sex, lies, and videotape Reviews

• sex, lies, and videotape on DVD

  
  By A3F6G79DF5VAHR on 2000-08-10
  "sex,lies, and videotape" is a well-crafted little gem about adultery, sexual perversion, and the value of honesty with oneself. This film tells the story of Graham (James Spader), a minimalist anti-yuppi, who goes back to his home town and stays with his long lost college buddy John (Peter Gallagher) who has become a lawyer and Ann (Ande MacDowell) his eccentric but conservative wife. John is a bit repelled by Graham's free-spirited honesty and liberalism, but it is intruiging to Ann... until Graham reveals to her that he is more-or-less impotent, and tapes women talking about sex to get off. John is having an affair with Ann's sister Cynthia (Laura San Giamoco) a sexually aggresive bartender, who is informed of Graham's indulgent practice and takes part in a "taping", which puts all four characters in a landslide of events. Ingeneously crafted by first-time director Steven Soderberg, this film was the sleeper hit of 1989, and probably the year's best film too. The performances are superb all around, and are backed by an excellent script. Though not a highly technical film, this film has some neat camera tricks to offer.

  The DVD of "sex, lies, and video" has only one extra feature worth metioning besides the theatrical trailer. That is the feature length commentary by the film's director Steven Soderberg, who is interviewed during the film by Niel LaBute, the director of "In the Company of Men". Better than most commentaries, the director discusses the preproduction of the film and his experience with the actors, rather than the technical aspects.

  This DVD is a great addition to anyone's video library.
  
  

• The best of a type.

  
  By A2W0ZUKTBJFCSL on 2005-03-15
  This movie is truly a milestone in independent film, but it also updates a familiar theme: The unique, troubled soul is accidentally brought to someone who wants to save him, despite his best efforts to remain in bondage (think of Breakfast at Tiffany's, or Harold and Maude). The story and dialogue are SO tight, the characters so rich, and the images so perfect - it's a wonderful film, though disturbing for those who are unable to be satisfied by the main character's path to redemption. If you happen to remember the description / trailer of the movie, be advised that this is not a comedy, and is not even really about sex. It's about the mental prisons we build for ourselves...
  
  

• Eroticism is in the conversation, rather than the act itself

  
  By A17FLA8HQOFVIG on 2003-04-06
  This 1989 film, written and directed by Steven Soderberg, was certainly the beginning of an important career for him. This low-budget film captured a wide audience and a large box office. It's a seemingly simple film, but it makes an important statement. Basically, it demonstrates that our most erogenous zone is the mind. And it is the conversation, rather than the act itself where eroticism lies.

  The story is about four modern people, all with relationship problems. Andie MacDowell is a frigid wife. Peter Gallager is her lawyer husband who cheats on her with her own sister, Laura San Giacomo. And James Spader is the husband's friend Graham, who, because of his own dysfunctional needs, can only get aroused one way - by watching videotapes of women talking about their erotic life. Otherwise, he's impotent in a real life situation.

  I found this film slow and talky but it was also intriguing. It goes deeper than the surface and I was fascinated by its creativity. And it uses the medium of videotape to do it all. This, of course was filmed before the Internet, cell phones and even DVDs. And so there is a certain datedness to it. But yet it deals with some universal truths. And a willingness to explore the lies. I enjoyed it but it's more for film buffs than a general audience. Recommended.
  
  

• Very, very close to perfection

  
  By A2EDZH51XHFA9B on 2001-03-13
  sex, lies, and videotape (Steven Soderbergh, 1989)

  Soderbergh's first big-league film (he directed the Yes concert video 9012Live a few years before this) didn't really set any new standards for the cerebral nothing-really-happens flick, but it did prove to Hollywood that audiences are willing to experience things that don't involve large numbers of explosions on a much larger scale than they realized. Things do blow up in this film, but on a much smaller scale, and without the pyrotcehnics involved in bigger-budget efforts.

  John Melaney (Peter Gallagher, probably best known as the coma patient in While You Were Sleeping) is a not-nice guy. Not nice at all. He's married to the repressive sister (Andie McDowell), sleeping with the more liberated sister (Laura san Giacomo), and not terribly concerned with who's going to find out. He is visited by an old school friend. Graham (James Spader) is the slick, weasely guy you usually find prowling the bars, actually living the dream that the guys with the big gold chains and umbrella drinks are dreaming. Graham, however, is impotent, and he sublimates his sexual urges into a fetish for recording women he knows talking about their sex lives. This seemingly harmless affectation ends up throwing the whole finely-balanced ecology around the other three main characters into disarray.

  Soderbergh is great at keeping the tension high in this film, despite the relative lack of anything going

  on most of the time. The four characters keep things going at a steady pace, leisurely and tense at the same time, helped along by a select handful of minor characters who provide the necessary comic relief (Steven Brill is especially good in this regard). A fine movie all around, and while it never quite gets over the top into true timelessness, it's still solid to the core, and very well done in a genre where to fail is to create a spectacularly awful release (eg. The Turning). **** 1/2
  
  

• "HOT"vs"FRIGID", An On-Screen Tag Team.

