PARK CITY – There’s good news and bad news when it comes to Gregg Araki’s “I Want Your Sex,” his first feature in over a decade. The not-so great news is that this new entry in his often wacky, pop-fueled oeuvre (see 1997’s “Nowhere,” 2007’s “Smiley Face,” and 2010’s “Kaboom”) proves much of that one-time, out-of-the-box thrill is gone. Happily, he has charismatic and “we know exactly what we signed up for” performances from Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman in his pocket to elevate the material.
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The filmmaker’s landmark 11th world premiere at the Sundance Film Fest (appropriate for its final go around in Park City), “I Want Your Sex,” finds Araki giving his perspective on the angst of Gen Z, a generation that reportedly has less intercourse than their parents. At the center of this travesty is Elliott (Hoffman), a recent UCLA graduate desperate for a job like most of his peers. He finds a surprise benefactor in neo-pop artist Ericka Tracy (Wilde). A boss who has her assistants chew pieces of gum for hours on end to create vagina-inspired artwork and hits on him when the “woke police” aren’t looking. Bluntly propositioning sex in her office to her surprised but intrigued new employee just a week into the gig.
But wait, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Did we mention the movie actually begins with Elliott waking up in a pink bra and panties, shocked to find a naked Ericka face down and unresponsive in her pool? Ah, yes, the rest of the proceedings are actually Elliott’s recollections (or a chunk of them) told to two skeptical police detectives (Margaret Cho, Johnny Knoxville). A murder mystery you immediately forget is at the center of the movie (talk about a pointless plot device), or that Elliott appears to be the no. 1 suspect.
Here’s the thing. On paper, Elliott is inherently not that interesting a character. He’s sexually frustrated because his one-note girlfriend, Minerva (Charli XCX, sadly, not great), rarely wants to have intercourse (a tale as old as time). He can barely pay his rent and seems to have no other interests than becoming Ericka’s sexual lapdog (literally). Hoffman is so talented, so charismatic that you don’t even care that his version of Elliott seems like a fish out of water, that’s completely unbelievable in the art world. Peppering the proceedings is his co-worker Zap (Mason Gooding, fighting the good fight) who has to remind you he’s gay in some manner or another every time he speaks, his equally sexually frustrated roommate and best friend Apple (Chase Sui Wonders, unrecognizable from “The Studio”), and Ericka’s longtime no. 2 Vikktor (David Diggs, breathing life into every scene he’s in), who, frankly, the movie could have used so much more of.
Ericka, on the other hand, is a thinly written, domineering snob (admittedly) who is so sexually open it’s almost a bore. Luckily, Wilde fills in the gaps with some inspired choices. At times, she’s giving full 90s Sharon Stone, other times she’s practically a drag queen in a rotating set of wigs that probably need their own exhibit at the Academy Museum. Ericka’s motivations are super surface. She’s a player, spouting off cliche lines such as “contemporary art is a scam,” when the movie randomly decides to start skewering the artworld. But, again, Wilde knows what Araki is at least attempting to pull off. She delivers it all seemingly with an invisible wink, coaxing you to come along and enjoy the ride.
To be fair, that’s where Wilde and Hoffman are at their best. There are so many lines of dialogue in Araki and co-screenwriter Karley Sciortino‘s screenplay that would fall flat in other actors’ hands (and absolutely do with many of their co-stars). Sure, Araki and the duo make sure the sexual escapades of Ericka and Elliott are fun, but the movie really only works when the two of them are on screen together in any capacity. When Elliott’s storyline diverges without her? That inherent Araki awkwardness creeps in, and not in a good way.
A longtime acolyte of John Waters, “I Want Your Sex” often feels like one of that director’s later efforts. What was once edgy and daring now feels safe and performative. For a movie called “I Want Your Sex,” and even in the context of it being a comedy, there isn’t one scene in the film that will shock you, let alone make you clutch your pearls. You can catch more daring sexual exploits on almost any series on HBO or your favorite streamer. Truth be told, Araki doesn’t appear to be attempting to be commercially safe, but this schtick (yes, we said it) is starting to feel more nostalgic than even his most hardcore fans would expect. When Elliott has animated Tex Avery-esque fantasies, it’s so random that you wonder why it’s in the movie in the first place.
Does Araki really have anything even slightly insightful to say about the next generation? Not really. That all feels more like a red herring for the rest of the plot. Does the initial mystery storyline add up to anything? Sort of, but you could skip the reveal scene and not miss a beat. What’s fresh and compelling are Wilde and Hoffman. They are so stellar together that the film’s multiple endings work because they are front and center in them. In the end, almost despite Araki’s efforts, they make having “Sex” worth it. [C+]
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