Sex and Death 101 stars a pre-The Mentalist (just – this came out the year before The Mentalist started) Simon Baker, as Roderick Blank, a man who is about to marry his girlfriend Fiona (Julie Bowen) and thinks that his life is just about perfect. But then he receives a mysterious email, which lists all the women he’s slept with – with Fiona correctly occupying the number 29 slot – but then goes on to list lots more, totalling 101. Not surprisingly he is somewhat shocked – who has sent the list? How can he be going to have sex with more than 70 more women, when he is about to marry the woman he loves?! Roderick’s obsession with the list starts to ruin his life, and pretty much all aspects of it. Meanwhile, a woman (Winona Ryder) nicknamed Death Nell by the media, is going round murdering men who have treated women badly, and it looks as though Roderick and Nell’s paths are going to cross at some point.
I’m not entirely sure how to categorise this film. It’s part sci-fi, part romantic comedy, part black comedy – there’s certainly a lot going on, and maybe a bit too much at times. But….I actually really enjoyed it. There were some VERY funny moments – and some very adult comedy – as Roderick initially finds the list intriguing, but then finds that it’s taking over his life. Simon Baker is wonderful at comedy, and keeps the audience on his side. Roderick is sometimes lovely, and sometimes pretty damned obnoxious, but it’s difficult not to like him. Winona Ryder gets surprisingly less screen time than you might expect, given that at the time, she was probably the most famous cast member. She’s great in her role though – perfect for the part. Robert Wisdom is great as the leader of a mysterious trio who are behind the list of names that was sent to Roderick, and Patton Oswalt gets a few funny line. However, as far as the supporting cast goes, nobody betters Mindy Cohn as Roderick’s PA and friend Trixie.
The film got mainly negative reviews on release, and I can see why people might not like it – it sometimes seems as though it’s not quite sure what it’s trying to be, but I did really enjoy it. A lot of this was because of the gorgeous Simon Baker; he’s a great lead, who for me, perfect for this kind of part, and as mentioned, the supporting cast were all great as well.
If you like quirky comedy, I’d recommend giving this a go. It’s brash and colourful, and for my money, very entertaining.
Year of release: 2007
Director: Daniel Waters
Producers: Aaron Geller, Cary Brokaw, Elizabeth Zox Friendman, Jerry P. Jacobs, Greg Little
Writer: Daniel Waters
Main cast: Simon Baker, Winona Ryder, Robert Wisdom, Patton Oswalt, Mindy Cohn, Neil Flynn, Leslie Bibb
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