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UNSCREWED Send This Review to a Friend
Leslie Shearing, who has written and directed the aptly titled “Unscrewed,” doesn’t seem to know whether she wants the film to be funny or serious, and yet the odd combination gives it a measure of charm that wouldn’t work if she went for broke to try for hilarity. Referred to as a “mockumentary,” the film, previously titled “Dogs in the Basement,” is a fake documentary about a young husband and wife whose sex life has gone stale and who attempt to revitalize it by going to a sex therapist, checking out their physical condition and visiting kooks who sit around looking at each other’s “yonies” to find liberation. Some of this is quite funny, but ultimately the film also has a sad note because the couple splits even after getting some better action going.
You know right away that Shearing is up to mischief by naming her couple Mary and Joseph, played in documentary fashion by Heather Smith and Hans Hoffman. Shearing casts a satirical eye at the whole idea of working so hard to get good sex. She also is funny starring in the film as Dr. Nadia Pfelt, who handles the clinical role and assumes a droll accent that adds to the exaggerated intimate examinations Mary and Joseph undergo with her.
Others in the cast include Donna Klimek, Elziabeth Quinn, Michael Rose and Douglas Manes, all of whom contribute to the trumped up sexual journey. The film is candid without being overly explicit, at least according to today’s standards. Shearing tempers her comedy with the pain of the couple’s quest, and the fact that they are doomed to go their separate ways adds a somber note that tends to undermine the satire. But on balance, “Unscrewed” is a nervy film that flaunts its oddball humor. A Kanbar Entertainment release.
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