When Is Too Much Sex …. Too Much? Caroline Cao Reviews The New Film Unlovable!

By Caroline Cao | June 25, 2018 | Entertainment

Sex can be appetizing, though in the case of a young 20-something woman, it is a tiresome pursuit of love ΓÇô being loved for that matter.

In Unlovable, Rooftop Films has dishes out an endearing oddity about a taboo matter: A young womanΓÇÖs sex and love addiction. In the starry night breeze of the William Vale Rooftop, Unlovable met a warm reception of applause.

Screenwriter Charlene deGuzman stars as her fictional alter-ego Joy, woman navigating the sludge of her relationship and her sex and love addiction. Her sexual pursuits led to a breakup and eviction, so she ends up joining a 12-step support group led by Maddie (Melissa Leo). Lodged her sponsorΓÇÖs guest room, she forms a friendship with the shut-in brother of her 12-step meeting sponsor (John Hawkes), a connection that perhaps fit the definition of a ΓÇ£platonic comedy.ΓÇ¥ Through guitar strums and drum banging, they make music together, not necessary to impress the world but to find themselves.

At times, I worried it traversed into tasteless territory, but the film keeps low-key throughout, even in its more off-kilter moments. Bursting with zingers within the honesty, Unlovable is the opposite of its title. The chords are right.

Post-screening, deGuzman and Hawkes played the filmΓÇÖs music live, as if to let us know, yeah, their talent and camaraderie are not an onscreen fabrication.

Unlovable is a quirky piece indie, a vintage Duplass Brothers-produced project, directed by Suzi Yoonessi, who doesnΓÇÖt shy away from the earnestness of womanhood and sexuality.

photo credit: Courtesy SXSW