Shortbus
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Storyline
The whole story, ending included.
A sex therapist who has never had an orgasm visits a Brooklyn salon; unsimulated sex as community, not transgression.
New York in the early 2000s. Sofia Lin is a couples counsellor and sex therapist who has never had an orgasm, and it is beginning to strain her marriage to Rob. Her new clients are James, a former sex worker making a film about himself, and his boyfriend, Jamie, a former child star; James wants to open the relationship. In the first session Sofia snaps and slaps one of them, then, apologising, admits she is 'pre-orgasmic'. They tell her to try Shortbus, a weekly salon in Brooklyn, run by a drag performer, where people meet to talk, perform and have sex.
Sofia becomes a regular. She befriends Severin, a dominatrix who works in a flat overlooking Ground Zero and wants to give up sex work to be an artist. They meet almost daily at a spa with sensory-deprivation tanks; Severin helps Sofia loosen up, and Sofia gives Severin a closeness she has not known before. When the two end up in bed, Sofia is left unsatisfied again. Rob starts coming to Shortbus too. James and Jamie take a third lover, Ceth, a young singer, which alarms Caleb, who watches and photographs the couple from his window across the street.
James's film turns out to be a suicide note; he brought Ceth in so that Jamie would not be alone afterwards. When James tries to take his own life, Caleb saves him, calls for help and, too embarrassed to wait, writes his number on James's face and leaves. James wakes in hospital and goes to Caleb instead of home. They have sex, and for the first time James lets himself be penetrated. Across the street, Jamie sees him in Caleb's window and knows he is alive. Rob pays Severin to flog him, something he could never ask of Sofia, and ends up comforting her when she breaks down. In a dreamlike moment Sofia fails again and screams, and the lights go out across the city. In the blackout everyone finds their way to Shortbus. As the host sings and a marching band arrives, James and Jamie are together again, and Ceth and Caleb find each other. With a young couple she has watched at the salon before, Sofia at last has an orgasm, and the power comes back on.
Starring
Sook-Yin Leeas Sofia Lin
A couples counsellor and sex therapist who has never had an orgasm, and who starts going to Shortbus to find out why.
Sofia Lin’s story
Sofia has been faking orgasms with her husband, Rob, for years. After she loses her temper in a session and admits she has never had one, James and Jamie send her to Shortbus. There Severin offers to help her find her orgasm in return for therapy, and the two meet almost daily at a spa with sensory-deprivation tanks. The problem strains the marriage, and Rob starts coming to the salon too. A night in bed with Severin leaves her unsatisfied again. In a daydream during a session she fails once more and screams, and the lights go out across the city. At Shortbus in the blackout she finds Rob with Severin, acknowledges him and sits down alone. Then, with a couple she has watched there before, she has her first orgasm as the power comes back.
Paul Dawsonas James
A former sex worker, quiet and withdrawn, who wants to open his relationship with Jamie and keeps filming his own life.
James’s story
James talks Jamie into opening their relationship, and they take in Ceth, a young singer, while Caleb watches and photographs them from across the street. The film James has been making turns out to be a suicide note: he brought Ceth in so that Jamie would not be alone once he was gone. When he tries to take his own life, Caleb saves him, calls for help and, too embarrassed to stay, writes his number on James's face. James wakes in hospital and goes to Caleb instead of home. He tells him about the tape, and Caleb reminds him how much Jamie loves him. They have sex, and for the first time James lets himself be penetrated. In the blackout Jamie sees him alive in Caleb's window, and at Shortbus the two are together again.
Lindsay Beamishas Severin
A lonely dominatrix who wants to leave sex work for art, and who becomes Sofia's confidante.
Severin’s story
Severin makes her living as a dominatrix, takes Polaroids of strangers at their most unguarded, and has never had a close relationship with anyone. At Shortbus she offers to help Sofia find her orgasm in exchange for therapy, and in the dark of a spa's sensory-deprivation tanks the two talk almost every day. One night she tells Sofia she wants to give up sex work and be an artist, and they end up in bed together, which leaves Sofia unsatisfied again. When Rob pays her to flog him, she loses control and breaks down, and he ends up comforting her. She is with Rob at Shortbus on the night of the blackout, and when the marching band arrives, her nerves give way to delight.
PJ DeBoyas Jamie
James's boyfriend, a former child star, who agrees to open their relationship and cannot understand why James disappears.
Raphael A. Barkeras Rob
Sofia's handsome, unambitious husband, who has a desire of his own that he cannot bring himself to ask her for.
Peter Sticklesas Caleb
A neighbour who watches and photographs James and Jamie from across the street, and fears the arrival of a third man.
Why it matters
Shortbus puts unsimulated sex on screen and treats it as ordinary human business: funny, awkward, sometimes sad, and above all a way people try to reach one another. John Cameron Mitchell said he wanted to use sex in new ways in cinema because it was too interesting to leave to porn, and the film was greeted with a standing ovation at Cannes in 2006. Its subjects are ones many people carry alone: a woman whose work is sex and who has never had an orgasm, a man who cannot let himself be loved, a couple opening their relationship, a watcher who cannot join in. Set in a New York still marked by September 11th, with Ground Zero outside one window, it asks whether pleasure is something a person must achieve alone or something a community can help her find. What it leaves behind is not shock but tenderness.