This is a sex farce where the actual sex is by far superior to the rest of the movie. The title tipped me off, it's too on the nose and unsubtle. The script is entirely about sex. That usually would be very much in my "pro" column. The sex scenes and quick cuts are by far the funniest things in the movie. The problem is, the movie is ENTIRELY about sex. Next to nothing about the characters, the setting, nothing. There are no characters to connect to. Nothing to root for or care about. The plot is incoherent. The acting is broad and unfunny. In a later interview, the director said he wished he had told his actors to play it straight. Amen to that! James Spader, as Roger Klink (har har), gives a jittery, gaspy performance. Talk about playing against type. As the film went on, it bugged me that he never seemed to speak in complete sentences. Spader, Bill Murray and Catherine O'Hara, all excellent comic performers, are weighed down by the clumsy script and terrible pacing. In the small part of Dr. Klink's ex-wife, Megan Mullalley gives by far the best performance, in part because she has the most rounded, interesting character. You know there's something wrong with a film when a minor character is better written than the leads. Lara Flynn Boyle as Dr. Paige, an unstable marriage counselor is awful. The rest of the cast is capable, nothing special.
If you have nothing better to do, this movie is an okay diversion, but don't go out of your way.
If you have nothing better to do, this movie is an okay diversion, but don't go out of your way.