Sex Ed (2014)

i must have seen a different film!!

Crappy film

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Ed Cole (Haley Joel Osmont) is a former student teacher who falls on hard times and finds himself working at a bagel shop. He decides it's time to kick start his career and get back into teaching. However, Ed is unable to find a position teaching in his specialist subjects and reluctantly takes on the role of taking an after school class of detention kids. Ed quickly learns that the kids aren't currently learning Sex Ed and takes it upon himself to start teaching a course on Sex Ed much to the dismay of Reverend Marcus Hamilton (Chris Williams) who happens to be the strict father of one of the children in Ed's class.My first thoughts when watching this film is that it kind of reminded me of Dangerous Minds (albeit a watered down and much less gritty version of the same film). I haven't seen Dangerous Minds for quite some time, but I don't recall feeling that it wasn't gearing itself to the wrong audience and ultimately that is what the biggest problem is with Sex Ed.For a start it makes teaching kids lessons in Sex Ed the focus of most of its plot; explaining to kids what all the various body parts are, how to put condoms on, what all the 'scientific' words are called etc - this is all fine and I can see that to older children or young teenagers that this may be of interest and educational. The problem is that the filmmakers then slap a 15 certificate on it and with the exception of the classroom scenes the film is then filled with bawdy sexual scenes, violence, picking up prostitutes. Whilst I have nothing against these things in a mainstream film it did seem strange to give the majority of the film a sordid feel to it when it quite clearly has a rather wholesome message at heart. I'm really not sure why the filmmakers chose this approach when it probably would have been funnier if it would have been a clean comedy focusing on a sexually inexperienced teacher struggling to teach children about Sex Ed (at least that way it might have been a film that a family could perhaps sit down and watch together and would have at least appealed more to its intended target audience). The problem is that it doesn't play out like this and to be honest I thought that Ed got the kids onside a little too easily - I felt there were way more opportunities available to make the classrooms scenes funnier.Another problem for me is that even when I looked beyond the fact that as a man in my 30's I clearly wasn't the target audience the film just isn't that funny and just seemed full of clichés. Haley Joel Osmont's character is a pathetic guy, but he's like this all the way through the film and to be honest it's mildly depressing.In all honesty, Sex Ed's confusing tone is its biggest enemy; it's central story is about Sex Ed and the film does a reasonable job of raising awareness of the importance of using condoms and in highlighting the possible consequences of not taking precautions whilst having sex (which is great). It's too bad that this message seems to be overshadowed by clichéd sub plots, pointless violence, bawdiness, and a distinct lack of humour. I can see what was trying to be achieved here, but it's been handled really badly here.

I started out, thoroughly enjoying this movie. Admittedly, I was a bit bowled over by the movie being made in my hometown, and the novelty of not only recognizing all of the locations they filmed, but then actually seeing those locations get their time to shine as part of the plot (especially The Hub, which is one of the coolest dive-bars in town - not remotely as 'bright' as the film portrayed it, but still fun, nonetheless). So the movie started out great for me. I was amused by things like 'cock bagel' and basically everything involving Matt Walsh.But then, everything just kinda fell flat, and it seemed like no one was paying any attention to details. Hector was a very one- dimensional antagonist, and while I now love, and want to see more of, Lorenza Izzo, her character was one of the worst developed in the film. The scene where Eddie goes to have dinner with Tito and his family, and his mother has Eddie rub spices into the pork, only to show, one scene later, that they're having fish? Was no one bothering to keep any sort of continuity in this film?Overall, great acting in a bad story, but with a good underlying message. Poor direction, stilted dialogue, and amateur camera work makes this feel very much like a college film you make before you go off to Hollywood.

The movie is...fine. It's not super original or overly well done, but it is entertaining and the cast do a pretty good job with their roles. I may have enjoyed it more if I weren't watching a movie that has an incredibly specific setting about which the writers apparently knew nothing. This move did not need a very specific setting. It could have just as easily taken place in Indianapolis as Tampa and St. Pete. If you choose as a writer to make the setting a big deal, maybe find out some information about that place so that maybe at least one thing the characters say about it would be accurate. I know this one is nit-picking, but I should hope that a person commuting from St. Pete to Tampa wouldn't be spending a lot of time on the Skyway considering it would take them to Bradenton.

Let's get this out of the way first: yes, Haley Joel Osment looks-wise isn't the kid who sees dead people or even his 16-year old self in the wonderful "Secondhand Lions". He's chunky (and could use a good haircut), but damn! is he a really good actor.He carries this movie, he makes what could be a one-note or creepy character come alive. It helps that he has a terrific script to work with, it could easily have turned preachy fast but except for a scene near the end, it's more about Ed, HJO's character, and his lack of self- esteem, awkwardness around women, career frustrations and so on.The rest of the cast is really good as well, especially Lorrenza Izzo as Pilar, Retta as bar owner/landlord Sydney, Matt Walsh as the school administrator Washout and young Isaac White as Leon. The rest of the cast is fine as well, even in the small parts. It's well directed and filmed and the score is full of toe-tappers. Special note should be made of the band that plays in Sydney's bar, what terrific musicians.If you take this movie for what it is --a low-key, low budget comedy with some points to make-- it's a nice way to spend 90 minutes.