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Post by imayne on Jul 11, 2008 19:20:04 GMT -5
Successful and soon to be married, Roderick Blank (Simon Baker) receives what appears to be a random email, but is really a list generated by an all-powerful supercomputer that is perhaps the very mind of God itself...about everyone he will ever sleep with...the good news is that he will get to sleep with 101 women in his entire life, the bad news is that the last name on the list happens to be a woman with a reputation for seducing, and putting male chauvinist pigs and sex offenders into comas (Ryder of course), and given his tally mark of 100, Blank seems like a good candidate for both titles...
Ryder appears only in very few scenes, but they are memorable and she gives them all she's got. Unfortunately, the film seems to be in two minds about what it wants to be: Daniel Waters said he was inspired by 70s sex farces like "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice" and "Shampoo", but I can't see it. This should have been a modern fairy tale like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", and if given a director like Michel Gondry, would have given it some kind of levity missing here. A few good lines of dialogue and some good jokes build up to a flat payoff. Daniel Waters suffers from a clear case of writer-director syndrome, so pleased with his writing that he forgets how to shoot it.
I give it a "Good" overall, but could have been better with a better director.
Best line: "The end is coming...and coming is the end!"
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Post by Charles on Jul 12, 2008 7:18:09 GMT -5
I saw "Sex and Death 101" earlier this week for the first time and had a similar reaction. It was more watchable that "The Ten" and Winona's role was better, although reserved for the final minutes of the movie. The ending was a strange counterpoint to the whole spirit of the movie. Nonetheless, I gave it a "Good" just because Winona was in it and, as always, she was quite good.
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Post by Charles on Jul 12, 2008 7:26:21 GMT -5
I included the following review simply because of the next to the last line . . .
Sex and Death 101 Movie Review
Rating: R 2008
Cast and Crew Director : Daniel Waters Producer : Cary Brokaw,Lizzie Friedman,Greg Little Screenwiter : Daniel Waters Starring : Simon Baker, Mindy Cohn, Winona Ryder, Julie Bowen, Dash Mihok, Jessica Kiper, Sophie Monk, Patton Oswalt, Leslie Bibb
Daniel Waters has one of Hollywood's most intriguing resumes. After writing his first film, Heathers, Waters trolled through the Hollywood meat grinder, writing some of the '90s worst big-budget movies: Demolition Man, The Adventures of Ford Fairline, and the widely-razzed Hudson Hawk.
Waters dropped out of Hollywood for nearly a decade before reviving himself to write and direct the largely forgotten Happy Campers. After another six year hiatus he returned again with Sex and Death 101, which has the distinction of reuniting Waters with He athers star Winona Ryder... who's been through her own travails, as well.
Sex and Death 101 gives a man named Rod (Simon Baker) who receives an email that lists not just every women he's ever slept with, but every woman he will sleep with. Turns out there's 101 names on the list, which is disconcerting, since Rod is set to be married to #29 on the list in a matter of weeks. He dismisses it as a joke but ends up "accidentally" doing a stripper at his bachelor party. The marriage is soon terminated, and Rod ends up with #31 on the list (a centerfold who loves pudding), and it's downhill from there.
Rod is roped into a pristine white chamber where holy types explain that this is all a goof-up on behalf of "the machine," urging Rod to destroy the list. Think he does? Well, would you? Naturally, the list begins to take control Rod's life. He can't meet a woman without checking to see if her name's on the list. When he tries to "spite" the list and develop a relationship with a lovely veterinarian (Leslie Bibb), it doesn't work out. The list can't be beat.
As for the death side of the title, that comes into play when #101 approaches, and it's revealed the name is the real moniker of a serial killer nicknamed "Death Nell" (Ryder), who sleeps with men then offs them. Somehow these two fates are intetwrined, and we'll find out how in the end.
It all sounds better on paper than it really is, as Sex and Death 101 soon devolves into the adolescent fantasy that any movie based on a guy sleeping with 101 girls inevitably becomes. It all plays out like an excuse for Waters to put his pecadilloes on film (which, in a making-of documentary, he basically admits).
Maybe the biggest problem is that it's just not possible to feel sorry for the poor, poor hero, who stumbles through encounter after encounter with beautiful women, then discards them and crosses them off his list. The whole Death Nell subplot is underdone, and the whole affair just feels kind of slapped together with tape and spit. Waters' ham-fisted naming of his characters -- there's a pair of lesbians named Miss Kidd and Miss Wint -- is about as erudite as the movie gets, and the monologues near the truly odd ending make you wonder whether Waters had an extreme fever when he was finishing up the script. If I didn't know better, I'd wonder if this exercise in perversion hadn't been made by another Waters. John, I mean.
That said, it's always fun to see Winona Ryder in a movie again.
The DVD includes commentary from Waters and a making-of featurette.
