Product Description

Roderick Blank, Simon Baker, is a successful modern man, content with his personal and professional life. However, a week before his wedding to a suitably stuffy fiancee, Rodericks perfectly planned existence is upended by a mysterious e-mail containing the names of every woman he has had sex with and, eerily, every woman he will have sex with in the future. He is stopped in his tracks when he meets a femme fatale, Winona Ryder, who targets men guilty of sex crimes against women. Co-starring Patton Oswalt and directed by Daniel Waters, writer of the cult hit Heathers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4922 in DVD
• Brand: STARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT
• Released on: 2008-07-01
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Enhanced, NTSC, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 100 minutes

Amazon.com
Sex and Death 101 presents an intriguing premise: If you were given a list of all the people you were destined to sleep with, would you give up what you currently have to fulfill that prophecy? That's exactly what happens to Roderick Blank (Simon Baker, The Devil Wears Prada, The Mentalist), who is engaged to a beautiful woman. But when he receives an anonymous message stating that he will sleep with 101 women in his lifetime--and she is but 29th on the list--he throws his life into turmoil. A dark comedy from Daniel Waters, who also penned the superb Heathers, Sex and Death 101 doesn't have the effortless flow of Waters' breakthrough film. His muse Winona Ryder returns as a disturbed woman with a jones for Roderick and a penchant for the darker side of life. But she is given too little to do to make much of an impact on the meandering plot. Much of the dialogue does little to help the matter. "Life is a lot like death," Roderick says. "It happens to everyone, whether they like it or not." The problem with Sex and Death 101 is that the line between life and death often isn't discernible. Baker and Ryder have both fared better in stronger projects. The bright spot in this movie is Mindy Cohn (The Facts of Life), who plays Roderick's put upon assistant Trixie. She proves to be more interesting and endearing than the leads, and adds wry humor to what could've been a thankless role. --Jae-Ha Kim

Review
The film is so brilliantly done. There are montage sequences that left me gasping for air laughing. --Harry Knowles, AintItCoolNews.com

About the Director
Written & Directed by: Daniel Walters. Demolition Man, Batman Returns, Heathers.

Customer Reviews

A good adult sex comedy...with lots of "perversions"...
Spoilers warning and adult themed review to follow.


How can a sex comedy go wrong with such themes as turtle diarrhea, a lesbian power couple named Bambi and Thumper, a religious school bus group devirginization marathon, and/or knowing your sexual future? Or with script writing that includes a "sloppy fusion of genitalia", an "intercourse buffet" and a reference to that "whore-bitch Jane Austen"? If you are not amused or are even offended right now - you might want to skip this movie (and review).

Daniel Waters has made a fun, original film about a man who is given the "gift" of knowing his future, specifically his upcoming sexual conquests, whether man or woman, all categorized on a nice list. Waters is oft remembered for his deviant writing with Heathers or Happy Campers, but in this case he gets to indulge a high volume of sexual perversions into one film.

The two leads were cast appropriately with a needed "pretty boy" in Simon Baker (I remember him most from his brief role in LA Confidential) and Winona Ryder playing the femme fatale/serial coma-inducer. A great supporting cast in Mindy Cohn, Julie Bowen (who I liked in the Ed TV series), the Janitor from Scrubs, Natasha Malthe, etc.

The film has two story lines, one involves the man who has it all that receives this list (origins of which can only be seen in the film to understand) containing all of his past and future sexual escapades. He gets this the week of his wedding - only to find out there are 60+ names listed after his soon to be wife. The other story is Winona's character resolving her past sufferings by inducing comas upon every man she sleeps with. The remaining twists and interlocking plots need to be watched as they can't be explained without spoiling too much. Which leads me to the extras...

The DVD docu titled "101 Perversions" is an excellent insight into the minds and motives behind this film - and for the first time on a disc docu - they actually disclaim the piece as containing spoilers and recommend that you watch the film first. Waters' interview gets some nice slams on present day big comedy films "that suck", but includes some nice homages to Benny Hill and Fellini for this film.

I think this is what my customers have been looking for in a "good adult comedy" that doesn't involve lowbrow humor or have National Lampoon in the title (the later NLs).

