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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Anchor Bay - ITN
Salesrank: 6690
Released: July 1, 2008 |
| Our Price: $5.98 |
| Used Price: $1.25 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Roderick Blank, Simon Baker, is a successful modern man, content with his personal and professional life. However, a week before his wedding to a suitably stuffy fiancee, Rodericks perfectly planned existence is upended by a mysterious e-mail containing the names of every woman he has had sex with and, eerily, every woman he will have sex with in the future. He is stopped in his tracks when he meets a femme fatale, Winona Ryder, who targets men guilty of sex crimes against women. Co-starring Patton Oswalt and directed by Daniel Waters, writer of the cult hit Heathers.
Description of Sex and Death 101:
Sex and Death 101 presents an intriguing premise: If you were given a list of all the people you were destined to sleep with, would you give up what you currently have to fulfill that prophecy? That's exactly what happens to Roderick Blank (Simon Baker, The Devil Wears Prada, The Mentalist), who is engaged to a beautiful woman. But when he receives an anonymous message stating that he will sleep with 101 women in his lifetime--and she is but 29th on the list--he throws his life into turmoil. A dark comedy from Daniel Waters, who also penned the superb Heathers, Sex and Death 101 doesn't have the effortless flow of Waters' breakthrough film. His muse Winona Ryder returns as a disturbed woman with a jones for Roderick and a penchant for the darker side of life. But she is given too little to do to make much of an impact on the meandering plot. Much of the dialogue does little to help the matter. "Life is a lot like death," Roderick says. "It happens to everyone, whether they like it or not." The problem with Sex and Death 101 is that the line between life and death often isn't discernible. Baker and Ryder have both fared better in stronger projects. The bright spot in this movie is Mindy Cohn (The Facts of Life), who plays Roderick's put upon assistant Trixie. She proves to be more interesting and endearing than the leads, and adds wry humor to what could've been a thankless role. --Jae-Ha Kim
Sex and Death 101 Reviews:
Odd, Wicked and Very Cool 
2009-08-19 - A strange comedy. Written by the same guy who wrote the successful Heathers and the terrible Hudson Hawk, this is a film about a successful businessman, Roderick Blank (Simon Baker) who has it all and who receives an anonymous email with a list of 101 womens' names. He discovers he has slept with the first 29 on the list and the rest are women he will sleep with. He dumps his fiancee and proceeds to seek out the others on the list and do the deed. As an aside, Winona Ryder plays Death Nell who sleeps with random men and puts them into a coma. She is the last on list and when Roderick finds this out, he prepares to meet his fate.
This is sometimes jaw dropping. You will find yourself bursting out laughing despite yourself. It does have a rather cheap quality to the filming and is overly long but the main characters do a good job. If you're only viewing of Simon Baker is as The Mentalist, then prepare to be shocked. He is witty, cool and brings a likeability to a character you should really loathe. And he is very easy on the eye. However, how Winona Ryder continues to get work is one of life's mysteries.
Sex and Death 101
2009-08-18 - What a hilarious movie! Get sucked into the dangerous world of playing the field sex. You will love Simon Baker! Winona Ryder is fantastic in this!
offbeat romantic comedy finally wins one over 
2009-07-20 - "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 woman 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.
Interesting premise 
2009-05-05 - This movie is about a man who stumbles onto a list of every woman he has slept with and will ever sleep with. Interesting premise but that's about it. He blitzes through the list which speeds up the plot to a unbelievable and silly conclusion. There's some black comedy but not much in the way of laugh out moments. Jessica "Sugar" Kiper from TV's "Survivor" is here very briefly for fans of that TV show. Really just a so-so movie.
easy watching
2009-04-15 - This movie is easy to watch, with quite a few laughs.
And ofcourse Simon Baker is a great actor.
Nice to have in your collection.
