Gregg Araki has been at the forefront of expanding our horizons around sex, and I can say he definitely did that for me. I was an early fan of his “Teenage Apocalypse” trilogy, Nowhere being a longtime personal favorite. Those films were definitely niche and, to this day, remain criminally underseen. But I’ve always appreciated most when he dabbles in efforts that present as more mainstream, because if there’s one thing Araki won’t do, it’s hold anything back. He forces us to confront our feelings around sexual kink, queer love, consent, and more issues that Hollywood still considers taboo. I think back to a screwball romcom such as Splendor, which explored a three-way sexual relationship. Araki’s latest, I Want Your Sex, feels like a cousin to that movie. A sexually-charged comedy starring Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman, it centers on a young man who becomes the willing submissive to his boss, a powerful, infamous artist.
Hoffman stars as Elliot, an aimless guy with no real prospects or career ambitions, other than to do a podcast or something. But he also needs work, because his best friend Apple (Chase Sui Wonders) is sick of carrying the rent load. So he lands a gig as assistant to Erika Tracy (Wilde), a gorgeous, sexual dynamo and renowned artist known as much for her carnal appetite as her notorious cruelty. Elliot, who has a prudish, absent girlfriend (Charli XCX), is incredibly attracted to Erika. He can’t believe his luck when she, after noting that Elliot had signed his NDA, recruits him to be her personal sex slave.
In true Araki fashion, I Want Your Sex breaks all sorts of norms that you wouldn’t see in a comedy like this. It presents as a fairly straight-forward sex comedy, and many people will go in believing that’s what it is. But Araki uses it to cover a number of hot button issues. Early on, as Elliot is being questioned by a pair of detectives (played by Margaret Cho and Johnny Knoxville), the question of grooming comes up. But Elliot dismisses it almost immediately because what guy wouldn’t want to submit themselves to a stunner like Erika? That the power dynamic is wildly in her favor is barely an issue. This almost certainly wouldn’t be so easily dismissed if things were reversed.
Also, Araki ponders why so many Gen Z guys seem to be so afraid of sex. For that matter, Hollywood movies, at least those that aren’t distinctly LGBTQ, seem to be afraid of sex altogether. How many blockbuster movies from major studios have you seen lately that place it front and center? It’s one reason why Araki is such a vital voice, perhaps more now than ever, because he can attract such A-list talent to a film like I Want Your Sex.
This marks what is a career-turning Sundance for Wilde, which also sees her direct and star in the riotous comedy, The Invite (review here), another movie about the breaking of sexual norms. As Erika Tracy, she’s given one of the best roles she’s ever had. You can see her come to life as this wicked, conniving femme fatale who Elliot rightly calls a sociopath. And yet, she’s utterly irresistible. One of the most believable things about Elliot is how utterly addicted he is to Erika even though he knows she’s awful for him. She’s like a drug that he can’t pull himself away from. Sure, he comes across like a naive fool, but as a guy who has been that naive fool more than once in his life, I bought every second of it.
There’s a murder subplot that intrudes on the story, and it’s the one aspect that feels out of place. Araki doesn’t seem to be that invested in it, either, even though it’s crucial to the plot. It sends the final act into a tailspin, with so much going on that the premise gets lost and so do the jokes. Still, I’ll take a thousand provocative Gregg Araki comedies like I Want Your Sex over another bland retread from Tinseltown. Araki is unflinching at pushing buttons to evoke the reaction he wants, and while that may turn some off, it’s good to have your limits tested every once in a while, whether that be in the movie theater or in the bedroom.
