My Awkward Sexual Adventure (2012) Reviews

• Generic RomCom. Watchable until its last 20minutes where becomes moronic.

  Dr_Sagan2016-01-14

  Most romantic comedies follow a very specific recipe and have more or less the same ingredients. By definition they have a happy ending. A few misunderstandings. A few regrets and changing of opinions. Lots of awkward moments. A best friend who is promiscuous and wants the main hero to "go out there". A mother who lacks understanding. Troubles at work etc. etc. etc. Well, "My Awkward Sexual Adventure (2012)" is as generic as it can be. It has all these elements plus some raw humor and a couple of "American Pie" moments but with a cantaloupe. Not sure about why exactly, but it is watchable (not funny or cute though), until the last 15-20 minutes or so, where the obvious resolution becomes abrupt and incoherent without a reason, like the movie needed a boost of extra drama and tension.(Read Spoiler paragraph) SPOILER PARAGRAPH FOR THE LAST 20': As I recall the 2 main characters have their initial (more friendship than) "relationship" for less than 5 days. The "hero" returns to his eternal (for 24 years) love, he proposes again, she accepts, yet he ditches her at their marital reception in front of all their relatives and friends, talking about clitorises in front of little children. Also his best friend didn't attended that event and his little sub-plot arc becomes totally ludicrous while he turns from "slut" to "romantic" and slut again, only to discover by pure coincidence that his "romantic" fiancée was a "slut" too. So, the effort of the writer (who is also the main actor and producer) was to build some pretentious ups and downs, admitting in a way that his story was paper thin and with no substance. Be careful! if you are a man and you are going to watch it with your spouse or your girlfriend, BE SURE that you are into cunnilingus, because after this movie you will be forced to learn and do it...the right way.

• And "awkward" this was

  StevePulaski2013-03-26

  My Awkward Sexual Adventure effectively lives up to its title, as it centers in on Jordan (Jonas Chernick), a conservative, overly-cautious accountant, who is dumped by his girlfriend Rachel (Sarah Manninen) as a response to his proposal of marriage. This comes the morning after she falls asleep while having "sex" with Jordan, and I abbreviate sex because it could've easily been mistaken for resuscitation. She advises that they do the good ol' "see other people" trick, where she can go out and have careless sex and orgies, while Jordan does, well, who cares? Jordan, who is heartbroken by her decision, wanders aimlessly throughout the cold streets, paying strippers and other local girls to pose for iPhone pictures with him to make his girlfriend green with envy. He gets bro-tips from his pal Dandak (Vik Sahay), who has been around the bend a few too many times, but gets truly vital help when he meets Julia (Emily Hampshire), a stripper who has a divine talent for culinary arts. When Jordan gets drunk out of his mind one night at the local gentlemen's club where Julia works, she graciously allows him to sleep on her couch as an act of courtesy and pity. Jordan informs her about his break-up, and Julia agrees to be his fellow "sex Yoda," who coach him through the ins and outs of meeting women and the tricky art of sex. This is a hard film to do well and director Sean Garrity clearly knows what he's doing with the way he conducts the tricky, but promising topic of sex in older males. In a way, this feels like a work from Jon Kasdan, the man who recently directed The First Time. That film was a beautifully articulated coming of age drama about two teens who meet-cute in an alleyway during a party, and go on to have a weekend that will certainly be memorable for the both of them (do I need to say what their first time was). Both Kasdan and Garrity take a scalpel to the idea of sex, not glorifying it to be this simple thing that millions do everyday, but rather a frightening and intimidating experience for those unfamiliar with the required territory. Sex is a tough subject and both pictures don't skate around that. They offer realism within their characters and intelligence with their writing. But one element that My Awkward Sexual Adventure triumphs over The First Time in is the level of awkwardness and anxiety brought to the screen. Seriously, I cringed more out of character sympathy during this film than any other film I've seen so far this year. The scenes where Jordan desperately tries to beg for Rachel's acceptance back into his life, the scenes where he resorts to photo-bombing with fellow women at a house party to make her jealous, the strange misconceptions he gets from Julia, and just his well-meaning nature that comes off as pure oddness forces you to be sympathetic towards his character. Even though we have likable characters and a decently mature plot, that doesn't hide the film's inevitable dirty and problematic nature. Occasionally, the film does become too random at times. Consider a scene where a neighbor walks into Julia's condo and asks for a specific food, and the thing we're supposed to laugh at is the fact that he's pantsless and doesn't seem to care. Turns out, he never wears pants and implores Jordan to stare idly at his penis and proceeds to mock him when he refuses to stare for long enough. Randomness like that throws off what could've been an entirely sincere film from the get-go. That and the problematic detour the third act takes when Rachel tries to enter Jordan's life again. The first two acts are carried by solid drama, efficiently articulated characters, quirky sexcapades that actually convey to film nicely, and a solid relationship between two unlikely friends. It's when Rachel tries to waltz back into Jordan's life that makes the film begin to falter. The film becomes so consumed with possibilities for them to argue, kiss and make up, argue again, run away, rejoice, etc that the overall speed increases from lax yet competent, to rushed and dizzying. While My Awkward Sexual Adventure thoroughly lives up to its title, it doesn't use it as a simple cash-in for lame sex jokes. At times this film is so thoughtful and understanding to its characters problems and never drawing them as worthless punching-bags for comedy that one just wants to shake the hand of the director. At other times, one wants to remove the pen from writer Jonas Chernick's hand and tell him to take a short walk. This film is a roller-coast for atypical reasons. Starring: Jonas Chernick, Emily Hampshire, Sarah Manninen, and Vik Sahay. Directed by: Sean Garrity.

