Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Redundant and unnecessary.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

"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 women 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.

This movie makes very little sense. The whole thing is exceedingly bizarre. But somehow the movie kind of works. Simon Baker turns in a fine performance in the leading man role and it his charm which more than anything else enables the movie to be considered at least a mild success.Baker plays successful executive Roderick Blank who is about to be married. And then something strange happens. He receives an anonymous e-mail which lists, in chronological order, the names of every woman he has ever slept with. Bizarre to be sure but not a crisis as long as his wife to be is the last name on the list. She's not. She's number 29. There are 101 names on the list. Roderick initially shrugs it off as some kind of practical joke being perpetrated by his friends. Then again how would his friends know the names, in order, of every woman he's ever slept with? When Roderick accidentally (yes, accidentally) has sex with woman number 30 on the list he realizes there's something going on here. Looks like that wedding's not going to happen after all. Apparently there's a higher power at work. What is that higher power you ask? Well you see there's this computer which apparently knows everything. And it occasionally spits out random pointless information...like lists of women that men will sleep with for example. This is all explained by the three men who work with the computer in a mysterious, futuristic-looking office. These men are named Alpha, Beta and Fred. Told you this movie was bizarre.Anyhow it's pretty apparent where the sex in the movie's title comes from. Yes a multitude of women come and go as Roderick crosses off names on his list. But what about the death part? Well that's where Winona Ryder comes in. She plays Death Nell, a shadowy figure lurking mostly in the background of the movie, who goes around seducing men and then putting them into comas. But only men who deserve it you see, sexual deviants of some kind. Death Nell becomes a feminist hero, Roderick goes on sleeping with all these different women and hey, do you think perhaps these two characters might be destined to meet? Well I certainly hope so or else this whole thing is going to be rather pointless.For a supposed comedy this movie isn't particularly funny. No real belly laughs to be had here, maybe a mild chuckle or two. It seems that Patton Oswalt, in playing Fred, is set up to be the designated funny guy but he's really not that funny at all. There are a few good moments here and there but there are a lot of times where the movie drags and there's nothing funny or even interesting going on. The plot perks up a bit when after sleeping with all these random women Roderick actually ends up in a quasi-serious relationship with a doctor played by Leslie Bibb. But that relationship comes with complications. And we know that this woman is not the last woman on the list so inevitably it's back to the parade of women in Roderick's life. There are times where it seems the movie is close to falling apart completely but Baker, who really has to carry things pretty much by himself, manages to hold it together and in the end it's a relatively enjoyable movie. Baker is excellent, Ryder does OK with minimal screen time and there's also room for another somewhat familiar face as playing Roderick's lesbian secretary Trixie is Mindy Cohn. Yes that would be Natalie of Facts of Life fame. You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have...a reasonably decent movie. That's Sex and Death 101.

A simple, light comedy that takes a skewed view of the war between the sexes - probably more topical in the 1970s than today.There are some absurd plot holes - the "Machine" that sends prophetic emails, the three characters who work for the machine (Alpha, Beta, and Fred), who take months to track down a serial killer - yeah, plot holes in the SF/mystical end of things - but that wasn't really the movie's focus. Mayhaps the writer/director would have done better to have Whoopie Goldberg reprise her role as Guinan, and left the source of the email as a mystery that we're just not going to look too closely at.The anti-male bias in the examination of the war between the sexes gets a tad old - we've all seen enough of the "rutting males are jerks, women are the blameless victims" routine.There are some bits that just aren't funny - pretty much anything said by the aforementioned Fred, for example, and the lecture they get from the stripper's bodyguard at the bachelor party.There are some good bits, though - and some cogent (if one-sided) looks at the differences between male and female mating expectations. There is a fair bit of gratuitous nudity - but I don't see that as a downside, and it does fit in with the theme of the movie.Not, by any means, a great movie - but I disagree with the reviewers who claim that this was miscast, or that the acting failed. Not a keeper, but there are far worse comedies for you to take home from the rental shop.

With Sex and Death 101, Daniel Waters does for the romantic comedy genre what he did for the teen genre in Heathers. A convention twisting and near-reinvention. The film starts with a very high-concept idea, which could have easily been used as the basis for the next Adam Sandler production at the studios. Not that there's anything wrong with that...actually, if it's Sandler we're talking about, there's always plenty wrong. So let's say Ben Stiller/Owen Wilson instead. Waters starts off the film with a fairly traditional set-up of his concept, but then quickly takes it off on a variety of unexpected paths. The roads less traveled. You might anticipate and I guess this qualifies for a SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!! that the Simon Baker character falls in love with one of the ladies on his list midway through, but what happens to that true love is off-the-charts unpredictable. There are lots of similar expectation-defying moments throughout, and they're often laugh-out-loud funny.The choice to cast Simon Baker, rather than the popular comedian of the week, was also a wise one. Baker certainly has comedic chops, but he feels considerably straighter and is more of a dramatic actor in the part than, say, Owen Wilson. Although Baker hardly looks like every man, he does add an everyman quality to the performance which grounds it and makes Baker more of a straight man to the insanity happening around him.I've read a few reviews which criticize the film for mixing a number of tones and genre elements. It generally annoys me when critics take this easy, lazy route to slag a film, particularly one as daring as this. In this case, any mixing is clearly a stylistic/storytelling choice and not a mistake. If you want things to play out exactly as you're comfortable and familiar with in every film, just watch your favorite DVD's over and over.My prediction is that the film will have a decent theatrical run and be HUGE in the ancillary markets. Expect this to run on cable until your hair turns gray, Office Space-style. But get out to theaters and see it if you can there. A film like this will play best with a large audience.