Great Film overall

Best movie of this year hands down!

best movie i've ever seen.

Absolutely the worst movie.

I am so glad I discovered this gem of Canadian cinema. The performances, especially by the two leads, Hill Harper and Marlyne Afflack in the roles of Michael and Jasmine, were gripping and heartfelt. Harper and Afflack were so natural and appealing in portraying the chemistry and the many emotional upheavals of their characters' relationship, that I found myself rooting for this couple to survive against all the odds (Michael is addicted to porn and a regular customer of the video store Pornucopia). The film explores some thought-provoking and somewhat dark themes, such as obsession, sexual dysfunction, escapism and the frustrations of aspiring artists. But comedic touches abound: Mark Taylor (Romeo in the sitcom Student Bodies) puts on a very respectable "Jafakin" accent as Michael's mama's boy/playa friend; there's outrageously campy fake porn scenes from Michael's imagination and from the tapes he loves and much, much more. As a Jamaican Canadian, I loved the elements of black Canadian culture that shine through in the film: the dance hall songs in the soundtrack, eating chicken bones, Caribbean slang, Haitian Creole, lack of punctuality...The black characters also experience the subtle, but damaging form of racism prevalent in Canada when they are dismissed and typecast. However, the viewer is constantly reminded that black people are and will always be an integral part of Canadian life: the characters speak to each other in English and French, Barenaked Ladies and hip hop go hand in hand and hockey brings everyone together. Sudz Sutherland deserves some serious props for his screen writing/direction: the film is well-paced, nice to look at, smart, sexy, stylistically innovative in blurring the lines between fantasy and reality and full of wry, self-mocking, distinctively Canadian humour. I was very satisfied with the quality of the DVD in general, which includes an insightful making-of featurette, but the quiet sound and lack of subtitles were disappointing. I recommend this film highly to all film lovers and especially people who like their romantic comedies with a strong twist (think of Mambo Italiano, another Canadian classic).

I'd actually give this movie almost eight stars, if possible, not because it's so terribly fabulous (though I do think it's good--just don't want to over-inflate my ratings), but because it manages impressively much with the small budget it had. Also, I really enjoyed most of the actors in it, and would seek out other performances they do. If you like somewhat off-beat, character-driven comedies, then go in without huge expectations but with an open mind, and you'll probably be glad to have seen this.I missed the very first few minutes (caught this by chance on the Starz "black" movie channel late at night), and the first few moments I saw seemed mildly unpromising, but with enough feeling of something to come, and potential in the characters to keep me watching. It was the first moment of magic realism (when Jasmine opens Michael's portfolio) that quickly sharpened my interest. There were further moments of such fantasy judiciously sprinkled through the movie, without heavy-handed explanation or drawing attention--just there, with the writer-director trusting audience members to not need spoon-feeding. Mostly, the characters' normal, human problems, joys and such carry the movie nicely.There may be some validity to others' criticisms regarding stereotypes, but, if so, I think it's not nearly so heavy a problem as some make it out to be. Certainly, there's less of that in this than in many other movies. Also, some of the aspects and situations that have been cited as stereotyped or clichéd are perhaps simply universal, or just common and true to real life. To me, it's all in what a filmmaker does with such commonplaces, how he/she uses them, and Mr. Sutherland keeps it mostly interesting and fresh.Anyway, especially for a small-budget first feature film, this is pretty damned good work, and worth watching for a bit of character-driven fun.

The provocatively titled "Love, Sex and Eating the Bones" is a tale about sexual frustration involving a man addicted to porn and a woman with a decidedly more conservative view of making love. The curious twist is that it is the woman who wants to get down-and-dirty in the sack and the man who finds himself unable to rise to the occasion.Michael is an aspiring photographer who works as a security guard at a local parking garage. Jasmine is a successful ad agency executive who has sworn off both men and sex since her last abortive relationship two years ago. The two find themselves falling in love with one another but hit a rocky patch when Michael turns out to be impotent - at least when it comes to having to perform with a flesh-and-blood human being."Love, Sex and Eating the Bones" starts off as a sub-par, utterly conventional romantic comedy, but just when you're about to give up on it, it takes a daring and much appreciated detour into some previously unexplored territory. This is the first film I can remember to feature impotence as a major plot point and the first to acknowledge the detrimental effect that pornography can have on real-world relationships. That the film does so in the context of a romantic comedy in no way diminishes its value and, in fact, makes the topics more palatable and approachable than they might otherwise be. Moreover, the film is blessed with two extremely likable stars as its protagonists, Hill Harper and Marlyne Afflack, who tackle the tricky subject matter with charm and grace. Some may see the humor in the film as vulgar and crude at times, but I tend to think of it as realistic, accurately capturing the ways in which couples talk and deal with one another in the modern world. This turns out to be a better film than one might initially suspect.

Pleasantly surprised and a little jealous. There is nothing cloying or PC about this movie. It is totally entertaining and manages to be both blatantly Toronto-set and immediately identifiable to Anywhere, USA. The actors are well served and the apparently writing is quite funny. The directing and editing have style without any loss of the emotional arcs involved. Definitely for the young audience of early Kevin Smith. It means that some of us have to work a little harder on scripts that touch on similar subject matter. I have to admit it is good, although the title might have put off a few people - it is the only element that may be too arty for its intended audience. I especially like the skateboarder scene, and I am not a fan of skateboards. (It's not showing off skateboarding skill, it's the context; very true of those of us in Michael's profession too.)