• Best written comedy of the year

  abisio2012-09-18

  In the first scene of "My Awkward Sexual Adventure" the Jordan (Jonas Chernick) is making love to his girlfriend Rachel (Sarah Manninen) in such an impassioned and mechanical way that she falls asleep (who wouldn't). The obvious break-up follows; she needs more passion and different sexual experiences. As sad as it seems; these five opening minutes of the movie are the smartest, funny moments I saw in a movie this side of the Atlantic. There are no stupid or dumb or scatological jokes involved; simple a few utterly realistic but absurd moments and dialogs. Jordan is not a dumb or clumsy person (well it has a few moments). He is an accountant with all the insecurities, limitations, fears and lack of commitment of a person living by the numbers. He needs Rachel to be with him; sex is not that important. He has to go, on his planned vacation to Toronto, alone (the scene at the airport is another masterpiece) to visit his pal Dandak (Vik Sahay always funny) who offers to be his sexual mentor against Jordan will. After a few comical situations; Jordan ends in an strip club trying to get a sexy photo with a beautiful girl to make Rachel (who is having a very sexual and orgiastic vacation) jealous. By Karma, meets Julia (Emily Hampshire) a stripper, sweet but very disorganized; totally against checking even her bills; basically his opposite. He soon realizes that without loosing up; his future with Rachel is dead; he ask Julia for a crash course on freedom, taboos and sex. What follows are the different chapters of Jordan education process. It is pretty obvious how things will end; but every chapter that follows is staged with intelligence and good taste; but do not even think the movie is tame; it just has good taste. There is plenty of nudity male and female but never out of context. In fact, one of the funniest scenes in the movie it is likely to be too much for MPAA but it will be a real sin to cut. Acting is superb; Jonas Chernick (also producer and writer) is a seriously funny person; he improves after his experiences but is still the same person a little more confident. Sarah Manninen handles the bitch girlfriend character with class. She just an insecure person that is never sure what she really wants. Emily Hampshire as the stripper, is able to be tender but strong; enough to fall in love with her. I hope this movie gets distribution in USA and UNCUT. It is really a surprise that a not so original story could be handled with such an intelligent way.

• My Awkward Viewing Experience

  michaelradny2015-09-16

  When you go see this film, you almost certainly know what you are going to get. However, my expectations of being low were conquered by an above average story and is decently uncliched. But my main problem with My Awkward Sexual Experience is the characters. They lean too far one way so it tries to tug at your emotional strings and this try-hard approach is too cringe worthy for a really pleasant viewing experience. This film almost works perfectly, but the things that fail this film almost take it down. Characterisation and poor decisions by the filmmakers are almost devastating, but are saved by how original and different the storyline and plot are.

• Subtle paradigm breaker!

  lodewijkadlp2013-04-15

  This movie is a wolf in sheep's clothing. It presents itself as the stereotypical commercial comedy. All the characters are easily understandable stereotypes. It's main storyline is basically a total cliché. So why is it different? It breaks every one of the cliché's it uses. It tells us the story of what happens when our stereotypes become real, actually live their lives. And its easiness about sex is refreshing too, it's not a pornographic movie at all. Sex is just an aspect of it. And yet, even though of the controversial content, if you don't think about it: it's just another boring commercial romance comedy. (So: controversial perfectly hidden in a cliché feelgood. Remarkable really.) (Did I mention it's excellently produced. Seriously. Excellent production value!) (I wonder if I'd still think this positively about it if I watched it a second time. I guess some parts were pretty weak. But I practically wonder if it's intentional. Nice!)