Young People Fucking

Excellent movie in my opinion. It manages to do a real cross-section of these days' sex-life (because, keep in mind, this is the sex-life of today that we are talking about), being at the same time funny, warm an exciting. The writers and director obviously got to some point the idea that this is going to work only if, as Shakespeare said, to their own selves they would be true. Hence the result. Hell, it's a masterpiece itself the fact that they make a movie that contains in the title, about and featuring f@#king and still the end result is not a porno, but something so deeply human and true as this movie. Being in some of these situations myself at one point or another in life, I can guarantee for the accuracy of the situations depicted :) 9/10

You certainly don't know what to expect with a title like YPF. Maybe some soft-core action? What you get from this movie is so much more than what you thought.

It is five separate stories: two exes getting together, a first date, a married couple who have lost the spark, BFFs, and two roommates with a girl. Five separate stories that come together in a way you would not expect.

Yes, it's about sex, and it's about twenty-somethings, but it is also much much deeper. It is about expectations and relationships and being open to new experience. Sometimes things don't work out, and sometimes they work out in ways that blow your mind.

It is seriously funny.

Director Martin Guero knows that the title of his first film, YOUNG PEOPLE F#@KING, is brash enough to grab anyone's attention. It could be misconstrued as a title meant to entice lonely, older men to weekend matinees but in an effort to dissuade these "gentlemen", I will tell you the people in question here aren't that young. These particular people are all in their mid to late 20's, all relatively white and all essentially straight. This does not bode well for this self-professed modern exploration of what it means to be a player in their prime in today's supposedly kinky sexual playing field. Still, you can feel Guero smiling from behind the camera, content with himself for telling it like it is. Only Guero's idea of today's sexual experience is so steeped in convention that it is anything but provocative.

To make his film even less reverent, Guero divides his young people into perfectly constructed boxes. These particular groupings are so well established in the public's vernacular that Guero doesn't need to spend any time establishing any actual history in his characters. Who has time for the human touch though when you're talking about humans touching? A couple, two friends, two exes, two people on their first date and two roommates all find themselves in the throws of passion, or at least the throws of pastime, on one very busy night in one undisclosed city. Now, I'm warning you. The following may be too shocking to handle. The couple, well they have gotten bored with their sex life and now barely have any sex at all. The people on their first date are saying a bunch of things just to get into each other's pants. Even the friends are hesitant that if they were to have sex, it might somehow change the friendship they have relied on platonically for years. By reducing his characters to such tired clichés, Guero has crafted a hollow exploration of caricature rather than an actual character study.

Who knew that sex could have such a giant impact on people and relationships? Oh, right, everyone knew that already. Sex is the ultimate complicating factor and the definitive line that only occasionally warrants crossing. Should friends cross it? Should exes? How about strangers? No matter who you are, both alone and together, before you cross it, you will be changed once you do, no matter how many lies you tell yourself to con your mind into making a supposedly sound decision. You take that step, leave the planet for a while if you're lucky and land on your feet if you're even luckier still, a changed person for having taken the risk. Simply put, sex is big. YOUNG PEOPLE F@#KING however, is nowhere near as monumental as that and you'll forget it by the time the condom is off.

With its provocative title and the general controversy surrounding it thanks to Bill C-10, director Martin Gero's debut film "Young People F-cking" has gotten a far wider release in Canada than most films of this sort do, getting the chance to compete with the likes of "The Incredible Hulk" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" in 2008's summer season. I can't think of a film more deserving.

"Young People F-cking" is honest, real, unpretentious, sad, and funny all at the same time. Its script is one of the best I've come across in quite a while, using a unique narrative which takes the 'six phases of sex': prelude, foreplay, sex, interlude, orgasm, and afterglow- in that order, and applies them to five different couples (well... four couples and a threesome). The film progresses through the six phases in order, cutting back and forth between the five couples, 'Friends', 'Couple', 'Exes', 'Roommates', and 'First Date', and observing their interaction with each other.

These stories vary in quality but even the weakest; the Roommates story, is involving and fun as long as you remember that while Gord is exaggerated, there ARE many guys like him around. Martin Gero and Aaron Abrams are smart enough not to play all of the stories for laughs, with the 'Exes' story maintaining a wistful, slightly sad tone albeit one punctuated by humor. The 'Friends' portion of the script is also remarkably true-to-life and the only one other than the 'First Date' story that I could personally relate to. My favorite story within this film was the 'First Date' portion starring Callum Blue and Diora Baird; it's hilarious, insightful, and never boring in the slighest.

Providing superb drama, good comedy, and some of the best and most entertaining observations on sex outside a Woody Allen offering, "Young People F-cking" is THE movie about sex for anyone in their twenties or thirties right now. I can't promise that the film would maintain its best strengths for those who can't relate to the events on screen. I expect that people over forty or so will enjoy the film less than younger people because after all even the politics of sex change, just like everything else.

Fresh, unique, relevant, and beautifully photographed and directed, "Young People F-cking" is unquestionably going to end up as one of the best films of 2008. It is just phenomenal.

8.75/10

Five relationships are depicted as they try to have sex. Best Friends Matt and Kristen try to be friends with benefits. The Couple Andrew and Abby are trying get some excitement back into their sex life. The Exes Mia and Eric try an one night stand. The First Date has Jamie bringing his date ladies man Ken back to her apartment. The Roommates has Gord and Inez inviting his tired well-hung roommate Dave to join them.

These are superficially drawn characters. I like the actors which keeps my interest to some extent. However the movie is not that compelling and definitely not as funny as it wants to be. The Roommates section is definitely trying way too hard. The Best Friends and The Couple are the two that has the best comedic potential. Also if each story is expanded, they would probably be the most compelling ones. The concept is highly questionable and the writing needs to be much better. There has to be a connection between the stories other than the stale title cards.