  
  By ABFJYHVD8RHLE on 2002-04-11
  This quietly riveting, intellectually stimulating masterpiece of erotic drama put the now famous director Steven Soderbergh on the Hollywood map. Rightfully so, as it's four central characters pull you into an intriguing plotline filled with just what the appropriate title has promised. ................ John, played by uni-brow actor Peter Gallagher in a low-brow performance, is a career minded, self-centered lawyer married to uptight southern girl Ann (Andie MacDowell). Ann has a flaky and sexually liberated sister named Cynthia, "Just Shoot Me" alum Laura San Giacomo. What Ann DOESN'T know, is how she is being mocked and scorned by both her husband, and her sister as they secretly meet for torrid, forbidden sexual encounters. Cynthia takes a perverse pleasure in this duplicity, especially in her sisters bed. The disregard these two have for those who are affected by their affair is shamelessly cruel. I really dislike Gallagher's John, which means he plays his role well. ................ The games begin when Graham, an old collegiate buddy of John's, comes to town for a visit. Graham is wonderfully played by the incredible James Spader, a personal favorite of mine. Graham has a bit of a problem though, he's impotent. (Now, I must say, Spader playing an impotent character is a bit of a reach, but I'm not complaining!) The only way he can be gratified sexually, is by videotaping women talking about their personal sexual experiences, hence the third item in the film title. .............. As I said, the movie is quietly fascinating. One of the oddest things about it, is the complete LACK of any sort of musical score within. It seems to draw you into the plot even more, since there's little else to distract ones attention. ............... I like Spader's character the best, not just because I'm partial to the actor, but because he played the most complex and interesting character. He is also at his sexiest here, all dressed in black shirt, jeans, and his blonde hair longish and VERY sexy. His impotence in the movie, is like a companion to Andie MacDowell's Ann characters frigidity. Together, they find a way to overcome the deceit around them. ............. This is an unusual film, controversial in its time, but rather tame by todays standard fare. It's a good choice when you're in the mood for a little food for thought, or a quiet relaxing movie experience. I say this because you have to be in the mood for this sort of film. Save it for your quietest moment when you can fully appreciate it.
  
  
• Incorporate This Film Into Your Collection
  By A5FAQGZ0QTZ8L on 2005-01-05
  Okay, I'm highly biased. This is my favorite movie of all time.
  
  It's a moody movie, set in the South, where emotion and dialogue carry me (and probably you) to the end. It's so good that, for me, it has become "peanut butter fiction," as if it's always been a part of my life. When there's nothing else to watch, I'll put it in. And I'll wonder why I waited so long to watch Sex, Lies, and Videotape again.
  
  I've spent some time trying to identify the protagonist of this film. As with many great films, our hero is not clear. We have Ann (played by Andie MacDowell), the popular southern girl who, about a year ago, married a promising lawyer, John (Peter Gallagher), recently made junior partner of his firm. John is secretly sleeping with Cynthia (Laura San Giacomo), Ann's sister. This situation would have gone on indefinitely, were it not for the arrival of Graham (James Spader). Graham is John's old buddy who is moving back to town and, with John's permission, will be staying at John and Ann's upscale home. Although logically Graham should turn out to be just like John--a deceitful man--we quickly discover that the opposite is True. "True" with a capital T.
  
  Graham has changed since the old days. He's artsy, mysterious, immediately strange and likeable, and Truthful. John doesn't know what to make of him. The dialogue in this movie is perfectly revealing, for instance, when Graham explains how he insists on having a car. John finds a need for a car humorous: "In case you have to leave someplace in a hurry." Graham counteracts this observation by adding, "Yeah, or go someplace in a hurry." The first response indicates guilt, the second determination. Graham has come back to town for a reason.
  
  John sends Ann apartment hunting with Graham, which provides John the perfect opportunity to have sex with Cynthia in the marital house while they are away. Unbeknownst to him, Ann and Graham share a connection. So we have either Ann or Graham as our "hero." Ann subconsciously suspects infidelity, and Graham has come to town to show "someone" that he has changed--and we the audience come to realize that he is specifically NOT being John, although years ago he and John were probably exactly alike. Graham is specifically not a liar. He is also impotent.
  
  Sorry if you feel I'm forcing "spoilers" upon your eyes. I could give a treatment of this entire movie and still make it worth watching. So far, the only thing I've left out of Sex, Lies, and Videotape is the videotape. Graham may not be able to have sex with another person, but he can "get off." He makes videotapes. He videotapes women talking about sex, and if you were to ask him if this is how he achieves sexual satisfaction, he'd say matter-of-factly Yes. He sits in the living room of the apartment that Ann helped him find watching women talk about their sexual experiences.
  
