I like raunchy comedies. I love movies that are so bad they're good. And I really enjoy low-budget movies made by clueless artists because their sincere intentions often make up for their lack of money and talent.
That said, I've watched "Birdemic" more times than I can count. If you have, too, you might agree Whitney Moore is the best thing about "Birdemic". I think she's really pretty, can be a good actress when she wants to be, and has definite screen presence. So one day I was searching around on my streaming services for other features Whitney appeared in. That's how I stumbled across "Beginner's Guide to Sex".
But woof, this was such a let-down. I think it's because the tone of this movie is so schizophrenic. It shifts from brain-dead giddiness to truly uncomfortable fear to wannabe avant garde to really nauseating and then back to silly again. It's confusing and ridiculous. Plus it drags. At one point I checked the time, thinking it was close to ending, but was surprised it still had another hour to go!
Whitney's charisma really shines through at times. But for the first 30 minutes her character Laci Cox -- a 20-something virginal sex-ed teacher -- is just way too maniacal. She's giddy, high-pitched, girlishly eager, and loud. She seemed to have popped 12 bennies and inhaled a Hindenburg's worth of nitrous oxide to get into character. To be fair, I honestly felt the rest of cast were all good actors deep-down. I could tell they were all trying hard and meant well so I'll give everyone in the cast a pass. I put the blame for this mess of a comedy squarely on the director. Perhaps he was too lax with the script, or took simple stage-notes to wild extremes, or that his "vision" of the film was just to get it done as fast as possible. Whatever the reason, it's a shame because the potential was definitely there.
This is not really a laugh-out-loud movie. More of a very occasional grin and cringe kind of humor at best. I laughed the most at Simon Rex as the sleazy teacher. Tom Arnold had his funny moments, too. Trav as Abu the basketball star was a really good actor, it's just too bad his character was so intense, mean-spirited and downright scary, which had no place in a sex comedy.
Overall, I don't regret watching "Beginner's Guide to Sex". Honestly this is a movie you will remember, but for all the wrong reasons. I just wish they'd have put more comedy into their comedy.
