bed. Nervous at first (and there's even a certain sweetness to her nervousness about the first encounter) Laura turns into a lesbian sex monster - as the title implies - seducing every woman she can. Meanwhile, Marty feels increasingly jealous and left out. So, Marty's reality was less exciting than his fantasy, and he learned the importance of the old proverb "be careful what you wish for because you might get it." I liked - as I noted - the real sweetness of Laura's nervous first encounter, and there were some funny moments scattered throughout this - especially in the last few minutes, and Laura's encounter with Evie.

The problem with this, though, was the character of Marty. I didn't like him - not from the start. I didn't like him pushing his wife into something she didn't want, and then - having pushed her to go along - I didn't like him blaming her for all the consequences. Not liking Marty is a major problem in this movie, because the whole thing is shot basically from Marty's perspective. He's rarely off camera, and the character grates, which really makes it hard to enjoy this, even though it does have a few moments now and then that are worthy of a laugh.

For those wondering, this really isn't a movie for voyeurs. There's no explicit sex scenes; most of what happens "between the girls" is implied but not shown, and what is shown is mostly Marty's reaction to what he's seeing. It's certainly not a family movie by any means, but it isn't explicit. If you can get past the Marty thing (or, if you have a less negative reaction to him than I did) you might well find this enjoyable. Unfortunately, Marty really made this a mediocre viewing experience for me.

When you're not expecting much, it doesn't take a masterpiece to impress you. I watched The Sex Monster knowing that it had a bisexual-relevant theme, but uncertain of whether it would be a positive or negative portrayal of bisexuality and sexual experimentation in general. I was not disappointed.

Mike Binder somehow managed to take all of the tired stereotypes about gender and sexuality, weave them into exaggerated characters, put the characters in awkward situations, and make it all uproariously hilarious. Some viewers, no doubt, will interpret the caricatured portrayals as perpetuating outmoded stereotypes and perhaps even contributing to those stereotypes. But Binder's wit is both subtle and blatant: the dialogue makes use of every cliche imaginable, yet is still fresh and funny.

If you're cheek is prepared to accommodate your tongue, definitely see this movie (rent it! and then buy it to show all your friends). Be warned, though, that what you assume about people may be forever changed.

Concept: Husband wants wife to sleep with another woman (in a 3 way), but doesn't know what to do when she starts liking the idea. This movie has a strong 'be careful what you wish for' tone and moral. The husband is the main character, and the camera follows him everywhere. Even the sex scenes occur off screen; as the viewer is lead into the kitchen after the the all-important man.

Since this is a comedy, it can be forgiven for being completely out of touch with the feminine side. The film has every right to make fun of the male predicament. Maybe someone else wants to watch this, but I'd be immensely more interested in a story that had the same sort of wit, but showed how a female misunderstood the other sex, and had the camera following *her* around.