  Perhaps this movie would have fizzled at this point, with Graham out of the marital home, but for the sexually oriented Cynthia who hears about Graham and his strange habits. Once Cynthia visits Graham in his personal space, the conflict of the movie becomes intereseting. This is a movie with few, if any, visual effects. O Trust me when I say you don't need them. The story is enough.
  
  How will John react to Cynthia visiting his ex-best friend? How will John react to Ann, who is slowly becoming wise? How will John react to the fact that Graham is the center of attention? Until Graham's arrival, John lived in a perfect world.
  
  If you press me, I'll say the protagonist of this story is Ann, because the outcome of events MOST affects her, and she is likeable. At first I thought the protagonist was Graham. There is a part of me that considers that John is the most affected by the plotline, because his perfect situation is in danger of falling like sand out of the palms of his grubby hands. In any work of fiction, he whom is MOST changed by story events is our hero. You'll have to decide that for yourself.
  
  I consider Sex, Lies, and Videotape to be "peanut butter" cinema. It's so good that you accept it as such; it's a staple of your refrigerator--er--your DVD shelf. It will wait to be seen, yearly, like Bob Clark's A Christmas Story. You can't watch it daily, but you'll want to. You can put it in your DVD player and do other things, occasionally tuning in for great dialogue and masterful plotting. But that's only after you've watched it too many times. The first time, you'll wonder why there aren't more movies like this. You'll wish you were a screenwriter. You might even sit down at a blank First Draft document. You might wonder why you can't make the words come, and when they do come, you wonder why you're such a plagiarist. Why didn't you write Sex, Lies, and Videotape first?
  
  
• my private-favorite film
  By on 1999-04-22
  A reader from Korea <±×¸²: 5 out of 5 stars> my privite - favorite- film.... before leaving my comment, I want to tell everyone will read this I'm not American, stricktly, I'm not good at English. so If you read this writing and feel funny, understand me. when I watch this film for the first time, I cried. 4 kind of man is represented interlocking relasionship, even in this country it can be experienced.....I felt human solitary is same and his(her?) wound which cause isolation should be cured any way. but how? this film give some tips about the question, that is 'confession'. individual private secret or sin, and his condition.. / unperfact and woundful human-being is... still precious only because of his existense. I'm sure I'm not a Existensist but I Know the power of the communication. Honest communication helps me recover my own preciousness(?) given from Lord. In this film, I couldn't agree of the result. but "result" can open to the viewer. in any other movies, It can be, I think. any way If you watch this, you must move/ sex- relationship remind me of wang-ka-wai's film. how about you? whole- silent, cool movie thanks for reading me!
  
  
• Interpersonal Communication 101: a review of "SLV"
  By ANPKSX8TEE9IC on 2001-03-17
  If you purchase "sex, lies and videotape" expecting to see erotica, you'll be disappointed. Steven Soderbergh's 1989 award winning film (Grand Prize, Cannes Film Fest) is a provocative, sometimes painful examination of how communication, or lack thereof, can affect relationships. The plot revolves around John, (Peter Gallagher) a junior partner in a law firm, his obsessive, repressed wife Ann, (Andie McDowell) her "extroverted" sister Cynthia, (Laura San Giacomo) and the enigmatic Graham, (James Spader) a friend John met in college. Through voice-over, sometimes overlapping narration and crisp editing, the characters are introduced at a rapid pace. While Ann is obsessing about the world's garbage to her shrink, John is in bed with Cynthia. Cynthia told John it would give her a "perverse thrill" to do it in her sister's bed, so when Graham moves to town, John suggests Ann take him apartment hunting. Ann tells Graham she thinks sex is over-rated. Graham tells Ann that for all practical purposes, he is impotent because he can't get an erection in the presence of another person. These events take place in the first 25 minutes of the film, which runs 100 minutes. The interactions between these four people is the film's core. However, the relationship which is most pivotal to the plot--between Graham and Elizabeth, a woman he dated in college--is never explored on film. The viewer can only surmise it from the dialogue. James Spader received the Best Actor Award at Cannes for his powerful, sensitive yet understated portrayal of Graham. Especially poignant in the last 30 minutes of the film, Spader's performance is also praiseworthy because we never doubt Graham's sincerity. The thought that he could be something other than he appears never enters our minds. This film is not for everyone. The characters discuss sex in a frank, yet natural way. Their motivations can be discussed for hours. It's possible some people will have an easier time discussing sex after seeing this film. It's also possible that, depending on your views of sex, this film might disturb you. It is not a film to be seen after a rough day. Rather, it's a film to watch with plans for a "post-film" discussion. Soderbergh also wrote the original screenplay, which was nominated for an Academy Award. Deliberately or not, there are some loose strings regarding Graham. However, this film is so powerful that this minor flaw adds to the film's mystique. No matter what else Soderbergh may do in his already distinguished career, this film will be considered a masterpiece.
  
