In Gregg Araki’s raucous sex comedy I Want Your Sex, Eliot (Cooper Hoffman) is a schlub of a recent college grad, who seems to be surprised to find even entry level employment. His first real job is as a gofer for the trendy celebrity artist Erika (Olivia Wilde), who wastes no time in putting Eliot ill-at-ease. Erika is forceful and dominant, and she enjoys the power of making others uncomfortable . Although Erika is way out of Eliot’s league, she shockingly invites him to have sex with her, and the two begin a nominally consensual fling.
Erika is his boss, rich and beautiful enough to attract any sex partner. Eliot is broke and frustrated by a co-called girlfriend who finds sex distasteful and doesn’t really like him. Despite the inappropriate power dynamic, Eliot becomes an enthusiastic participant, even when the sex is humiliating and degrading. There’s no reciprocity, but it works for him. Eliot finds and embraces his submissive side.
Rarely has a movie character surrendered more agency than Elliot. Whatever Eliot has gleaned from his college experience, it is not confidence. In every way, Eliot is the wildebeest to Erika’s rapacious lioness.
But Erika’s egotism is toxic, and her cruelty is boundless. Erika’s demands become more and more extreme, Eliot’s addiction to her becomes more unhealthy and Erika finally blows up all his relationships, leaving Eliot in a puddle of vulnerability – all the way to one hilarious epilogue, and then another.
Gregg Araki is a playful filmmaker, and I Want Your Sex is a very funny movie. Most of the humor comes from Erika’s behavior being so outrageous, Elliot’s submission being so clearly unwise, and the sex so continuously in-your-face. I loved Araki’s digs at the Gen Z proclivity to overthink and angst their way OUT of having sex. There’s even a witty homage to Sunset Boulevard.
Araki is best-known for his brilliant and searing masterpiece, the pioneering queer coming of age film Mysterious Skin. In his Mysterious Skin, White Bird in a Blizzard, and I Want Your Sex, Araki explores the ambiguity of sex; he makes his audiences cringe at the inappropriateness of sexual awakenings that his protagonists embrace. And, as in I Want Your Sex and his trippy sex romp Kaboom, Araki enjoys filling ninety minutes with non-stop sex – all in good, naughty fun.
Yehuda Duenyas is credited as the intimacy coordinator, and they must have been the busiest member of the crew.
I Want Your Sex wouldn’t work without Olivia Wilde’s fully committed performance as a sexually insatiable, narcissistic sociopath.. Cooper Hoffman is perfect as a character who matter-of-factually describes himself as a “weak man”. As in Licorice Pizza, he’s good as a guy who bobs along on the currents of others.
The supporting cast is very good, especially Chase Sui Wonders as Eliot’s best friend Apple and Mason Gooding as Elliot’s workplace pal Zap, who is infinitely more suave and commonsensical than Elliot. Daveed Diggs is fun as Erika’s supercilious assistant and craven co-conspirator Viktor. Charli XCX is funny as Eliot’s supposed girlfriend Minerva. Margaret Cho and Johnny Knoxville make cameos as police detectives,
Gen Z can watch I Want Your Sex instead of having actual sex. The rest of us can just enjoy the ribald laughs. I Want Your Sex releases into theaters this weekend.