It’s hard to believe that sex is still a taboo subject in this age of information overload and with such easy access to education. Prudishness remains a steadfast human trait, no doubt aided enormously by marketers and Hollywood bombarding us with images of what beauty should be. Most people seem to have body image issues which can probably account for much of our desire to avoid any openness about sex.
Director & writer Patrick Brice captures this reticence nicely in Alex and Emily (Adam Scott and Taylor Schilling), the two conservative protagonists of The Overnight. After moving to Los Angeles with their son, a chance meeting in the park with fellow parents Kurt and Charlotte (Jason Schwartzman and Judith Godreche) leads to a dinner invitation that threatens to make The Rocky Horror Picture Show look like an episode of Play School
The evening begins normal enough over pizza and wine but once the kids are in bed, Kurt and Charlotte slowly begin pushing the sexual boundaries of their shy guests, exposing them to ideas and situations they had never explored.
What works so well in this highly amusing sex comedy is the dichotomy between the two couples as they edge closer towards the unknown. Alex and Emily bond over suspicion, fear, curiosity and assumptions, all the while trying to remain gracious guests. Kurt and Charlotte, on the other hand, manipulate the evening only to find their own skeletons coming to the surface.
Brice’s script treats the topic and his characters with respect, offering a number of laugh-out-loud moments but never venturing into farce or making either side look the fool. His brave actors dare to go places you don’t expect, which sometimes make you laugh and sometimes make you squirm.
Despite being billed as a “sex comedy”, The Overnight is a lot more intelligent than just that but when it comes to this kind of education, make sure your kids are in bed too.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet
Rating out of 10: 7
The Overnight is available from today on DVD and Digital.
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