Sex Tape (2014)
TOMATOMETER
Critics Consensus: With neither the conviction to embrace its smutty premise nor enough laughs to function as a worthwhile rom-com, the flaccid Sex Tape suffers from cinematic impotence.
Critics Consensus: With neither the conviction to embrace its smutty premise nor enough laughs to function as a worthwhile rom-com, the flaccid Sex Tape suffers from cinematic impotence.
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Movie Info
Jay (Jason Segel) and Annie (Cameron Diaz) are a married couple still very much in love, but ten years and two kids have cooled the passion. To get it back, they decide - why not? - to make a video of themselves trying out every position in THE JOY OF SEX in one marathon three-hour session. It seems like a great idea, until they discover that their most private video has gone public. In a panic, they begin a wild night of adventure - tracking down leads, roping in friends, duping Annie's boss - … More- Rating:
- R (for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some drug use)
- Genre:
- Comedy
- Directed By:
- Jake Kasdan
- Written By:
- Kate Angelo , Nicholas Stoller
- In Theaters:
- Jul 18, 2014 Wide
- On DVD:
- Oct 21, 2014
- US Box Office:
- $38.5M
Cast
-
Jason Segel
as Jay -
Cameron Diaz
as Annie -
Rob Corddry
as Robby -
Ellie Kemper
as Tess -
Rob Lowe
as Hank -
Nat Faxon
as Max
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Sex Tape Videos
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Critic Reviews for Sex Tape
All Critics (137) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (24) | Rotten (113)
A tired premise and a sheen of desperate flop sweat tanks this DOA comedy, which plays more like an ancient Playboy doodle than a full-fledged movie.
Even for a farce, the situations stretch credulity far beyond the breaking point.
It's strange to watch a comedy full of talented people that does not work from the opening scene. It's like eating food and not tasting anything.
Sex Tape is warmer and more amusing than its ads would lead one to believe. In fact, it's almost good enough, leaning a little too hard on the innate likability of stars Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel.
At heart, it's about as naughty as an old Disney movie with Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette, and an unruly Great Dane. I liked its gung-ho slapstick spirit, though. No one's slacking off.
Sex is treated first as brainless imperative, then as acrobatic duty, then as desperate consequence - it's never sexy in any way.
That's an awfully long way to go to establish a premise, especially for what little payoff Sex Tape ultimately delivers.
Can a movie be rife with profanity, nudity, vulgarity and sexual content, yet ultimately be as corny and wholesome as an Ozzie and Harriet episode? Unfortunately, yes.
The film's misfiring plot - it turns into a family farce by the finale - never quite makes enough sense to forgive it.
Why does a Sony movie function as a ninety minute commercial for Apple products?
Sweaty, naked panic is a poor substitute for genuinely raw humour, so the movie comes across like The Benny Hill Show, Uncut.
I counted three laughs in this wannabe bawdy comedy of errors, and one of them was a Breaking Bad gag so far past its tell-by date that even I got the joke.
Sex Tape is wittier and less smutty than its reputation might suggest.
Oh my, this is truly embarrassing.
Dreary and charmless.
Sex Tape is too busy blowing smoke up Apple's rear port to make any meaningful comment on the testy relationship between intimacy and technology.
This gormless farrago feels like the manifestation of a vast collective nervous breakdown.
Does it matter that the film itself ain't that funny? Annie and Jay are mostly anodyne; Diaz and Segel really don't click.
It all feels terribly feeble and no matter how energetic and broad the comedy mugging of Diaz and an ill-looking Segel it rarely raises a laugh. What a right old Carry On.
The best news here is the elasticity of the star pairing.
Like cinematic contraception, this mirthless nonsense may put you off movies AND sex.
Limp.
Although it presents itself as a rude sex comedy, this movie is actually a prudish exercise in simplistic moralising.
Not especially funny or sexy.
Color me absolutely astonished that this is genuinely sweet and wholly sex-positive. Unfortunately, it's also completely unfunny.
Neither raunchy nor insightful enough, this Sex Tape underwhelms.
Audience Reviews for Sex Tape
A 20-minute sitcom story stretched into a 90-minute feature film that is sloppily constructed and actually would have a bit of potential in better hands. Cameron Diaz and Jason Segal are fine as the leading duo and their interactions with people after their sex "file" is released can be quite funny, but that is only due to the fact that the film has a funny and likable cast. In the end it just throws lame and over the top cliches at your face while hammering in some family life lessons that you will not care about, because it doesn't have anything to do with the movie. Moral of the story, don't make a sex tape unless you are in the business, because it will not lead to anything good. Something I could have read in an online article. "Sex Tape" hits a few times and I chuckled, but it's basic premise and unoriginal climax ruins anything the film had going for it. Would I ever recommend this film? Oh hell no, but if you have nothing else to watch on television, give it a go just to see the mediocrity for yourself. I may not be as harsh on this as I should be, but the actors elevated it for me.
MoreSuper Reviewer
This is one of those movies I thought the trailer had it all, and the movie was going to be slow, but it was really funny and entertaining.
MoreSuper Reviewer
I had a mixed to negative reaction to the film. They had a good idea for a film but they didn't execute it correctly. The film needed a major rewrite. I liked Bad Teacher a little bit better than this film. Segel and Diaz have a great on screen chemistry but need a better script than this. Jack Black has a funny cameo appearance. I thought the scene at Rob Lowe's place was too over the top.
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Super Reviewer
Re-teaming for the first time since the bad education given moviegoers in Bad Teacher, Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz fare even worse here, never managing to turn their Sex-Capades into Laugh-Olympics. At the outset, Sex Tape turns a funnier and more acerbic eye on the truisms of being Married...with Children than Segel's co-hort Judd Apatow did with This is 40. There endeth any moments resembling comedy, however. Also, This is 69 just wouldn't cut it as a title, so the focus falls on the proposal of making and aftermath of making - not the actual filming of - a sex tape, slow-building toward some expected hilarity that just never shows. As an audience member, you kind of hang back patiently waiting for this slow burn approach to finally deliver a whammy moment, fully thinking the long awkward scenes and drawn-out plotting is part of Sex Tape's eventual comedic payoff. Even the post-ending scenes shown over the credits, scenes where we finally get to the see the filming of the Sex Tape in a delayed manner similar to The Hangover's photographic reveal of their hazy fun-filled night, ultimately sets viewers up for disappointment. Worst of all, despite boasting an R-rating and salacious title, Sex Tape plays out tamer than the characters' humdrum lives. It's shame too because the case is firing on all cylinders.
In this R-rated comedy, a married couple (Diaz, Segel) made harried by being parents decide to spice up their relationship by filming their first sexual encounter in months...only the video doesn't stay their secret for long.
Cameron Diaz has never been better. She may've cut her teeth in comedy (My Best Friend's Wedding, There's Something About Mary) and honed it along the way (Being John Malkovich, In Her Shoes) but she doesn't make a wrong move here save for signing off on the half-baked script. Meanwhile, Jason Segel excels at playing a goofy put-upon everyman even when the only one putting anything upon him proves to be himself. Any beef with Segel gets directed toward his screenwriting. He and partner Nicholas Stoller have turned out A-Grade hilarity before (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Five-Year Engagement, The Muppets). In working from Kate Angelo's story idea and first draft, however, they just can't mine many funny moments.
Bottom line: The Five-Year Disengagement
Super Reviewer
Sex Tape Quotes
- Jay:
- Siri, how do you give CPR, to a dog?
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