Sex and Violence

Sex and Violence (1997)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Hilarious short running eight-minutes that shows us twenty-four vignettes, all dealing with sex and violence. The sex aspect includes scenes of the first phone sex, a man who flosses during sex and other outrageous items that I can't mention here. The violence deals with a man who forgets his key so he hangs himself so that his life will flash before his eyes, another gag of a sky-diver tying his shoe instead of opening his parachute and a roller blader who gets too much blade. If you're familiar with the work of Plympton then you know to expect violence and that's what you get plenty of here. Most of the death scenes are extremely over the top but they're incredibly funny as well. The sex and nudity is very high here as well, so it goes without saying that these shorts aren't meant for kids. The adult humor is never vulgar but instead it's just very funny stuff meant for adults. Well worth seeing (as are many of the director's other shorts).

This unique collection of animated skits will have mostly everyone in stitches well before the film's eight minutes are up . This is one of Plympton's most famous short films, and in it we witness everything from "the world's first phone sex" to "the new extreme sport: lunar bungee jumping" in grim, colorful detail. The "Lost Key" and "People With Confused Priorities" sketches were what really got me to worship this man's wonderfully twisted sense of humor. Long live Bill Plympton!

"Sex and Violence" is one of Bill Plympton's earlier film shorts. Because of this, it's not surprising that the artwork is a bit rougher than his later work. Still, the film is quite funny. However, despite the title, this film is not necessarily about sex and/or violence. Instead, it consists of LOTS of different very short films all strung together. Some ARE pretty dirty and feature naked folks and sex acts--so it's NOT a film you show your mother or your children or Father McGinley. And, likewise, some of the shorts are very bloody and nasty--so, again, don't show this to anyone whose opinion you value. BUT, on the other hand, it IS a very funny film. Plus, even when some of the shorts fall flat, they come so quickly that another one is bound to make you laugh only seconds later. Very funny and, not surprisingly, rather offensive.

I should note that a few years ago, I met Bill Plympton and bought some DVDs from him at a convention. When I asked about buying "Bill's Dirty Shorts" (of which "Sex and Violence" is a part of) he STRONGLY recommended I not because I told him my 16 year-old loved his work. So, instead I got a few other DVDs and, inexplicably, he seemed so normal and nice--not the sort to make a raunchy (but hilarious) film collection like this one!

It's a series of very short comic gags, almost all of which are about sex or violence. Some are about sex and violence, and one or two are about neither, but that's ok. They are all beautifully composed jokes in a blackout sequence, and although one didn't make me laugh, all of the others did. That makes it a 95% or so rate, which is pretty good.

Plympton had a very black sense of humor in his cartoons, and although there isn't much overt sexuality -- although there are stirrings of romance, of course -- this makes it clear that he takes a rather dark view of the two-backed beast.