'Shortbus' restored... just in time for our sexphobic era!
Friday, January 28, 2022 at 3:09PM by Nathaniel R
Dearest readers, January kills me. I feel overwhelmed for 31 days in a row from the moment I wake up to the moment I fitfully sleep and I never even get to have sex (that's on topic, sorry!). There are always too many things: Oscar campaigns, best of lists, numerous deadlines, transcribing interviews, Sundance. Each year in January (why January?) there are also cool revivals and restorations that emerge at the same exact time everything else is happening (including the re-emergence of those "qualifying" Oscar releases). This is a long and navel-gazing way to say that one of the most singular movies of the the Aughts, John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus (2006), has been restored and is in theaters again right where it was born in New York City. Unfortunately we haven't made it to the theater yet.
I loved it so much in 2006. It meant a lot to me for numerous reasons back then, the simplest being that I needed it, being a newish gay New Yorker who had years of sexual repression to unpack (Hello Mormonism!). So for a quick fun reminiscence, let's talk about its history right here at the site's own Film Bitch Awards...
SHORTBUS HISTORY IN OUR ANNUAL FILM BITCH AWARDS
I was already a huge fan of John Cameron Mitchell when the movie premiered, having seen him in the original Off Broadway run of Hedwig twice -- it was one of the very first shows I saw after moving to NYC. Most of my friends, my then boyfriend, and I were also already obsessed with trans icon / cabaret star Justin Vivian Bond whose shows we frequented in the East Village. They have a small but crucial role in the movie. They are listed as "Justin Bond" in these screenshots from 2006 since that's how they were billed at the time and in the movie.
NON-SHORTBUS TANGENT: Our "breakthrough award" now is much more restrictive. It's weird to see Emily Blunt here, for example, since she took the gold medal for Best Supporting Actress that year (double-dipping in the four main acting categories and in "breakthrough" is no longer allowed). Hilarious to see that Channing Tatum and Anika Noni Rose and Rose Byrne didn't get the real love since they have become perennially awesome favourites.
True story. When I nominated it for all those prizes at the Film Bitch Awards, one reader complained that we'd lost the thread 'you're now honoring pornos?!?' But being pornographic was never its raison d'etre despite the clear goal of containing explicit sex (something multiple legit filmmakers were toying with in the early Aughts).
In a new fascinating and funny Vulture piece, Mark Harris recounts the origin story of the movie and his time covering the unusual auditions for John Cameron Mitchell who had only directed one movie at the time, Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001). Rabbit Hole (2010), the Broadway revival of Hedwig, and Shrill (2019-2021) were years in the future.
x-rated scenes from the film.
Harris also discusses the much changed climate around sexuality now and Mitchell reflects on whether or not the movie could even be made today (not a chance!). The joyfully horny movie is reemerging during a time when even progressive liberal people seeing to be eyeing consensual sex as suspiciously as conservative people used to look at any slight deviation from vanilla sex / heternormativity. Gen Z is (statistically) having a lot less sex than Millenials or Generation X did. It's a different era in so many ways.
It's an amazing read, so take the time... especially if you can't make one of the showings of the movie. The evening screenings tonight (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) feature Q&As with John Cameron Mitchell. The revival runs through February 3rd at the IFC Center here in New York City.
Justin Vivian Bond, NYC, Shortbus, moviegoing, sex senes
Reader Comments (8)
John Waters had it in his Top 10 that year and in his commentary he said he couldn't wait for it to be turned into a Broadway play!
I keep forgetting that, like me, you grew up Mormon, Nathaniel.
Two things:
1) Speaking of our sex phobic era, I showed SHORTBUS to my queer theory class last fall and had my (graduate) students read the chapter about it in Damon Young's excellent book MAKING SEX PUBLIC. The students didn't really like either the book or the film. One even complained that the book (which looks at a number of sex-themed films released in France and the US in the decades after WW II) doesn't acknowledge the "dangerous" aspects of sexuality--even though it does. Most of these students identify as queer or certainly pro-queer! Sigh.
2) Is it just me, or is John Cameron Mitchell transitioning into Judith Butler?
I still have my DVD copy of Shortbus as I bought it when it came out not knowing what to expect but... it was worth it. I would love to see the film be released through Criterion soon as well as Mitchell's other films.
While my friends were all very, very into Hedwig (many have the tattoo), I was changed by Shortbus. I adore that movie!
Thank you for the recommendation, and the trip down Film Bitch memory lane!
Glad Oscilloscope is doing this. Much more exciting than the new releases they've been putting out lately.
Such a good movie and overdue for a re-watch. I was hoping that this would mark a trend to more sex-positivity in film, but alas.
It's going to be at the Roxie in San Francisco in mid Feb. for a week if you want to visit out here after your crazy January, Nathaniel! I'll be there.
Loved your detailed account of Shortbus' era. It reminded me of what Paul Verhoeven said during Benedetta's press conference in Cannes about the disappearing of nakedness and sex in public spaces and cultural life.
John Cameron Mitchell is an underrated genius. Both Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus are imaginative, daring, and thoughtful masterpieces... that never cease to be entertaining. Two of my top 100 films of the XXIst Century...