Shortbus

From the director of The Scissor Sisters video 'Filthy/Gorgeous’ comes John Cameron Mitchell’s latest feather ruffling screenplay, 'Shortbus’.

And what a marvellous concept. Mitchell aims to 'demystify’ sex by explicitly showing it on the screen in unsimulated chunks. This strikes me as being a similar concept to sex education by watching pornos, but there you go.

The movie is loosely based on the Lusty Loft Parties common in the early noughties and by the sounds of things doesn’t pull any punches. The female lead is played by Sook-Yin Lee (Canadian TV personality) and she nearly lost her job over it, were it not for the vocal public support from anti-prudes Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Stipe and Yoko Ono.

And I’m sure the big names who saved her skin would be equally impressed with the soundtrack. It features a variety of different sounds and unlike other soundtrack albums is genuinely accessible. Six songs from New York resident and Australian born Matthew Scott provide the backbone. His voice has been described as 'sultry and androgynous’, which is just about right, but there is a unique sound to his strummings, perhaps mildly influenced by his past collaboration with Morrissey drummer and composer Spencer Cobrin.

There is a nice blend of tracks, and with twelve more, representing good value for your hard earned pounds. The highlight for me is 'Soda Shop’ by Jay Brannan, who plays a young, gay, ex-model and aspiring singer named Ceth in the film.

So,toss your inhibitions aside and hop on the Shortbus. It’s an enlightening watch and not a half bad listen.