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Post by ilovewinona on Jul 12, 2008 9:17:27 GMT -5
----- I had to give the movie an average vote, mainly because of the short screentime our lovely lady had during most of the film. Winona was the main female lead .... but! ----- Watching the movie, I was frustrated in not seeing our lady on screen more often, but at least the end of the movie was enjoyable with Winona having some decent time on screen. ----- Don't get me wrong I enjoy getting to see Winona in a new movie, I'm really wishing for a new major starring role for our beautiful actress. ----- Rusty
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Post by Jay on Jul 21, 2008 9:49:54 GMT -5
I also gave it a "good" rating although that rating comes only because of the strong finish with Winona. She was a cameo until the closing acts. I agree with Charles that it was a big improvement over "The Ten" both as an overall movie and as to the Winona performance. One character I enjoyed above all was the assistant to Roderick, played by Mindy Cohn. There was an intelligence to her performance largely missing in many of the other bit players.
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anglican
Casual Watcher
Genuine class
Posts: 74
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Post by anglican on Jul 23, 2008 9:56:46 GMT -5
That said, it's always fun to see Winona Ryder in a movie again. Which earns it an "Above Average" from me - particularly because, as always, Winona's performance is "Above Average". Otherwise the film didn't do much for me. I haven't seen "The Ten" yet so I can't comment on its relative merits, but there are a few films coming up that I'm really looking forward to! "H"
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Post by imayne on Jun 2, 2010 7:37:39 GMT -5
Sample scene from the film:
Kinda shows what's wrong with the film overall: very clear suffering from writer-director syndrome. Daniel Waters seems too pleased with his dialogue, that it's akin to seeing someone drone on without caring if you're interested, even if he has something interesting to say.
That woman still acts beautifully though.
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Post by imayne on Oct 3, 2018 18:15:53 GMT -5
Ok, more than a decade on, i find this movie oddly timely. Anyone been keeping up with the Kavanaugh hearings?
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Post by geeezuz on Oct 3, 2018 18:44:35 GMT -5
----- Rusty What happened to Rusty (ilovewinona)? He no longer loves Winona? Or he got kicked out or left or something?
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Post by imayne on Oct 5, 2018 10:03:27 GMT -5
No idea, lots of members have left. But to continue what I was saying, this movie is still worthy of some revisiting, if for nothing but its now-rather-timely satire on white right-wing male entitlement. Winona plays her role not with the coldbloodedness of Sharon Stone or the hollowness of Rosamund Pike, but with just the right amount of anger and frustration (her stock in trade in acting, it seems these days).
Is it a good movie? Not really.
Has it aged well? Not much.
But is it worth a few more chuckles now? Hell yes.
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Post by Charles on Oct 5, 2018 13:26:45 GMT -5
----- Rusty What happened to Rusty (ilovewinona)? He no longer loves Winona? Or he got kicked out or left or something? I don't know what happened to Rusty, he just vanished one day without a word. I tried to reach him via email, but no reply. I can only hope that he is okay . . .
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Post by imayne on Oct 5, 2018 19:33:32 GMT -5
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Post by geeezuz on Oct 7, 2018 5:42:28 GMT -5
I don't think it is a matter of just getting bored or losing interest. His name is no longer clickable so he must have deleted his account here and left with no intention of coming back. Something happened.
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Post by imayne on Oct 7, 2018 9:05:51 GMT -5
I don't think it is a matter of just getting bored or losing interest. His name is no longer clickable so he must have deleted his account here and left with no intention of coming back. Something happened. Fred/Wolf is another member to whom the same happened, and now he has since become a self-published novelist.
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Post by Charles on Oct 7, 2018 12:27:23 GMT -5
I suspect Rusty just moved to another site that interested him more or was more active. WRFP has gone through many cycles, perhaps its strongest was after the shoplifting affair when Winona was the subject of derision in the larger culture; we remained loyal and said so. We were a bright spot during that dark time. We have always had a very thoughtful and civil culture.
In recent years, the page has wound down considerably in activity level. I attribute that to two factors. First, we don't feature a lot of photos of Winona. My feeling has always been that there are plenty of places on the internet where you can find photos of her, so we don't need that here. The second reason has been my gradual withdrawal from my active role on the page. I'm getting along in years and I have many other interests, so I'm much less active. Without active engagement and promotion, a little page like this will tend to languish.
So, I wouldn't read too much into Rusty's departure. He and I always had a great relationship and he never complained about the page or the people here. I think he just found a place where he was more inspired and wanted to get involved. I'm sure it was hard for him to leave, as it is in any relationship, but the time had come for Rusty and he moved on. Over the years, it just happens, human nature. People move on . . .
As a final note on Rusty, the status of his account went through a number of changes during his migration from WebTV to being PC based. He had several accounts; he would contact me occasionally when he couldn't seem to get into one or another. For example, his last account was "fanofourlady" and it is still active and he is still technically a moderator at WRFP. His last post was Christmas day 2014 . . . and then he was gone. Nothing sinister.
Now, Winona has moved once again to center stage and enjoys great popularity. She is the focus of many glossy pages on the internet that feature all the latest news and photos, and which have a full-time staff and a very active network of contributors. And WRFP has become a little eddy off to the side of these rushing waters of popular culture. It is who we are now. I keep the page up and running for the few long-time members who want to come here, primarily Imayne, Big Daddy, Phil, and Michael. If that ends, so will the page.
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