Movielogr

Rating: 2.5 stars

All movies seen on 02/18/2008

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Sex and Breakfast (2007)

Directed by Miles Brandman

Comedy

Overview

Two young couples using anonymous sex as a catalyst to fix their troubled relationships must rethink what makes a connection work.

Rated R | Length 81 minutes

Actors

Macaulay Culkin | Kuno Becker | Eliza Dushku | Alexis Dziena | Joanna Miles | Eric Lively | Jaime Ray Newman | Tracie Thoms | Anita Gnan

Viewing History (seen 1 time)

Viewing Notes

This originally appeared as a DVD review for PopSyndicate.com in 2008.

A movie that’s not so sexy and is an average scone at best.

Bigger name actors Macaulay Culkin and Eliza Dushku continue their indie exploration with Alexis Dziena and Kuno Becker in Sex and Breakfast, a small, short little morality tale about the perils of sex.

The flick follows two couples: James and Heather, and Ellis and Renee. Both couples are sexually frustrated. Heather can’t orgasm with James and Ellis and Renee turn to masturbation more than each other; their love lives are being destroyed. So, each couple separately seeks out the help of Dr. Wellbridge, a therapist who advocates one solution to all love’s problems: group sex. Unfortunately, Heather is really the only one into it. Women flip Renee’s switch, but Ellis is disgusted by the thought. Ellis wants to watch another couple have sex, but Heather doesn’t really want to mingle, as it were. And then there’s James; James just wants Heather’s love and is willing to do anything to get it. After a matchmaking process, Wellbridge pairs the couples together and they switch partners. The sex spurs Wellbridge’s intended effect: communication in each relationship. But, at what cost?

Sex and Breakfast is dispassionate, cold, and harsh with a muted color palette and a somber script. In short, this is not 9 1/2 Weeks; this is an actor’s movie and the cast do it the small justice it deserves. It’s small and intimate, wisely filmed tight to increase that feeling. Unfortunately, Director Miles Brandman sometimes opts for a trick shot where none is needed, which only pulls you out of any sort of emotional connection you might have made, although it’s a small one if you have any connection at all. Clocking in at 82 minutes, Brandman’s story is delivered with precision, but there’s precious little time spent building any tension, sexual or otherwise; the film doesn’t go far enough.

Sex and Breakfast isn’t sexy and it’s not really a complete meal; it’s just a piece of cold dough that needs more time in the oven.

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