THE MYTH OF THE MALE ORGASM
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1993 Scott Renshaw
Starring: Bruce Dinsmore, Miranda De Pencier, Mark Camacho, Burke Lawrence, Ruth Marshall, Macha Grenon. Screenplay: John Hamilton and David Reckziegel. Director: John Hamilton.
THE MYTH OF THE MALE ORGASM is the story of Jimmy Ravinsky (Bruce Dinsmore), a single young psychology professor who convinces his two housemates, lovable loser Tim (Mark Camacho) and inveterate womanizer Sean (Burke Lawrence), to join him in participating in a feminist studies experiment at his college. The subject of the experiment: male attitudes about women, sex and relationships. Only Jimmy returns after his initial session, however, beginning a spirited exchange with his anonymous interrogator "Jane Doe" (Miranda De Pencier). The film examines Jimmy's many relationships, including those with platonic woman friend Mimi (Ruth Marshall) and narcissistic ex-lover Paula (Macha Grenon), and how his encounters with Jane Doe changes them both.
I'm tempted to refer to MYTH as WHEN HARRY MET SALLY... without the star power, but that wouldn't be entirely fair to this Canadian battle-of-the-sexes comedy. True, it covers some familiar territory in the realm of contemporary sexual politics, but it adds enough twists and fresh characters to stay interesting. Tim is a hapless schlub who pays lip service to enjoying "just friend"-ships with women while suffering through a prolonged stretch without a sexual relationship; Paula is a real rhymes-with-witch who insists on reminding Jimmy of why their relationship failed. Then there is MYTH's biggest asset, the appealing and multi-layered character of Jimmy, winningly played by Bruce Dinsmore. Jimmy is truly intriguing, a man indignant about how poorly other men treat women while apparently unaware of who much more similar than different he is. More to the point, he's someone who thinks he's figured out everyone else but doesn't have the first clue about himself. Dinsmore does a fine job with Jimmy, combining charm, arrogance, intelligence and uncertainty into a coherent character. He's especially good in his scenes with women, strongest of all in a restaurant scene with Paula (Grenon is the other strong point in the cast). The scenes with his male friends rang somewhat false, thanks largely to a performance by Burke Lawrence that begins and ends as a swaggering caricature. Fortunately, these scenes are infrequent and less critical, allowing Dinsmore to shine where he's needed most.
The larger flaw in MYTH is an excessively stagy quality, as though it had been intended originally as a play. Many scenes, particularly those involving the conversations between Jimmy and Jane, are a bit claustrophobic, and even the lighting design suggests stage roots. The script often lays it on rather thick, using speeches to get points across with little subtlety, sometimes the same point more than once. But to its credit, THE MYTH OF THE MALE ORGASM plays fair with both sexes' attitudes, avoiding a "women good, men bad" level of simplicity. Both Jimmy and Jane learn something, and the film's most appealing message may be the need to get past assumptions and generalizations in the formation of honest relationships. The broad, theatrical acting styles and blatant politics may not be for every taste, but I found THE MYTH OF THE MALE ORGASM to be a clever and occasionally insightful take on the collision of changing roles with centuries-old perceptions.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 orgasms: 6.
-- Scott Renshaw Stanford University Office of the General Counsel
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