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Shortbus
User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 67 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 67
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 67
  3. Negative: 12 out of 67

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  1. ScottF.
    Aug 2, 2007
    10
    The wild and varied range of reactions elicited by this movie demonstrate that it does indeed strike a chord. Watch it and be moved.
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  2. BranH
    Oct 24, 2006
    10
    This movie's graphic representation of sex will upset many, and as a result the film will be viewed as - indeed, as we can already see, it is being viewed as - polarizing. It's a shame, though, that it's "porno" content is getting so much press. Shortbus is a richly layered, well-directed, and, frankly, well-acted film that eschews traditional conventions of characterization and narrative in favor of something strikingly more familiar: real life. In Shortbus, our 3 leads examine their identities and their personal growth through various lenses, sex being one of those. Shortbus examines the conventional and non-conventional approaches we take to self-understanding and emotional growth in sincere, warm, and, I think, very true ways. John Cameron Mitchell gives himself all the tools he needs to examine our experience - including sexuality - and infuses them with genuine confusion, humor, and bliss. This doesn't look or play out like Hollywood acting or direction; it plays out like life. Which is probably why a lot of people won't get it.… Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  3. Jason
    Oct 21, 2006
    10
    Feel-good movie of the year. In so many ways.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. DanK.
    Oct 5, 2006
    10
    One of my top 5 movie experiences!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. JohnB
    Mar 9, 2007
    10
    Best film of last year next to Children of God, Borat and Red Road. Moving, hilarious, indirectly political, ultimate hopeful.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. MelanieM.
    Nov 3, 2006
    10
    I laughed and cried - a great movie about being human.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. ThomasF.
    Oct 16, 2006
    9
    This joyful and hopeful movie uses sex as a metaphor for the awkwardness and clumsiness of life. Yet sex is also depicted as art, as liberation and as part of the solution to the deep yearning of the soul. It's a beautiful motif because the sexual acts are not judged by their "propriety" but rather by their ability to get to a deeper meaning in our lives. Of course there's a gentle mocking of therapy as a "shortcut" but also as another metaphoric language that tends to lose its place without a firm grounding in the here and now. The movie is explicit, but the sex is actually quite beautiful in its transgressiveness. Critics who get stuck on the superficial message will be making the same mistake that critics of Crash made -- a form of critical synecdoche where the parts are substituted for the whole. In Shortbus the sex tells us about how we treat one another and urges us away from selfishness or even an exaggerated sense of nobility. These are rejected for a wholesome return to libido as being only a part of a rich and poetic life (despite superficial appearances to the contrary). This film is also quite funny. Go see it for yourself.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. JackM.
    Oct 16, 2006
    10
    Shortbus is a remarkable exploration of the interconnection between love and sex. It may be the first film ever to include actual sexual exchange in the development of character. The film delves into the emotions aroused by sex and the role of sex in finding meaning and purpose in one's life and relationships. The music, as in Hedwig, is also wonderful.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. AnonB
    Oct 16, 2006
    5
    I must say, the computer animated shots of the New York landscape were most impressive. But I found the rest of the film quite dull. It kind of felt like a projection into the future, where all sex and nudity on screen is portrayed that way in all movies and there's nothing special about it anymore, and this would be just another indie dramedy.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  10. Jack
    Oct 18, 2006
    2
    Extremely disappointing. Sook Yin-Lee should take acting lessons from Keanu Reeves. Her eagerness to please the viewer is pathetic and even more (unbelievably) annoying than her stint on CBC radio. The sloppy (literally) screenplay tries to tackle everything from sex to suicide with faux-sincerity that rings hollow from beginning to end. Lots of gay sex for a movie that bills itself as a woman's quest to achieve orgasm. A few funny scenes and some neat computer animation save it from a 0. Waste of an evening otherwise.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  11. MarkusH.
    Oct 20, 2006
    9
    A naively joyful film that celebrates sex instead of using it as a commodity or strictly for prurient interest. Go see this movie!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  12. MichaelP.
    Oct 5, 2006
    8
    Provocative and surprising (in a good way). Not for the mainstream, yet it has a storyline with a mainstream sensibility. The movie has heart. It's not for everyone, but the film works, damn it.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  13. [Anonymous]
    Oct 5, 2006
    10
    Feel good movie!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  14. Thomas
    Oct 7, 2006
    9
    Rich portrayal of urban lust (but not the sexual kind).
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  15. TracyB.
