The Vagina Monologues (1998)

This HBO special presentation is a scrupulously faithful filmed record of Eve Ensler's highly successful one-woman off-Broadway show +The Vagina Monologues, which premiered in 1996. As if to deliberately provoke the bluenoses who were predisposed to reject the play on the basis of its title alone, star/writer Ensler spends the first few minutes indulging in words as explicit and graphic as traffic will allow -- words largely based upon interviews with dozens of women of all ages, ethnicities, and sexual preferences, discussing their private parts and private lives. Highlights include a hilarious litany of euphemisms for the word "vagina," a rundown of proven methods to achieve ultimate sexual satisfaction, and some harrowing recollections of women who'd been raped and otherwise sexually humiliated under a variety of circumstances. Running the gamut from quiet chuckles to screaming rage, from mere scatology to blatant political activism, Ensler is often disturbingly shocking and intimidatingly candid, but never, ever boring. Opening with a jaunty "Can you believe we're doing this on HBO?," and closing with excerpts from filmed interviews and some backstage chitchat between the star and her fans, The Vagina Monologues was filmed at the New York Theater Workshop, and made its American cable TV debut on February 14, 2002.