Sexless (2003)
What a misnomer! Sexless is anything
but. In fact, there's a lot of sex going on here.
It's as if writer/director Alex Holdridge has nothing
else on his mind. Well, except for being funny and
smart and clever and one of the most promising filmmakers
to come out of Austin this week. (It's hard to hype
Holdridge as the best comedic filmmaker in town because
I love Courtney Davis and her film "My Name is Buttons"
is equally as good as this one).
Holdridge is the post-millenium
Woody Allen. His film is as funny and as current as
"Annie Hall" was back in 77. This guy is a herky-jerky
bundle of impulses and neurosis that constantly incites
giggles as well as thought. Writing, directing, producing
and acting in the lead here, Holdridge proves he is
as capable as any filmmaker out there of making us
laugh and making us think. And he's bold as well,
even opting to appear completely nude if it will make
us laugh. His desire to make us guffaw while being
honest appears boundless. And what a talent he has!
To put it bluntly, this guy can even make eating toast
funny.
It is his honesty, his "heart,"
if you will, that makes "Sexless" such a joy. Holdridge
may seem like Woody Allen reincarnated (before his
death, now that's a trick) into a 20-something slacker
but he lacks the cynicism and true neurotic condition
of that more world-weary filmmaker. "Sexless" is a
modern relationship comedy that sends up marriage,
premarital sex, nymphomania, cheating, lusting, masturbation,
and the differences between the sexes in a fresh and
vital way. (It sounds like I could be describing Allen
in 1975, doesn't it.) But Holdridge infuses his comedy
with a true heart, an open soul.
And the film is decidedly Austin
as well. True joy will radiate from the denizens of
the city when they see all the local landmarks that
appear in the film. (A list of them appears in the
notes below). But more than that is the feel and the
heart of the film that is all about this city as well.
The characters are all young 20-somethings with boring
day jobs at coffee bars and restaurants that all want
to be something else: actors, writers or computer
geeks. One guy has made the dream come true by creating
a business where he records women talking about their
personal fantasies and then sells the audio on the
Internet. These are truly Austin stories and Austin
characters. In the way that Allen is all NYC, Holdridge
is all Austin.
"Sexless" is just damn funny. That's
the bottom line. It proves that Austin is just as
capable at creating valid entertainment as New York
or L.A. And the film looks good too boot. Shot on
Hi-Def, the image was crisp and beautiful when projected
onto the gigantic screen at the Paramount Theater
during SXSW.
Notes:
Producer and cinematographer is
Brian McCormick.
This film contains the fattest cat
you have ever seen on screen!
Recognizable Austin locales: Gaby
and Mo's (is it called something else now?), Austin
Museum of Art, Toy Joy, Speedway Market, Waterloo
Records, The Paramount Theater, The State Capitol
(it is subtly suggested that Holdridge and a female
get high on the lawn there), Mojos, Kerby Lane, the
Drag (near UT), the pedestrian bridge on Lamar at
Riverside, Blue Theater, TAOS Coop, the Hideout and
Mopac.
Viewed in March 2003 at the SXSW
Film Festival.