    Oct 9, 2006
    9
    Great film- don't be put off by the sex, there is so much more in this story- very moving.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  16. LeilaniL.
    Jan 30, 2007
    10
    By far, the best movie I've seen in a couple of years! I read some of the message board reviews on IMDB and was shocked at the backlash from some viewers... Yes, there's real sex in the movie. Yes, it may come as a bit of a shock to most. But John Cameron Mitchell doesn't bring us porn, he brings us food for the mind and for the soul. Personally, I could find parallels between nearly all the characters and people in my life-- even in myself! The film wasn't about sex, but about the people we are and the people we aspire to be. I strongly believe that those who watch this film and can't focus on anything other than the sex are missing the focus and beauty of this film.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  17. GreyW.
    Feb 18, 2007
    8
    Cameron shows with touch and humour that sex cant do the the job alone. It also takes an invisible rubber band to your partners heart to make you happy. Applause for Cameron and the actors. Well done.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  18. Tim
    Oct 11, 2006
    9
    The sex did not arouse me, but the quest for the meaning of it did.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  19. BillyS.
    Nov 3, 2006
    10
    After you've squirmed down in your seat as far as you can during the opening sequence of Shortbus, you realize it's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's sex. Everybody has it, and when they're not having it, they're thinking about it, when to have it, how to have it, stressing over it, evalulating it. It's sex. Shortbus is a riveting, excruciating sexual journey that has never been seen before in mainstream megaplex cinema. John Cameron Mitchell breaks new ground that he only hinted at with Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Shortbus is quite simply - Brilliant! You will leave the theatre drained and exhilarated at the same time. The cast of unknown actors are fearless, and the hostess, played by Justin Bond (who sang the Christmas song in Imaginary Heroes), sings the number "In The End" that closes the movie with a big "O" that seems fitting considering the whole movie is really about just that. Thank you Mr.Mitchell, Hedwig was a brave start, but Shortbus is audaciously, in-your-face REAL!!!… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  20. Craig
    Dec 15, 2006
    10
    Quite simply amazing. A worthy successor to Hedwig & The Angy Inch and so much more. It's funny, it's sad, it's poignant. If you focus on the sex you're missing the whole point: focus on the film.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  21. MichaelL.
    Oct 8, 2006
    10
    I loved this movie. To me, it's a love song to a New York City that no longer exists amid the post-9/11 "Disneyfication" of the Big Apple. It's a toast to the strong connection of disconnected people. I think one needs to have lived in Manhattan during the 1980s to really appreciate "Shortbus", but anyone with an open mind who isn't sex-phobic should find joy in its uplifting message of hope. And damn, what a sexy cast...… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  22. Dave
    Jan 12, 2007
    0
    One of the worst movies I've seen this year. I really like "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", but this film was just too pretentious and over the top for me.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  23. GinaN.
    Apr 19, 2007
    10
    Nothing like I've ever seen. Pretty brilliant, actually.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  24. JohnMitchellHater
    Feb 7, 2008
    0
    John Cameron Mitchell is a lonely man looking to get off. Biggest piece of crap. The critics want to seem like they're superior, but supporting shortbus, but anyone who liked this most have went to school on the shortbus.
    • 0 of 1 users said yes
  25. JonathanS.
    Nov 20, 2006
    10
    A very refreshing non-hollywood movie.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  26. StuartS
    Oct 21, 2006
    5
    Some said this was a mature look at sex and not pornography. Yes, but it is a film about what most people would feel is perversion and deals in depth with homosexuality. Also, the plot-- well, I think there was one, but I couldn't find or follow it.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  27. JimG
    Dec 30, 2006
    7
    Funny, thoughtful, moving, joyful.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  28. SionFJ
    Mar 17, 2007
    10
    If you love life, you'll love SHORTBUS. The characters might seem disfunctional, but they are there to show us that in every soul darkness and light lay equally, waiting for redemption...
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  29. MK
    Apr 26, 2007
    2
    Terrible. Weak characters, childlike acting and premise. Just terrible to watch...it was as if a gay (bi) 13 year old hitting puberty had been given a few bucks to make a film....AMATEUR!!!! And not good amateur. Really weak.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  30. BradR.