  
• One of the worst films I have ever seen
  By on 2004-02-21
  Along with LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, A BEAUTIFUL MIND, DOGMA, FREE ENTERPRISE, and 20 DATES, this is easily one of the worst films I have ever seen.

  Like all of Soderbergh's films, SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE is VERY conservative. It is conformist kitch that legislates in the name of the "normal."

  James Spader is a scopophiliac who learns to give up his fetish, throws away his videotape collection, and is normalized at the end of the film.

  The film's politically offensive and repressive character makes it even more unwatchable than OCEAN'S ELEVEN.

  After SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE, Soderbergh would go on to distort, commercialize, and sensationalize Kafka's life in the disgusting KAFKA.

  See Schrader's AUTO-FOCUS instead!---a film that isn't afraid of exploring human "perversity"!
  
  

• Interesting
  By A34D06JL7LC6MU on 2006-06-20
  I already knew Steven Soderbergh was a talented director, but I'd never seen a film that he had written. This movie, his first, is written and directed by the Oscar winner (Best Director, 'Traffic') and it's one of my favorite movies by him. I think it's better than both Traffic and Erin Brockovich. The only Soderbergh film I've seen that I like more is Out of Sight. This movie is funny, interesting, intriguing, and very entertaining. I thought there was one downside to the movie...No nudity. The whole time I was watching this movie, everytime Laura San Giacomo was onscreen I was thinking "Take off your shirt." But, I'm getting ahead of myself. The movie stars Peter Gallagher ("American Beauty") and Andie McDowell ("Michael") as a married couple John and Ann. Ann is a stay at home wife, who secretly attends therapy sessions where she confesses her relationship with John isn't much and that they don't have sex. Meanwhile, John (a lawyer) is having sex with Ann's sister Cynthia (Giacomo). At the same time, an old friend of John's named Graham (James Spader in one of his best performances) arrives at their house to stay for a few days until he gets on his feet. Ann is drawn to Graham and finds him interesting, but her opinion is changed when she finds out that Graham interviews woman and asks them personal questions about their sex lives while filming the entire thing. After hearing about this, however, Cynthia takes an interest in Graham. It's basically just one big love triangle. But, this movie is truly a fantastic and extremely interesting film. Soderbergh brings up really interesting points about everything from love to sex to marriage to impotency. The score by Cliff Martinez also helps to move the film along perfectly.
  
  GRADE: A-
  
  
  
• Finished by the graceful touch of God
  By A3GZI90K080K9W on 2002-08-29
  I won't talk much about the synopsis, you can find it anywhere. I see SLV as an exceptionally intimate exploration of human sexuality, honesty and morality. Four leading characters divided into two groups reproduce an unforgettable confrontation of "the soulful" versus "the physical". Amazing screenplay and directing by the (then) 26 years old writer-director Steven Soderbergh proves and makes one wonder about how much a young artist can accomplish.
  The last couple of seconds of the film (an exterior scene) was improvised by Andie MacDowell and James Spader as a gentle rain started landing on the stage. Hence the altogether casual and graceful sentences "I think it will rain.." and "It IS raining" poured from the lips of Andie MacDowell and James Spader. On the commentary audio track Steven Soderbergh says about these last moments that "Everybody thinks that means something, but it doesn't", but I don't subscribe to that point of view. SLV has the most beautiful ending I have seen to date, and it has happened by itself. But it was deserved, wasn't it?
  
  
• "Did anybody touch anybody"
  By A3I7EHVQ4AAKFV on 2004-07-21
  I keep thinking about Hitchcock's Notorious everytime I watch Sex, Lies & Videotape. With a different plot and genre, both masterful films tell the story of all the lies that veil people from the truth. Visually, they give us clues or icons. A key is not just a key, and a houseplant is not just a houseplant. The line about villains being the heroes in their own imagination could easily explain the thrust of not just the cheating husband but even the more morally appealing characters. The trick is how the drama changes or doesn't change people.
  
  Stylistically, it is very sparse but frugal. The cast and cameras make the most of what they have. Gallagher spins John's wedding ring and wears a queen's ivy. McDowell blushes and laughs as Ann. Spader lays Graham open to disarming vulnerability. San Giancomo asserts Cynthia's chin and takes up another challenge in her rivalry with her sister, Soderbergh?s camera doesn't waste any of it. McDowell and San Giancomo act like sisters. Even the videocamera and television take on semblance of character. (Compare Hitchcock?s use of doors dramatically shutting and the video ending in tv snow. It is the same finality.) The barfly cracks me up with his improvised drunken wooing. It is welcome comic relief and accents a very subtle charm in the drama and comedy bundled together.
  
  In his commentary with a fellow director on this DVD, Soderbergh makes all sorts of references to other filmmakers. I was disappointed, at first, that he didn't mention Notorious but reveled that we viewers bring something to the to the table on our own. Film may seem like a passive media, but it ain't.
  
