Better Than Sex

Since you will have already read the plot by now, let me just say this movie was a lot of fun! I rate it much higher than the other folks on imdb.com The taxi driver, the refrigerator scene, and the final airport scene all brought big smiles to my face. Not a movie for the kids - see it with a close friend.

I think that every boys/mans and women in the world should watch this film...because it 's quite true...and you will learn a lot about the opposite sex;) it's also quite original in the way it is filmed, the interviews...you have a lot of different point of views which are quite representative ...I'm speaking about women's point of view, of course...and i wonder if it's the same for boys. it may be not famous but it's worse to see it, believe me! Watch it either in couple or with friends...it doesn't matter as u can speak about it together! I've seen it with a friend, we had a lot of fun...than I saw it with my boyfriend, it was interesting...

This is a great investigation into the challenge of having a merely sexual relationship with someone without letting emotions come into it. But, eventually emotions come into it because sex is more than just the release of biological urges. The two main characters Josh and Cin are perfectly portrayed by their players David and Susie. I'm sure they would have put a bit of themselves into their roles. The toughest part would have been filming the sex scenes and for the director filming the scenes without a hint of pornography. My rating: 8/10

"Better Than Sex" is yet another mostly bedroom two-hander on a relationship, like "About Last Night" and "Breaking Up," but is quite charmingly done in a frank and funny tone.

With a gimmick of a time-bound, three-day relationship setting the limits, the talking to the camera by the two lovers and their friends works as a way to show what's going through their heads. This technique is especially useful when dealing with the visual problem foreign movies have grappled with but American movies have avoided since "Klute" (especially "Pretty Woman"): how to show when sex changes with feelings.

There is a touch of magic realism with a bemused cab driver, but she also could be their whimsical thoughts.

The Australian actors are not of the pencil-thin/gym worked-out American variety, but are lustily and cheerily robust as we see quite a bit of them.

What was confusing was the order their days together are presented -- did my projectionist mix up the reels or was the print I saw mixed up? At one point one character says "We've already had our first fight," which hadn't happened yet, and he leaves with a bag he hadn't brought over. But then later both the fight and the bag appear. I also got confused as to what was which with an indication of "The Third Day" vs. "The Last Day." There's a possibility it was shown out of order for emotional effect, but then I think the changed red sheets didn't appear at the end.

The Aussie pop songs are nice, but incidental and hardly noticeable.

(originally written 11/17/2001)

This film is simple in plot line---the growth from a one-night stand of a relationship that is expected to end as one party has to leave in a few days---but manages to build the characters with a mixture of soliloquy, quick comment from friends, reaction to fast sexual progression, and so on. It gives the feeling that it was once a stage play, but does not suffer for this. It has a few amusing weird bits, like the taxi driver. It is no blockbuster, but it is well-acted, well photographed, well scripted, has an interesting ending, and is generally warming, while succeeding admirably in making you see the characters without seeing their appearance.