Hey folks, Valkor here. As I was going through my assortment of
DVDs and Blu Rays and I found a disc, which upon first impressions,
I thought it was something other than what I actually got. But
with the film "Group Sex" - a romantic comedy of sorts, I was
actually pleased with the outcome… more so than I was with MILF,
which was just an average comedy, but still solid. However this
was LOL, hold your sides funny... for the most part.
Group Sex stars Josh Cooke as Andy, who along with his friend Jerry (played by Heroes Greg Grunberg), work for an ad agency. Why is that important? It isn't... well it is, but we need not get into it. The film starts with the two on a night out, and it's revealed that Andy is in the midst of a break-up that not even a hot, blonde, stewardess can cure his blues. One night the two are at a bar and Andy becomes smitten with bar songtress Vanessa (Odette Yustman). She quickly bolts from the place and Andy gives chase, leading him to a church and then a room where he's met by Burton (Henry Winkler). And this is where you think the film is gonna go in one direction… that is until they step inside this classroom.
Let's take a quick pause here. When I first viewed this film, I thought it was a comedy having to do with orgies… which I don't believe has ever been done, but I'm not up on my sex comedies, so I don't know. The dialogue between Andy and Burton suggests "things" are gonna happen, but when they step inside, it's actually a group THERAPY for sex addicts. And honestly, that's even better!
Continuing with our story, turns out Vanessa is a sex addict, but Andy is not. So what's a guy to do when he's in love? He pretends to be a sex addict, using his friend Jerry as a reference (because Jerry actually is a sex addict), to try and get the girl. This opens up not only comedic mishaps between Andy and Vanessa, but also between his group mates such as Herman (played by Tom Arnold) who is addicted to hookers, Donny (Ron Benedict), who is a chronic masturbator, Ramon (Lombardo Boyar) who is just a sex addict, Tiffany (Kym Whitley), who's a sex addict gone celibate, and of course Vanessa, who is addicted to sex. To wrap things up, Andy must maintain his sex addiction to try and get closer to Vanessa, but this obssession will not only affect his job, but his friendship with Jerry… plus he's not even supposed to date the woman. Will Andy make it out unscathed with the girl in tow?
Of course he will, that's why it's a romantic comedy. So what did I think?
The Good:
What can I say, this film is hilarious!! It's not non-stop, well-balanced funny. The jokes are evenly spaced to perfection and it helps that the actors nail the delivery… each and every time! I loved it! Then again I'm coming off of MILF, so really it's uphill from here. The actors are all around spot on, but Greg Grunberg deserves praise as the king of laughs. Josh Cooke, while he plays the straight man, has got some jokes. But killer laughs go to Lisa Lampanelli who will have you on the floor the short time she's on screen. In the film she plays a waitress at a diner where the sex addicts hang out. And when Andy, Donny, and Herman prep to leave, Donny asks for a cup of relish, which Lisa replies "I will kick you in the cunt!"… tears… brought me to tears… And if you haven't watched her do stand-up, you're missing out.
The Bad:
Though it's a great comedy, it's a bit all over the place. It's not hard to follow, but it needed some containment. Like the whole "ruining the friendship because of a woman…" bit; we could have cut that scenario out all together and given Lampanelli more screen time that she so deserves. Did I mention I love her? I don't care if her jokes are racist, she's hilarious! I also didn't like the fact that Andy was fired because of Relish… oops I mean Donny. How did the blame instantly get placed on him? Wouldn't the women, who saw Donny masturbate openly in the office, point him out to the cops? But Val, he was protecting Donny from his 3rd strike. Yea but the women SAW DONNY. How did the blame get switched to Andy? Because his hands were white? Not buyin it.
The Weird:
So there's a scene where Tiffany is celebrating her celibacy with a cake LOADED with candles. Immediately after… all the candles are gone. WHAT THE HELL?
Do yourselves a favor and check out Group Sex, I can't praise this film enough, it's a wild, raunchy good time, loaded with laughs that will leave you in stitches. Definitely one comedy you shouldn't miss. As a bonus along with the trailer, here's some Lisa Lampanelli for ya (vid no longer available). And out of TOV 5 stars, I'm givin Group Sex a 4.5.