  
• Interviews about sex
  By A1K5DUV1L52MUD on 2004-11-06
  The story is about a married couple named Ann and John, portrayed by Andie MacDowell and Steven Gallagher. The marriage lacks any sparks plus the fact that John is having sex on a regular basis with Ann's sister, Cynthia, played by Laura San Giacomo.
  
  John is a lawyer moving up the ladder, Ann consults her therapist regularly, with whom she discusses her lack of interest in sex and compulsive ways. Cynthia tends bar at some dive with one regular customer that gets on Ann's nerves.
  
  One day an old college buddy of John's appears wanting to face his past and find a place in town to live for an unspecified period of time. Graham is played by James Spader and spends a night or two at Ann and John's place before apartment hunting.
  
  While John sends Ann off to look at apartments with Graham, he calls Cynthia for a quick romp before heading to the office. There is an interesting scene in a restaurant with Graham and Ann afterwards where the topic turns to sex. For some reason Graham confides in Ann that he is impotent.
  
  What I found funny is the number of times Ann and Cynthia are talking on the phone and then Cynthia and John planning their next tryst. Once Graham moves into town the talk between these three at separate times is based on what they know and want to know about Graham.
  
  Each time Cynthia and John are together it becomes apparent that once the sex is over Cynthia wants him gone. They really have nothing in common but the sex is intense after Cynthia relays the videotaping incident.
  
  It sure looked like Cynthia spent more time with Ann and John separately than Ann and John were together. I did not see why they were even married in the first place. Ann seemed to be attracted to Graham in an off sort of way.
  
  The ending left gaps for me because the sisters discussed their Mother's birthday and I did not see the significance of this discussion. The drunk in the bar got on my nerves always saying the same thing. I could not tell what line of work Ann was interested in pursuing or involved in.
  
  I still sat glued to my couch watching Sex, Lies and Videotape wanting to see something that never came to light. I hoped that Ann and Graham would connect because I never saw a relationship between her and John. The sisters had a bond but also were jealous of what the other had. Graham mentioned spending nine years structuring his life, which was not really explained.
  
  It was an interesting movie that was on the dark side with sexual undertones but never showing anything sexual but the language was of adult matter. I liked the brutal honesty of the characters and how they were all motivated in some way by sex.
  
  
• James Spader Best Actor??
  By A21LN8ZLGF3M5U on 2006-03-15
  The movie was good but i dont know how james spader got best actor for it..dont get me wrong he was good in it, but i guess the rest of the nomminees really sucked..i like james spader and this was one of the only things ive seen him in, besides boston legal, and the last season of the practice.. worth the money i spent on it..recommended for fans of james spader..
  
  
• Nothing Nude; Yet Something Lewd
  By A1LAGCFI7FISQ5 on 2003-04-28
  I saw this movie yesterday with lot of anticipation, for it is the first venture for Steven Soderbergh. His Traffic was a wonderful movie that captured the essence of drug dealing from the views of diverse people, from mongers to parents. And of course Erin Brockovich was outstanding too. But this is a very different plot, which revolves around four people and the lack of communication between them, their lives, their lies and a voyeur's videotapes.

  Ann is pent-up sexually and her husband John has an affair with her sister, of course without ann's knowledge. In the meantime, Graham, a college friend of John comes into the lives of the three and changes it rather dramatically. Everyone lies about their interpersonal lives and Graham happens to drive the two women out to reveal their secrets and change their lives with the women agreeing to talk about sexual relations. He videotapes them. Admitting that he is an impotent in the presence of a girl, Graham gets excited by watching the videos of women talking and doing whatever they want to do.

  Alhough the characters are not necessarily the best choices, in my opinion (I am not a great fan of Andie MacDowell by the way), they blend into their assigned roles pretty well. Its indeed amazing that the movie could be achieved without any nudity. Awkward and repelling, nevertheless well-made with the Soderbergh's touch.
  
  

• Insightful, a glance at inhibitions and the power of truth.
  By A79Q8J5DAG55N on 2000-04-13
  When I first saw this film, I was thinking bad thoughts: this film isn't going to be very good, but rather sensationalistic. Well, I was wrong in the most delightful wa. This film, although about sex in different schools of thought, is actually about finding the self and rediscovering a security with who you are. Just ask Graham (James Spader), who is impotent, but rather than concealing the fact with shame, he discusses it with his friend's wife (Andie MacDowell), with the same comfort and truth that he has seen in his several interviews with women. Entering into three private lives, Graham becomes an audience to a wife's paranoia and inhibition, a husband's infedility and dishonesty, and a sister's shallow standards and immaturity. The end result gives a revelation to everyone, even to Graham himself, and sex becomes more truthful and passionate (to some), and more condemning and devastating (to others) then anyone could ever imagine. A good film about being mature in the midst of the most ruthless immaturity.
  
