Director
Miles Brandman
Cast
Macauley Culkin………James
Kuno Becker………Ellis
Eliza Dushku………Renee
Alexis Dziena………Heather
Jaime Ray Newman………Betty
Tracie Thoms………Female Tenant
Eric Lively………Charlie
Joanna Miles………Dr. Wellbridge
DVD Release Date: January 22, 2008
Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 82 Minutes
List Price: $19.99
The Movie
James and Heather love one another and have always been happy in their relationship. But a problem now exists that could threaten not only their sanity, but their future together. Their sex life has taken a turn for the worse since James can no longer bring Heather to climax when they are making love. She assures him that it isn’t a problem, but deep down they both realize the trouble this could bring.
Ellis and Renee are also having problems of their own. While things started out hot and heavy, Ellis is often too tired for sex now and recommends that Renee just do whatever she needs to on her own. Their problem is just that can’t seem to communicate to one another exactly what they want and this causes deeper struggles in the bedroom regarding their sex life.
Both couples are total strangers to one another, but end up attending a sexual therapy seminar given by Dr. Wellbridge. She explains different methods that couples may do to keep the intimacy and flames alive in a relationship. The good doctor suggests different adventurous methods that would open their sexual lives to new things encompassing each other’s fantasies. A little bit of personal advice later and the couples each take a stab at bringing that spark back into their sheets.
Renee has started having thoughts of what it would be like to be with another woman, and that is where a waitress named Betty enters the fray. James and Heather venture out by having her ex-boyfriend Charlie join them, but his forwardness makes matters even worse for James. Realizing their attempts have failed; the couples make their ways back to Dr. Wellbridge and end up getting introduced to the one thing that could possibly keep them all together: group sex.
If you are going to get this film by knowing who Eliza Dushku is and looking up who Alexis Dziena is and then seeing the word “sex” in the title, then I urge you to stop right now. As much as it may seem like it by the title and even my review of the plot; you’re not going to find much in way of sex here. There is nothing to be seen when they’re doing the deed, and there is way too much talking going on for anything to happen anyway. The focus of Sex And Breakfast is relationships. Everything that could possibly be intertwined with a relationship is showcased here in the form of troubles, therapy, solutions.
I’m not going to get into my personal life and compare how it would go if such a situation was to arise in it, but so much of this just didn’t seem real. The entire film seems too delicately planned for everything to fall into place that they might as well have had the two couples be long time friends from the beginning instead of total strangers. It just is too picture perfect for a story that encompasses so much heartache and disarray in relationships. And not to mention that the two guys, James and Ellis, couldn’t be more pathetic then the way they are portrayed. When it’s time for action to be done in order to save the relationships, look for Renee and Heather to throw out ideas and jump into the sack with whatever remedy is needed.
Sometimes a good flick is full of dialogue and drama and it will entertain me because the story sucks (no pun intended) me into it. Those are the kinds of films where you care for the characters and hate to see them depressed or going through hard times because you want them to be happy. Sex And Breakfast never made me care for any of them, and forgive me for sounding like a pig, but I kept hoping that a good sex scene was coming but never did it arrive. If you’re looking for a film that deals strongly with troubled relationships, shows better sex scenes, and you can really get into the story and feel for the characters, then I sincerely recommend checking out Closer. In a matter of 100 minutes, you’ll hate and love the four main characters more times then you can count. That is good writing and directing. This was not.
The Video
The film is shown in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format and looks just adequate enough. You’re not going to get much here in ways of anything else but talking and a lot of it. The colors are very bright and vibrant so all looks good, but that’s all you need here.
The Audio
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and sounds just fine as well. For a strictly dialogue driven film, there isn’t much needed in way of sound so it gets the job done.
Special Features
Trailer
Trailers – King Of California, Smiley Face, The Amateurs, Blonde And Blonder, Strays, Paris Je T’aime, Broken, The Contract, Journey To The End Of The Night, Big Nothing, Mr. Fix It, Relative Strangers, The Boys And Girls Guide To Getting Down, and Day Zero
The Inside Pulse
It was a worthy try and I’ll give them that, but it just did nothing for me. True that it was nice to have a misleading title, but then focus on the heart and the feelings that come from a sexual relationship. Yet that focus just never quite got interesting enough for me to really care about anything going on. It actually made me long for my expectations before watching the film that I’d see a little bit of sex and then watch everyone enjoying some pancakes and bacon. Alas that wasn’t meant to be, and this DVD didn’t help itself any by only giving me a duffle bag full of trailers to watch as special features. This one isn’t even really worth a rental, so don’t bother. Take my recommendation and go get Closer because it will make you appreciate the relationship you have so much more. And if you feel like seeing Macauley Culkin, then crack out your copies of Uncle Buck and Home Alone.
