It's a very bad sign when you watch a movie and in the middle of it you ask yourself whether it's a parody or the director is really serious. This is exactly what happened to me while watching 'S&D 101'. We have seen the white room with the men in white costumes receiving message from the Forces so many time - so it must be a parody. Then you have this list of the 101 women that the hero of the movie will sleep with until death, or until he falls in lover, or maybe until he gets bored until he bored us to death. But then some serious romance seems to develop. Until the Big Love falls and breaks her neck like in a silent comedy, but we are supposed to be sorry, so it's maybe a tragedy. Or a parody??

One way or the other, I got very confused about what this film is about and what it tries to be. A romantic comedy? An erotic fantasy? A thriller with a touch of 'Matrix'? I think that I know what it is - it is a failure that becomes boring after a few minutes of watching and keeps being so despite the amount of beautiful women and the neat film-making. The principal reason of this failure is that not only the premises of the film are non-credible, but so are almost every dialog and relation that is brought on this screen. Which does not improve at all my appreciation for director Daniel Walters who was also the screen writer.

To avoid!

I am probably not the first to say it, but the choice of Simon Baker for this romantic comedy was brilliant. Left in the hands of someone who is more familiar in rom coms would leave his movie tasting like the typical breast and fart jokes that so many popular comedies are today.

Sure, he is shallow. After having sex with 29 women, he finds that he is to reach 101 before dies. Knowing who number 101 was caused him some concern, but fortunately he found out when he had 20 to go before her. No sex and he had 20 human shield to keep number 101 away. How is that working out?

There are some really funny moments (Patton Oswalt is a riot!),some tender moments, some interesting moments (Bambi and Thumper, Granny C),and 100 moments of romantic comedy.

Winona Ryder was amazing.

You have to see this one.

"Sex and Death 101" is a dark and savvy little romantic comedy that gleefully dances away from many of the stale and stuffy conventions generally associated with the genre.

Simon Baker stars as the allegorically named Roderick Blank, a handsome, seemingly insatiable lady killer who's decided it's finally time to put an end to his womanizing ways in favor of marriage to the beautiful Fiona Wormwood. Yet, literally on the eve of his bachelor party, Rod receives a mysterious email listing in chronological order not only all the women he's already slept with throughout the course of his life but all the women he is destined to sleep with in the time that still remains to him (the total is 101, if you haven't already surmised that from the film's title). Adhering to the adage "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak," Rod allows the list to essentially take over his life, waiting for the next promised woman to fall into his lap (sometimes quite literally),then crossing her name off the moment he's had his way with her. But is this truly the route to a satisfying life, even for a notorious playboy like Roderick Blank?

Part science fiction and part metaphysical morality play, "Sex and Death 101" also boasts two wacky subplots that run contrapuntal to the main story: one featuring Winona Ryder as an avenging feminist who comes in the guise of a serial killer, luring unsuspecting misogynists to their well-deserved destruction; and the other involving three mysterious figures (mad scientists, intervening angels?) who kidnap Rod to inform him that he has been the victim of some bizarre cosmic prank and that he needs to destroy the list before it destroys him.

"Sex and Death 101" is not a perfect film by any means. Its attempts at surrealism are frequently heavy-handed and strained, and its black-comedy edge isn't always as razor-sharp as it could be. But, on the whole, this is a wildly original and surprisingly incisive look at the different ways in which men and women view sex and romance and the different ways they use both those things to get what they want. Writer/director Daniel Waters knows how to set even the most hackneyed romantic comedy cliché spinning on its head. For instance, the movie takes the obligatory "gay best friend" stereotype - who usually comes in the form of a flaming interior decorator or wedding planner - and turns it into a wise-cracking lesbian (smartly played by Mindy Cohn, best known as Natalie from "The Facts of Life"),whose duties as Rod's personal secretary go far beyond merely scheduling his appointments or knowing where his briefcase is.

Although Rod is, in many ways, a typical character for a romantic comedy - afraid of commitment, obsessed with nailing every woman who comes his way, etc. - the route the script takes to get him to his admittedly rather predictable pro-woman/pro-romance epiphany is anything but typical. This freshness is further enhanced by the devilishly playful and utterly disarming performance turned in by Baker who completely captivates the viewer with his easygoing charisma and charm. The scene in which Baker and Ryder finally share screen time together is exceptionally well acted and staged.

Even though the movie feels a little disjointed and unfocused at times, Waters does a nice job dovetailing all the seemingly unrelated plot elements into a satisfying whole in the end. "Sex and Death 101" is for those who like a little spice with their romantic comedies.