  
• Appealing Indie
  By A2UW83R0JOZZ6 on 2001-12-20
  "sex, lies and videotape" is an intriguing indie that comes from Academy Award-winning writer and director Steven Soderbergh, the man responsible for two of the Y2K's most critically acclaimed films - Traffic and Erin Brockovich (in theaters now is "Ocean's Eleven"). Soderbergh was 26 when he wrote and directed "sex, lies and videotape" in 1989, winning the FIPRESCI and Golden Palm awards at the Cannes Film Festival and garnering an Oscar nomination the following year for Best Original Screenplay. Like all neophyte filmmakers, he had a very limited budget ($1.2 million) and scant knowledge of what could substantially enhance a motion picture. Therefore, resources were limited and "sex, lies and videotape" has many weak points - sound/film editing, cinematography, inexperienced actors and ham-fisted direction. A blatant novice, Soderbergh's immaturity shows in the way his cast aimlessly wanders, the caliber of their performances glaringly under par.

  Other than the flaws at hand, SL&V proves to be a very intriguing drama, unfolding slowly and discreetly. It begins with Ann Millaney (MacDowell) lounging on her shrink's settee and obsessing over the Earth's piling garbage. She's also bothered by the fact that her husband John's (Gallagher) old college buddy is coming to stay with them for a few days without her permission. John is an egotistical lawyer and lately Ann's appeal towards him has diminished, reaching the point where she recoils at his touch. John however, isn't too concerned about her waning libido; he makes almost daily visits to the apartment of her younger sister Cynthia (Giacomo) to quell his sexual urges.

  Ann is oblivious to John's sordid affair and when Graham Dalton (Spader) arrives in town, things start taking a turn toward the bizarre. Ann finds herself captivated by Graham's quiet, contemplative nature and while visiting his apartment one day, he confesses to a titillating hobby - his entire catalog of video tapes contain explicit discussions with several women about their sexual histories. She is at first repulsed by his fetish but Graham manages to peak her curiosity and Ann eventually participates in his psychological game with a newfound fervor.

  It's easy to figure out which actor has the longest resume. Laura San Giacomo is the neophyte of the group, her role as Cynthia Bishop her very first acting/film credit. MacDowell had done very little before SL&V, her only notable credit being a supporting part in Joel Schumacher's brat-packer classic "St. Elmo's Fire". Peter Gallagher's resume was substantially longer, though most of his work was based in television. James Spader is the obvious veteran (Pretty In Pink, Baby Boom, Mannequin, Wall Street) - he's the only person who seems to fit his character mold the best. As the introverted Graham, his striking appearance ("...a face that fluctuates between remarkably handsome and just plain strange") and his direct yet pensive delivery are very fitting traits that make Graham seem more alive than the rest.

  Louisiana accents here are either nonexistent or horribly attempted. MacDowell is the only genuine Southern belle, her delightful twang acquired in the Carolinas. Giacomo's drawl comes and goes and even when it's there, it's painfully obvious that she's a Yank (born and bred in West Orange, NJ). This story could have easily taken place anywhere in the US (upper Manhattan would've been excellent), but Soderbergh chose to film in familiar territory - his hometown of Baton Rouge.

  My biggest qualm with this flick is MacDowell's interpretation of Ann. I had read the screenplay several times before I finally rented the movie, delighting in the simplicity of the dialogue and the intense nature of each character. I found Ann to be a shy but extremely intense person and it's unfortunate that MacDowell plays her a complete 180º from what I imagined. Instead of the sophisticated and self-conscious woman I pictured, MacDowell has Ann laughing when she should be frowning, smiling inanely at inappropriate moments and underplaying her shock when Graham's MO is revealed for the first time. In short, Ann appears to be a total airhead, incapable of having a serious moment or an in-depth conversation - the "blonde syndrome", as it were. This is, of course, due to her inexperience.

  With its central cast of characters and virtually no supporting parts, "sex, lies and videotape" could easily be converted to a stage play. The minimal sets and petite cast command attention, making SL&V eligible for a Broadway run (if Soderbergh were so inclined).

  Despite the movie's technical flaws, one will find "sex, lies and videotape" to be an absorbing drama with a cast and director on their way to very rewarding careers.
  
  

• a rare victory for honesty between men and women
  By A17P0YY7GS6MUF on 2003-08-20
  Graham's integrity creates an opening for the most touching, simple honesty. Two sisters clearly are astonished to discover a man with whome they can relate on this level. All of the fake male and female role stuff that we were forced into starting in highschool melts away and the emotional realness that emerges moves the plot forward. I wish this kind of thing would happen outside films.
  
  
• Soderbergh makes a brilliant debut
  By A2XRZV63X79YSJ on 2006-01-25
  sex, lies and videotape is Steven Soderbergh's directing debut and he has crafted a stunning film about relationships.
  
  This film is about a married couple John (Peter Gallagher) and Ann (Andie MacDowell) whose lives are changed when John's college roommate Graham (James Spader) moves to town. Add to this a wild card, Ann's sister Cynthia (Laura San Giancomo) who happens to be having an affair with John.
  
