[IMDB link] [Netflix link] I did not realize this was a documentary!

HAIKU: Sexual failure;
A painful topic to film.
More than you’d expect!

LIMERICK: There once was a filmmaker from the UK;
Made a documentary inspired by dismay,
He tried to find love and a fuck;
He suffered horrifying luck.
If I didn’t know better I might say that he’s gay!

PEOPLE: Chris Waitt. It’s all about him. He’s been involved in a few other small projects, but this is ALL about him, his life, his failure, his ex-girlfriends. No actors in this movie. IMDB lists everyone as playing themselves.

QUIRKS: If you aren’t paying attention, you might think it’s a mockumentary. But then it turns out to be real. Which is quite frightening, because it’s so ridiculous it’s almost hard to believe. This movie is basically Chris Waitt‘s attempt to contact every ex-girlfriend he ever had, and to interview them to find out just exactly what the hell is wrong with him. Most refuse. One only types to him from behind a curtain.

Also, it’s a U.K. film, so it all takes place in Britain and Scotland.

And Chris Waitt is the human being who looks the most like Kurt Cobain of anyone I’ve ever seen. Seriously.

BAD STUFF: Soooooooooo painful. Parts of it reach such high levels of discomfort that you feel as disturbed as you would feel while watching a good horror movie. (If you have high levels of schadenfreude, this extreme social awkwardness may actually make the movie more enjoyable.) And the pain isn’t just the pain of watching Chris Waitt‘s awkward social interactions, or hearing the horrible stories of how bad things have been for him. (He was dumped by the same girl *7* times once.) It’s not just that — There is also sexually traumatizing pain in watching him declare his problem [highlight for spoilers]→ with impotence and try to figure out various ways of fixing that, including [highlight for spoilers]→ seeing a dominatrix who does some quite horrible things to his testicles (explicitly shown since we watched an unrated distribution). That was around the time that he realized he had strayed a bit from his purpose in the movie. And the near-overdose on Viagra while getting drunk? That was actually scary. WTF! [highlight for spoilers]→ And then he asks 300 girls if they will have sex with him right now — and actually gets a phone number out of it? Wow.

GOOD STUFF: Some of the downright funniest (and most pathetic) moments that I have seen on film in quite awhile. And since it’s not scripted, the humor just hits home that much harder. Even with the The 40 Year Old Virgin‘s brilliantly funny script, and Steve Carell‘s great acting — they could not make a fictitious character as pathetic as director/star Chris Waitt is in real life. Wow. At least Steve Carell‘s character was oblivious.

CONCLUSION: 5/5 stars on Netflix (had it as 4, but upgraded it to 5), 8/10 on IMDB (Carolyn gives more like a 7.5). VERY entertaining for a documentary. Documentaries are usually more interesting than entertaining. Documentaries are almost never this funny… And certainly never this funny and painful at the same time. This is a great movie that will go unnoticed by many.

RECOMMENDATION: From reading Netflix reviews, this movie tends to be love-it-or-hate-it. That being said — we love it. If you’re into schadenfreude, sex, rejection, social dynamics, and just laughing at how bad it can be for someone — We highly recommend this movie. SEE IT.

MOVIE QUOTE: “Do you have any good memories about our relationship?”
“Well, the trip to Ireland was nice.”

Mood: lazy Sunday
Music: Gwar – Sick Of You (South Park Mix)