    Jul 14, 2007
    3
    This is a movie trying so hard to be at once acceptable and provocative that it ends up being one long string of cliches. Not that it doesn't have its pleasures, guilty or otherwise: the opening is playful, there are funny moments here and there, and there are some jarringly un-funny moments too (e.g., the dead man in the pool). But finally, the film is as tame and conventional as it could be. Comedy tends toward convention and re-asserting a status quo, but great comedy unsettles us to the core before pretending to patch things up. Mitchell and his cast never manage to really unsettle us, at least not believably (spoiler warning!). For instance, Jamie's suicide attempt and its resolution seemed painfully contrived and trivial--and the same came be said for much of the sex, which doesn't finally serve any point. I know that last statement may blow the fuses of the film's many fans, so I'll add another just for fun: take out the sex (yes, it's possible) and what you're left with is a completely conventional, normative romantic comedy. If you want a thought-provoking film about sex, watch Last Tango instead.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  31. HalI.
    Jul 18, 2007
    10
    Brilliant. When the Oscars are released from the grip of the radical right, a movie like this will win best picture. A masterpiece that blows the oscar victors of late out of the water.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  32. JayF
    Jan 19, 2008
    8
    Going into this, I knew it was a very sexual movie. I assumed it would be like a porno. I admit, the sex scenes were basically soft-core porn. However, this, remarkably, did not hamper the quality of the movie. This movie is about human connection, and how these emotionally unbalanced people eventually come to terms with everything. The large cast of characters makes it that much more fun. There's many touching scenes in this film. Like when the old man is talking to Ceth and he begins to cry. The kiss Ceth gives him is so not sexual, and it's actually touching. Or when Jamie and James look at each other through the window, and without even saying a word, achieve their peace. My favorite character has to be Severin though. She is the one who is the most misguided, and I don't think she ever truly find her way. But she becomes okay with it. This movie is a work of comic, dramatic, and, dare I say it, romantic greatness. I loved it.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  33. Impish
    Nov 22, 2006
    10
    The best movie of 2006. I was tears at the end, tears of sheer joy.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  34. RobT
    Dec 22, 2006
    10
    This is without a doubt one of the best movies of 2006: it is painfully funny, sad, chock-full-o-sex (which surprisingly neither adds nor takes away from the quality of the film) and based around events that people who live in the NY area are all too familiar with.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  35. Halfwelshman
    Dec 14, 2011
    10
    You'll never see another film quite like Shortbus. It's a rom-com, a heady emotional drama and a study of sex and desire in one, all broken up by quite graphic sex scenes that wouldn't look out of place in pornography. The way in which the sex scenes are performed (i.e. for real), isn't a criticism, on the contrary, after witnessing the first few instances of passion, these scenes lose their shock factor and become woven into the fabric of the film as a whole. Shooting these scenes for real also has an interesting side effect - it allows the actors to introduce a liberal doses of improvised humour to these situations, humour which would be almost impossible to pull off if these moments were simulated. Every scene in the film is a miniature character piece, and it's a testament to the skills of the actors that they've managed to instill their characters with so much depth. The cast appear to be effortlessly natural, and it was entirely left up to them to flesh-out their respective characters and story-lines, therefore the film feels pleasingly organic and completely believable. Despite the flexible nature of the narrative, the plot never loses focus, everything is tied together by quirky, animated sequences which sweep through an abstract version of New York, and the film builds towards an extremely pleasing symbolic, yet emotionally grounded finale. The film isn't just about love, or even lust, it's really about coming to terms with who you are, and exploring your own mind and body. Shortbus isn't all frolicking about with naughty bits on show, either. At points it touches upon some extremely dark issues, and handles these with maturely and sensitively whilst at the same time using them for the maximum dramatic potential that they offer. It's one of the finest examples of collaborative filmmaking in history, and it's also probably the best film about sex that's ever been made.… Expand
  36. kings7
    Oct 1, 2011
    10
    A movie that makes you feel and think and is as good as any. It's a shame that not many people will see it, and some that start it won't get through it. It has a rare depth and perspicacity. Very successful, indeed.
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
64 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 27
  3. Negative: 1 out of 27
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    50
    The film lacks the depth and discipline of Mitchell's first film venture, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," which makes Shortbus a real disappointment.
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  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    60
    Unquestionably the most sexually graphic American narrative feature ever made outside the realm of the porn industry, John Cameron Mitchell's ambitious attempt to merge his characters' active sexual lives with more conventional emotional content is playfully and provocatively entertaining for roughly the first half, but loses staying power thereafter when investment in the uncompelling characters' problems is requested.
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  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Jim Ridley
    70
    There's something refreshingly frisky and celebratory about Shortbus that offsets its flaws. It's a triple-X midnight movie with a heart of squarest gold.
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