  Graham has intimacy issues and gets around them by videotaping women talking about sex lives and fantasies. Cynthia is a free spirit and wants all men to desire her. She comes on strong to Graham who takes advantage and adds her videotape to his collection. To Graham, the prize is the prim and proper Ann. Like Graham, Ann is also emotionally repressed. But after a while she opens up and creates a videotape of her own.
  
  This experience not only changes her life but Graham's too.
  
  Soderbergh has created a fine film that explores the human soul with stunning performance all around. Spader was better known as part of the Brat Pack and totally redefined his persona with this film - unfortunately he has never been given a chance to show his abilities again. Andie MacDowell also gave a beautifully textured performance.
  
  DVD EXTRAS: Commentary interview by Soderbergh and interviewer director Neil LaButte
  
  
  
• Should be retitled "love, truth and celluloid."
  By A29UXX4LHR6ITX on 1999-08-21
  If you don't get this one, you're not bright enough to. Go watch all the French Eric Rohmer's "morality tales" which obviously inspired the then 27 yr. old Soderberg for an American attempt at this sort of thing. But the unique thing is here that everyone in the film is desperate to lie, live a lie--but even more desperate to tell the truth to the camera! The existential crisis of Graham, played lugubriously by Spader, is brought to an end by a confession--perhaps a lie as well--by John with the intention to hurt not to heal: years earlier he slept with Graham's object of obsession, Elizabeth. Little does he know that's all needed to set the poor unfortunate impotent Graham free to pursue his now estranged wife. The camera is the most developed character, along with the creepy new age "Hearts of Space" type soundtrack. Watch for a great revelation (among many!)from San Giacoma when she says "John and Anne don't have sex anymore."
  
  
• from baton rouge director steven soderberg...
  By A1241U6QCSX5YJ on 2001-05-30
  who would've thought the oscar winning director's first movie would be about of all things baton rouge yuppies? and yet i like this movie because it doesn't rely on gimmicks or special effects, but just a good story and great acting...james spader is so used to playing heavies, it's refreshing to see him vulnerable, as you will here...secretly, some people relish the chance to be a voyeur , to live through other people's fantasies...james and andie macdowell make a very nice couple in the film...also the city of baton rouge is shot rather nicely ( examples: scenes of the garden district near LSU, the opening scene of james' character as he enters baton rouge across the mississippi river bridge )...if you pay attention to the scene where laura san giacomo is tending bar, that club is the bayou...one of my favorite pubs when i was in college....this is one of the better "baton rouge" films to come along recently....
  
  
• One of the most erotic films of all time--and without nudity
  By on 2003-04-02
  Without showing any flesh, Steven Soderbergh has managed to make an erotic classic of the sexiest kind. The movie is so full of erotic tension and dialogue, it doesn't have to expose anyone to get it's message across. A breakthrough film at the time, and while many other flesh filled boinkfests have appeared since then, none have been as original or stimulating. Soderbergh's first and best film. From what I've seen in the rest of this films, he may never top this.

  The acting performances are all dead on and completely believable. While James Spader wins the awards and acting accolades, I think it's Andie MacDowell that makes this film.
  
  

• Learning to live and love again
  By A2CW9IQAPFEYLM on 2005-08-28
  A strange, but very rewarding movie. It opens with Ann (Andie MacDowell) talking to her therapist; sex doesn't mean much to her, she's repressed about it, etc. It just so happens that her husband John (Peter Gallagher) is having an affair with her sister Cynthia (Laura Giacomo). Along comes an old friend of John's, Graham (James Spader). He tells Ann that he's impotent, that he gets off by watching videos he's made of women talking about sex. Ann is repulsed and attracted to him at the same time, while hot-to-trot Cynthia goes right after him and makes a tape with him. Ann is shocked, then discovers the affair her husband is having, and decides to go to Graham, too - and makes her own video. Actually she makes a video of him: she gets him to confess that he does what he does because he is a liar about his impotence. She gets him to make love to her, she leaves sleezeball John, and the movie ends with Ann and Graham together. At first I didn't like the major scene with Ann and Graham, but after a second viewing I found it to be much more coherent and interesting. Graham has a neat little secret that has caused him to arrange his life so he'd never have to feel again. Ann changes all that, and it was great seeing them together at the end of the movie. An intelligent, well-acted picture; definitely worth a watch.
  
  
• Jamuny
  By A3DR3LF1NX1ZOK on 2005-10-08
  I have watched this video over and over again until it has worn out. Some may think that this is slow moving bore, but I believe it is a character analysis of four people with a very precitable outcome. As a wannabe screen writer, I have learned many lessons from watching this. James Spader has always been one of my favorite actors, even before Boston Legal! He always played such a miserable person in most of the movies I have seen him in before this... And Andie McDowell was just a beautiful young woman and retains her beauty through the years. I love this movie. I count it as one of my top 20 of all time...Don't look for action...it is as I have said a character analysis of a first time screen writer. Watch it as such!
  