"My Wounds Are Deeper Than Your Desires" ...
Told through first-person narration, Sex and Death 101 is a little like the Wachowskis' The Matrix collides with Shainberg's Secretary (stick with me here). The premise: a (sentient?) "machine" has begun interfering with humanity, issuing e-mails that reveal a person's fate. While many people received an e-mail revealing their death-day, Roderick Blank was "gifted" with a list of every woman he has and WILL sleep with. Sounds great, right? Well, what the viewer learns is that "the chase" is fairly boring when the results are a given. Watching Rodrick try to plow through his list is dark and hysterical (especially when we reach Bambi and Thumper ... a world-class, lesbian power-couple). Now for the twist, the FINAL person on Roderick's list is a notorious serial-killer ...

With a budget of five-million, Waters created a pretty slick film. The casting is quirky (in a fantastic way!!). Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens and Ratatouille) plays a lascivious lackey to the "Morpheus-like" Alpha. I'm entirely biased here (since I think Oswalt is one of the most adorable, underrated actors in Hollywood), but his character alone makes the film worth watching. Moreover, Mindy Cohn (The Facts of Life) was a brave and fabulous choice. All grown up, Cohn rocks her character. She adds sweetness to (what could have been) your typical "lesbian" character. Kudos!! Julie Bowen, Winona Ryder, and Simon Baker nicely round-out the cast. Overall, the acting is wonderfully on-point. We could genuinely loathe the character of Roderick BUT Baker brings an irrefutable charm to him. And, this is where the film is a success. Roderick may be a slick, handsome, fast-food King ("Have a startling and unique day!!"), but as he resigns himself to fate he becomes brooding and vulnerable. Love it.

Why should you watch this work? Well, for one, it has a montage of Chinese-symbol, lower-back tattoos to represent the passage of time (a great joke resides in this moment ... pay attention). Two, watching Roderick don faerie-wings just to join Bambi and Thumper (in slow-motion) ... TOTALLY WORTH IT! (And so funny). Three, the scene with the school bus ... that's all I can say (by far, the absolutely most unpredictable, laugh-out-loud moment).

I noticed that this work is receiving some seriously scathing reviews. As a harsh-critic, I respect the opinions of others. I have a feeling this film appeals to a niche crowd: one which seeks dark, erotic, adult faerie-tales (a la Shainberg's Secretary ... see, I told you to stay with me). If, like me, you find the American Pie style of films trite and juvenile, give Water's work a spin. It won't disappoint.

Sexy death?
While I feel a little bit guilty for saying this, I liked it. Yup, that's right. In its off the wall & unexpected way, this was a uniquely entertaining movie. I readily concede that this DVD will not be accepted in the same way by all people.

The premise of the film asks an interesting question: what IF you knew the names of all the women you would sleep with between now & the grave? Sounds great, right? Some supercomputer somewhere (I presume using chaos theory or something) has learned how to tell the future. It accidentally sends an e-mail to the persona (Simon Baker) which lists all the women he's ever slept with, as well as all the women he ever will become intimate with.

Problem is, the poor fella is supposed to be getting married, and this list messes everything up. So, he turns into a playboy and begins going down the list. Problem is, there is no longer any "challenge" in it. As soon as he's struck one girl's name off the list, he's ready to go on to the next one. The best analogy in the movie is when he says that his life is like a taped-delay game of a football game. He already KNOWS the final score & that his team won, but he doesn't know HOW they won. Along the way, he is offered consolation / guidance by his lesbian secretary (Mindy Cohn; the first time I've seen her in anything since The Facts of Life - The Complete First & Second Seasons way back in the 1980s).

The main issue with the list is the name of the last girl on it. Her nickname is "Death Nell" (played by Winona Ryder) and she is a sort of black-widow who is out to have revenge on the male gender due to the fact that she was mis-treated by her ex. Uh oh!

There should be a rule that any movie with the word "sex" in the title should automatically have some obligatory nudity. Well, this film delivers on that, and we get to see some hot babes minus their clothes. The film was written by Daniel Walters (who also wrote the equally whacked-out Heathers). In the DVD extras he said he intentionally cast most of the actresses from Australia, due to the fact that Aussie babes don't have a problem stripping down on-film. We even get an ever-so-brief glimpse of Winona's left nipple, although it's from a distance & a bad angle.

This is what you would call a dark comedy, but it's one with a silver lining. It has some very warped imagery of Sleeping Beauty (Special Edition) and is a tour-de-force of every twisted male sexual fantasy out there - including a few which are downright repulsive. With all that in mind, you should have an idea of what you're in for should you decide to purchase this DVD. People who are socially conservative should avoid this film @ all costs!