Gregg Araki is one of the biggest queer filmmaking voices of his generation. Known for his contributions to the New Queer Cinema movement, he has produced films like Totally F***ed Up and Nowhere that have become cult classics in queer cinema, building an audience since his film debut in 1987. Being 12 years since his last feature film, many wondered what his next feature would entail, especially with how much has happened culturally since 2014. I Want Your Sex once again finds Araki under his usual tendencies, but dives more into the struggles of Gen Z and how they operate in the real world.

The film follows Elliot, played by Cooper Hoffman, as an early-20s man struggling to find a job and a sense of purpose in life. After an immediate hiring as an assistant to the famed artist Erika Tracy, played by Olivia Wilde, things start to look up for him. However, things become dangerous when Elliot starts sleeping with his boss, leading him on a path of regret that also sees him finding purpose in life. Although the film plays out like most office romance movies, Akari’s signature style brings a wholly unique spin on the familiar premise.

I Want Your Sex is a silly film for its entirety. With a goofy, self-aware sense of humor and an abundance of animation in its sequences, Araki’s latest conveys silliness in nearly every aspect of filmmaking. Even the main conflict is portrayed as silly, with Elliot’s inability to combat his issues making for many hilarious moments. The set design is littered with unrealistic color choices, as if the sets were ripped straight from the Barbie movie. While some may be bothered by how distractingly saturated the production design is, it effectively emphasizes the quirky tone, standing out more than most comedies released nowadays.

Sex comedies used to be a major fad in the film industry. Outside Araki’s work, movies like American Pie and Road Trip used to play in theaters multiple times a year and were usually well-received. With recent surveys stating that Gen-Z wants less sex in movies, sex comedies have been on a steep decline. Araki looks to bring back the sex comedy with I Want Your Sex, displaying to Gen Z that sex doesn’t have to be an uncomfortable experience. This is especially presented through the relationship between Elliot and Erika, played excellently by Hoffman and Wilde. Seeing the two of them ecstatic in the most bizarre forms of sex not only brings a refreshing angle to the sex scene but also enhances the idea of sex being fun. In an age where people prefer to communicate through electronic devices, I Want Your Sex attempts to display the euphoria of physical human contact, making for an entertaining and strangely insightful experience.

Seeing a 66-year-old filmmaker tackle Gen-Z topics is almost never a good sign, but Araki finds an excellent balance of empathy and criticism with co-writer Karley Sciortino. The film shows how Gen Z struggles to put themselves out there in the real world, but not to the point of dehumanization. The script makes it clear that the younger generation, growing up in parallel with the rise of the digital age, has made it more difficult for people to put themselves out there in the real world. With social media riddled with negativity and harm, it has instilled a sense of fear in Gen Z adults. Araki’s new film argues that it is okay to put yourself out there, even if it doesn’t always yield positive results. The characters in the film repeatedly get into conflicts, but they eventually find a way out, which is the message that Araki and Sciortino want the audience to understand when the film ends. There are very few examples of films that get Gen Z right, but I Want Your Sex is one of the rare outliers that does, in fact, get it right.

The movie is a brisk 90 minutes and extremely fast-paced. While the fast pacing made for many moments of entertainment, it sometimes undermined the film’s overall takeaways, never allowing the audience time to interpret the story’s meaning and the significance of each plot point. The film is edited more like a direct-to-streaming comedy, constantly jumping to different moments of humor. While this isn’t always a bad quality, Araki is attempting to convey something meaningful in his screenplay, and this provocative nature is never conveyed through the editing, which made for a slightly disappointing experience.

I Want Your Sex may have a familiar premise, but the execution and refreshingly look at sex and Gen Z made for a relentlessly entertaining ride from start to finish. Littered with hilarious gags and compelling performances from the ensemble, this whimsical comedy hits all the right notes. After a 12-year feature-film hiatus, Araki shows he has not lost his sauce in this charming exploration of humanity.

I Want Your Sex screened as a Special Presentation at the Indy Film Fest. It will be released in theaters nationwide on July 31.

Rating: 7/10

Oscar Prospects:

None