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Plot Summary

Virginia, new to New Orleans, is broke and about to be homeless, and the dating scene hasn’t been something to counterbalance how things are going. Enter Jake, who Virginia meets when ditched by a guy she spent the night with, who offers her a place to live, maybe even some money, but there are strings attached.

Now, what are those strings? Well, the home he lives in, started and run by a woman named Cindy, is a sex house. People are naked throughout the property, there is likely someone having sex in at least one room at any given time, and while Virginia is trying to escape her evangelical upbringing, this is a lot. Add in Jake wants Virginia to help him get into various sex clubs to explore and research different kinks and fetishes? She feels overstimulated.

However, between nice, sex-positive people and the streets? Virginia warms up to Jake, Cindy, and their friends and has the kind of sexual awakening no other movie may get close to.

Content Information

Dialog: Cursing
Violence: Not Applicable
Sexual Content: Nudity, Sexual Situations (Implied, Explicit)
Miscellaneous: Drinking

General Information

Director(s)	Peter Woodward
Screenplay By	Peter Woodward
Based On Work By	N/A
Date Released	February 9, 2024
How To Watch	In Theaters
Date Released (Online)	May 2024
Genre(s)	Comedy Young Adult LGBT+
Film Length	1 Hour 25 Minutes
Content Rating	Not Rated
Noted Characters and Cast
Virginia	Katherine Ellis
Jake	Aaron Long
Cindy	Belle Eclair

Character Descriptions

Please Note: This character guide is not an exhaustive list of every cast member, and character descriptions may contain what can be considered spoilers.

Virginia (Katherine Ellis)

An ex-evangelical who has left home for New Orleans, Virginia, doesn’t have much, and what she does have is about to be put on the street.

Jake (Aaron Long)

One of the many who benefit from Cindy’s charity, Jake is trying to use the opportunity of free room and board to explore his interests, which include the mainstreaming of kink and pleasure.

Cindy (Belle Eclair)

Cindy is the owner and top earner of a home in New Orleans that houses at least half a dozen people who spend most of their day naked and usually having sex.

Review

Notable Performances or Moments

A Sex Comedy With Not Only Lots Of Sex But An Exploration Into Different Kinds

There are a lot of films billed as a “Sex Comedy” despite only a handful of sex scenes, with most of them being rather tame. “Sex-Positive” is drastically different because this is a straight-up, NSFW-type movie, for nearly every scene has equal opportunity nudity.

How so? Well, there are penises, asses, breasts, and not everyone is young and perky either. Mind you, are there a notable number of middle-aged and older people? No. But, there is an older man who secretly enjoys gay sex, who is featured for part of the movie.

But, even beyond witnessing the act, hearing the moans, and seeing BDSM and other means of pleasure, there is also a bit of conversation. It isn’t on the level of a Shan Boodram video, but whether it is discussing the aesthetics of a penis, kink, or even shame regarding sex, throughout the film, you get moments that remind you this isn’t solely about getting a bunch of actors on camera willing to be nude and gyrate on each other.

On The Fence

Lack Of Chemistry When It Comes To Romance

In “Sex-Positive,” there are multiple relationships, a marriage or two, and of course, crushes. Unfortunately, most relationships we see or get teased don’t have chemistry. More often than not, the film doesn’t give space for characters to be vulnerable beyond being nude, and while there are conversations throughout, very few are about building something that can feel romantic.

If anything, there is a strong focus on sexual compatibility and curiosity, and even though there is a married couple who have an open marriage, there isn’t much there to make you get invested. This is unfortunate because while this is primarily a comedy, you can see multiple missed opportunities to showcase what some may consider an alternative lifestyle.

There Isn’t A Balance Between The Comedic Side and Serious Side

Everything isn’t fun and games in “Sex-Positive.” Virginia has shame regarding sex due to her past religion. Cindy hasn’t had a date or relationship in a long time because she has dedicated herself to being a cam girl, and Jake? He has his own sexual dysfunction he is dealing with.

As noted above, you can see glimpses of conversations, reasons, and means this film could have gotten serious and balanced its humor with each character’s humanity, but the path isn’t taken. We see Virginia’s liberation, but there isn’t much talk about the oppression. Cindy’s struggles with dating, which has led to sex for some form of validation, aren’t gone into.

Heck, most characters lack the development needed to see them as more than a handful of jokes, a nude body, and their sexual preference at times. It’s frustrating because “Sex-Positive” does touch upon people’s hang-ups with sex, the conflict between romantic attraction and sexual liberties, and what we do get is done in a way that feels palatable.

Add in most sex comedies are just about hot women and nothing but the superficial? It’s hard not to just sigh at the potential, which was sidestepped.

Recommendations

Good If You Like

Sex comedies with lots of nudity and sexual situations

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Listed Under Categories: Movies, Mixed (Divisive)

Sex-Positive (2024) – Movie Review and Summary