Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)

Second or third viewing. Latest was on April 8, 1989.

A series of comical sketches, each entitled with a question regarding an aspect of sex.

A very good film, which offers a sort of panorama of sexuality. The first episode ("Do Aphrodisiacs Work?) is perfect as an introduction, stating how in the past repression was explicit and consequences were physical; in such times guilt was not an issue, or rather it had a merely legal aspect. Moving on to modern times, we find that more than one episode are centered on the theme of Sex vs. Culture; two of them deal with it more or less straightforwardly: the zoophile ("What Is Sodomy?", an inaccurate title) and the crossdresser ("Are All Transvestites Homosexuals?"), another one shows the ambiguity in the aforementioned duality ("Why Is It So Difficult for a Woman to Reach Orgasm?"), in which sexual fulfillment is inextricably entangled with cultural repression; yet another reverts surrealistically the expectations on this theme ("What Are Sex Perverts?"), with an insight into the 21st century and its culture of trivialization and self-exposure. In "How Accurate Is the Scientific Knowledge About Sex?", there is an analysis of science-fiction films, from the vantage point of sex. The final episode ("What Happens in Ejaculation?") covers the biological aspect, and is in certain ways the most ambitious of the lot. Even though the humor displayed in this film is not always all that groundbreaking, I think overall it is a remarkable work.

Rating: 71 (down from 78)