''Autoerotic'' is a 2011
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
film directed by
Joe Swanberg
Joseph Swanberg (born August 31, 1981) is an American independent film director, producer, writer, and actor. Known for micro-budget films which make extensive use of improvisation, Swanberg is considered a major figure in the mumblecore film mov ...
and
Adam Wingard
Adam Wingard ( ; born December 3, 1982) is an American filmmaker. He has served as a director, producer, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer, actor, and composer on numerous projects.
Following an early career as a member of the mumblecore ...
, written by Swanberg, Wingard, and
Simon Barrett, and starring
Kate Lyn Sheil
Kate Lyn Sheil (born June 13, 1985) is an American actress. She is primarily known for her roles in independent films ''You're Next'', ''V/H/S'', '' The Color Wheel'', '' The Sacrament'', and the award-winning Netflix series ''House of Cards''. ...
,
Amy Seimetz
Amy Lynne Seimetz is an American actress and filmmaker. She has appeared in several productions, including AMC's '' The Killing'', HBO's ''Family Tree'', and films like ''Upstream Color'', '' Alien: Covenant'', ''Pet Sematary'', and ''No Sudden ...
, Lane Hughes,
Kris Swanberg
Kris Swanberg (born Kristin Williams, November 11, 1980) is an American businesswoman, filmmaker, actress and former high school teacher living in Chicago, Illinois. She has been credited at various times as Kris Williams, Kris Swanberg and Kris ...
,
Ti West
Timon C. West (born October 5, 1980) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer, and occasional actor, best known for his work in horror films. He directed the horror films ''The Roost'' (2005), ''The House of ...
, and Frank V. Ross.
IFC Midnight
IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its Sun ...
released it to
video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
on July 22, 2011.
Premise
Four couples in Chicago attempt to deal with their relationship troubles, frequently by resorting to
masturbation
Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...
.
Cast
*
Amy Seimetz
Amy Lynne Seimetz is an American actress and filmmaker. She has appeared in several productions, including AMC's '' The Killing'', HBO's ''Family Tree'', and films like ''Upstream Color'', '' Alien: Covenant'', ''Pet Sematary'', and ''No Sudden ...
*
Kate Lyn Sheil
Kate Lyn Sheil (born June 13, 1985) is an American actress. She is primarily known for her roles in independent films ''You're Next'', ''V/H/S'', '' The Color Wheel'', '' The Sacrament'', and the award-winning Netflix series ''House of Cards''. ...
*
Joe Swanberg
Joseph Swanberg (born August 31, 1981) is an American independent film director, producer, writer, and actor. Known for micro-budget films which make extensive use of improvisation, Swanberg is considered a major figure in the mumblecore film mov ...
* Lane Hughes
* Frank V. Ross
*
Kris Swanberg
Kris Swanberg (born Kristin Williams, November 11, 1980) is an American businesswoman, filmmaker, actress and former high school teacher living in Chicago, Illinois. She has been credited at various times as Kris Williams, Kris Swanberg and Kris ...
*
Josephine Decker
Josephine Decker (born April 2, 1981) is an American actress, filmmaker, and performance artist. As of 2020 she has directed four experimental feature films: the psychological thriller '' Butter on the Latch'' (2013), the erotic thriller '' Thou ...
* Rosemary Plain
*
Adam Wingard
Adam Wingard ( ; born December 3, 1982) is an American filmmaker. He has served as a director, producer, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer, actor, and composer on numerous projects.
Following an early career as a member of the mumblecore ...
* Megan Mercier
*
Ti West
Timon C. West (born October 5, 1980) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer, and occasional actor, best known for his work in horror films. He directed the horror films ''The Roost'' (2005), ''The House of ...
*
Brendan Kelly
The characters are all unnamed.
Release
IFC Midnight
IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its Sun ...
released the film on July 22, 2011.
Reception
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, a
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
, reports that 30% of 10 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 4.71/10.
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
rated it 48/100 based on five reviews. Peter Debruge of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called it "vaguely titillating" but of questionable interest to audiences.
A. O. Scott of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' likened it to R-rated
O. Henry stories and said it is more disciplined than Swanberg's previous films. Mark Holcomb of ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'' wrote that it "is only sporadically a good sex comedy". Diego Costa of ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' rated it 2/4 stars and wrote that
mumblecore
Mumblecore is a subgenre of independent filmHoberman, J. (August 14, 2007).It's Mumblecore!. ''The Village Voice''. Retrieved on July 27, 2008.Lim, Dennis (August 19, 2007)Mumblecore – The New Talkies: Generation DIY ''The New York Times''. Retr ...
filmmakers' search for authenticity has led their films to become artificial. Jason Bailey of
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman.
History
Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
rated it 2/5 stars and called it "little more than a series of sniggering, mediocre dirty jokes".
References
External links
*
{{Joe Swanberg
2011 films
2011 comedy-drama films
American comedy-drama films
American sex comedy films
2010s English-language films
Films set in Chicago
Films directed by Joe Swanberg
Films directed by Adam Wingard
Mumblecore films
2010s sex comedy films
Films with screenplays by Simon Barrett (filmmaker)
Masturbation in fiction
Films with screenplays by Adam Wingard
2010s American films