‘Sex Tape’
By John Lyons
THIS week’s film has perhaps the most blunt title that I’ve seen in a long time… ‘Sex Tape’. And as you may have guessed, it’s not exactly a wholesome family-friendly film.
Instead ‘Sex Tape’ is a raunchy comedy about a married couple, Annie and Jay (played by Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel), who take it upon themselves to make a sex tape in order to spice up their love life.
However, they quickly come to regret their decision after their video syncs to their iCloud account for all their friends and family to see. The couple set out to undo their mess before anybody realises that they have access to the video.
I love this premise, and not just because it bears an uncanny resemblance to this week’s misadventures in social media, but because it makes the simple promise that so much awkwardness is about to ensue. And that’s how I like my comedy — awkward as hell.
Watching characters become crippled with embarrassment in an extremely uncomfortable circumstance is a special kind of comedy. It carries with it an unparalleled sense of empathy, because we know all too well what it feels like to be in the midst of an awkward situation.
I’m an easy sell when it comes to this kind of humor. And I already liked the sound of the film.
But when I sat down to watch the film this week, something became abundantly clear – it wasn’t funny. If someone asked me to talk about a moment in the film that made me laugh, I’d genuinely have to think about it. I didn’t make a sound while watching this film.
Not only that, but I experienced that rare feeling of wanting to glance at the time to see how much longer I would have to endure the film before I could leave.
‘Sex Tape’ really let me down, and I’m having a hard time figuring out why, because the set-up was great. Most comic writers would’ve killed to have come up with a set-up this promising. There’s so much potential for comedic gold.
Instead, the film resorts to cheap one-liners, boring and ridiculous sub-plots and an ending that’s just stupidly silly. Worst of all, for a comedy that’s built on such a sexually explicit premise, it actually tries to be sweet.
Who in their right mind would go to see a comedy called ‘Sex Tape’ expecting to be charmed? Seriously?
Of course, there is no charm. Which again is a shame, because Jason Segel has effortlessly displayed that soft side of himself in films such as ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’, ‘I Love You Man’ and the TV show ‘How I Met Your Mother’.
It really saddens me to see the writers of this film squander such a promising premise. I really can’t get my head around how someone could come up with such a funny starting point for a comedy, only to follow it up with zero laughs.
‘Sex Tape’ is unfortunately the worst kind of comedy; one that isn’t funny.
2/10
• Follow John Lyons on Twitter: @Fireinthelyons