  
• Potent
  By A13DQTXG02HZC1 on 2006-04-24
  It's remarkable that this movie is more than a decade old and yet, its story is still as relevant and potent as nowadays. With a shoestring budget and with a basic premise of analysing the dynamics of a relationship between four persons, this movie captives my imagination from beginning till the end. The title itself can be misleading. Whilst from the outset, it's literally sex, lies and videotapes but without those issues, there wouldn't be the much needed honesty, transparency and communication that facilitate a satisfying resolve for all parties that are concerned. An intelligent movie indeed. Highly recommended. No extras in the DVD other than the set-ups.
  
  
• sex, lies, and videotape - Great
  By AMS8RT7TRF1ID on 2005-08-31
  Do yourself a favor. Get this movie and watch it. Very unusual and engrossing and as others mention, the eroticism is in the conversations rather than any overt act on the part of (Anne) McDowell and (Graham) Spader. Anne's husband (Gallagher) thinks he is a major player but look where he goes for the extramarital sex. I had the feeling that part of Anne's sexual difficulty was because her husband had never made the effort to develop a sexual relationship with her and she did not even know what an "orgasm" was let alone experience one. These people all have problems with relating to other people but Anne and Graham do finally manage to get together(because of Anne's persistence) and experience sex together. This is an assumed thing because there really is very little touching between Anne and Graham but you get the feeling that they are extremely happy with each other once they are together. Different than most movies and definitely worth watching. Spader is always worth watching. Treat yourself.
  
  
  
  
• Fascinating Debut
  By A2BPDFR58H9575 on 2007-08-03
  Steven Soderbergh's now legendary debut was the first his film I saw. It was in 1989, during the Moscow International Film Festival. Only later I found out that Sodebergh was 29 when he wrote the screenplay in eight days during a trip to Los Angeles and made the film for $1.8 million. His independent movie was a real hit that was selected for Cannes Film Festival and won the Palme d'Or and the best actor prize for James Spader.
  
  The film concerns four attractive and intelligent young people. Ann (Andy MacDowell in the best role I've ever seen her) is married to John (Gallagher) but their sexual life is practically non-existent since Ann finds sex over-rated, and to simply put it, she does not enjoy or even need it. John is having an affair with Ann's sexy younger sister, Cynthia (San Giacomo) who seems to resent Ann. Enters Graham (Spader), John's college friend with the unusual hobby of videotaping women while they describe their sexual fantasies and very important skill - he knows how to listen.
  
  I had seen many movies before "sex, lies and videotape" and I've seen plenty since but it has a special place in my memory. It was the first film I had seen that dealt with and talked about very intimate topics of sexuality, satisfaction, jealousy, sisters' relationship, marital problems and loyalty, the secret longings in all of us, and the ever mysterious nature of erotic desire with such level of honesty, openness, and intelligence. The writing, the dialogs, and the acting are superb with James Spader and Laura San Giacomo simply outstanding and Andie McDowell very convincing.
  
  4.5/5 or 9/10
  
  
  
• my privite - favorite- film....
  By on 1999-04-22
  before leaving my comment, I want to tell everyone will read this I'm not American, stricktly, I'm not good at English. so If you read this writing and feel funny, understand me. when I watch this film for the first time, I cried. 4 kind of man is represented interlocking relasionship, even in this country it can be experienced.....I felt human solitary is same and his(her?) wound which cause isolation should be cured any way. but how? this film give some tips about the question, that is 'confession'. individual private secret or sin, and his condition.. / unperfact and woundful human-being is... still precious only because of his existense. I'm sure I'm not a Existensist but I Know the power of the communication. Honest communication helps me recover my own preciousness(?) given from Lord. In this film, I couldn't agree of the result. but "result" can open to the viewer. in any other movies, It can be, I think. any way If you watch this, you must move/ sex- relationship remind me of wang-ka-wai's film. how about you? whole- silent, cool movie thanks for reading me!
  
  
• a must for internet users
  By on 1999-07-06
  I believe Soderbergh set the rules for a sub-genre with this film. The discomfort of converting to simulacrums of women (as opposed to having real sex) is something men began to experience more and more in the last decades. To me, this phenomenon forms the true spine of the theme for SLAV. Though not "perfect" in terms of storytelling, SLAV is both intellectual and entertaining. Watch it! It's about "watching"...
  
  
• Phenomenal film, but the DVD version doesn't work!!!!!!
  By A299NLS5WC2TPU on 1999-07-20
  A true masterpiece that is at once beautiful and stunning. But does anyone own a DVD version that works properly? (On both copies I bought, the audio was screwed up).
  
  

• Secretary
• White Palace
• Dream Lover
• The Stickup
• The Dreamers (Original Uncut NC-17 Version)