Julien Hernandez plays jack-of-all-trades as writer, director, star, and more of his unconventional comic feature SEX, POLITICS, & COCKTAILS. Thirtysomething filmmaker Sebastian Cortez (Hernandez) leaves his overprotective mother and dysfunctional Jersey girlfriend for the... [More]

Julien Hernandez plays jack-of-all-trades as writer, director, star, and more of his unconventional comic feature SEX, POLITICS, & COCKTAILS. Thirtysomething filmmaker Sebastian Cortez (Hernandez) leaves his overprotective mother and dysfunctional Jersey girlfriend for the sunnier shores of the West Coast. He arrives to a renewed relationship with his college friend, a soap-opera actress named Daria (Marisa Petroro). Then he finds a job making a documentary film about relationships in the LA gay community. Feeling as though he's really never been in love and hoping his soul mate lives in LA, Sebastian jokingly acquiesces when Daria suggests he get involved with a man. As he delves into the love lives of Daria's gay male friends, including the neurotic Paulie (Alex Douglas) who has a strict set of rules about dating and sex, and the emotionally disconnected but promiscuous Michael (Seth Macari); Sebastian thinks harder about what would make him happy. When he meets the witty and wealthy host of a hip Hollywood party, all bets are off as Sebastian takes a chance on true love. With a little-known but exquisitely funny cast, Hernandez employs some unusual and risky filmmaking techniques to further his story, including fake archival footage of an old European doctor graphically explaining the sexual positions among gay men, and multiple diversions from the main story using titles to guide the audience back and forth. Hernandez also blurs the line between feature film and documentary as he mixes fake documentary-style footage that includes interviews with eccentrics like the owner of a sexuality boutique. The end result is an irreverent comedy with laugh-out-loud moments, which provides a fresh perspective on both love and sexual orientation. [Less]