A group of gay men in New York deal with angst by getting it on in various couplings. Meanwhile, the therapist of two of the gay men tries to have her first orgasm. Perhaps if all this was played out as a comedy, it would have been a hoot. But writer and director Mitchell lends a very heavy hand to the proceedings, making it an unbelievably tedious experience. The dialog is extremely pretentious. The script wanders aimlessly, making the film seem like three hours long. The characters are all self-obsessed. The acting is horrible. Mitchell's singular focus seems to be naked men having sex with each other, which may be great for gay viewers but for everybody else it's tough going.

I didn't think that this movie was as explicit as it turned out to be. I thought it was just a comedy with a sexual theme. So when real sex started showing on the screen I was quite surprised. I am not a prude or easily offended, but I think the movie would have been equally good, if not actually better, if they had opted to do the movie without real sex scenes.

They story follows the lives of a couples therapist unable to get an orgasm, a homosexual couple looking for a way to spice up their relationship, and a dominatrix who is unable to connect to anything. Their lives and fates become entwined as they visit an underground club of carnal lust named "Shortbus".

It should be said that the story is well-written and equally well put to the screen. And the characters were colorful, vivid and full of life. The story is driven by a myriad of strong characters and individual stories.

As a character-driven story it is extremely important to have a cast of talented actors and actresses. The actors and actresses in "Shortbus" were really doing good jobs with their given roles and characters. Especially Sook-Yin Lee (playing Sofia) and Paul Dawson (playing James) were putting on fantastic character performances.

"Shortbus" is a very interesting movie story-wise. I just think tit was a shame that director John Cameron Mitchell decided to go for real sex scenes. Personally, I think it just gave a very unnecessary sleazy taint to an otherwise impressive movie.

In NYC, Sofia Lin (Sook-Yin Lee) is a couples counselor married to Rob (Raphael Barker). They keep trying but she is sexually unsatisfied. Jamie and James are her gay couple clients. Caleb is stalking them. Jamie and James recommend Sofia to the Shortbus, a hole-in-the-wall club that challenges sexual preconceived notions. She meets Ceth (pronounced Seth) in the club who becomes a threesome with Jamie and James. Sofia tries to save her marriage by finally getting an orgasm with the help of dominatrix Severin.

There are a lot of explicit sex scenes. It's wrapped in some traditional relationship stories. Sofia and Severin are a funny pairing. Overall there is a need for more charismatic actors. I don't think Sook-Yin Lee is a good enough actor especially if she's the comedic center.