Sex Tape **½ (R) In the spirit of 1930s screwball comedies, amped up with present-day titillation elements, here’s a madcap farce about a nice suburban couple (Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel) who tries to spice up an idling marriage by filming what has become their all-too-infrequent boinking. Success! But...ooops. Hubby unwittingly downloaded the footage onto a bunch of I-Pads he’d given to others, forcing the duo to spend the rest of the film scrambling to recover the devices before suffering the humiliation of their tryst reaching cyberspace.
In all honesty, the best thing about this flick is seeing just about all of Ms. Diaz in action. Although she looks terrific for any age, having that body in her early 40s means she has the world’s best personal trainers, or DNA that should be examined for any cloning projects. Or both. Kudos to Segel for co-writing a script that landed him in such an enviable workplace.
Director Jake Kasdan does a pretty good job of maintaining the requisite high-octane pace, and framing the naughty bits to maximize their aesthetic and comic aspects. Some of the proceedings veer too far into the silly side, keeping this from reaching the enduring appeal of Diaz’ best rom-com, There’s Something About Mary.
Find out what's happening in Clayton-Richmond Heightsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
If he hasn’t already done so, Rob Lowe should fire the advisor(s) who convinced him to accept the role of Diaz’ loony prospective employer. He should consider hiring Jack Black’s team, since his gig let knock a brief, late appearance out of the park. Runner-up in that category is comedian/actor Kumail Nanjiani, who co-stars in an HBO sitcom, Silicon Valley. Saint Louis native Ellie Kemper fares well as Rob Corddry’s wife, adding another dimension to the hi-jinks as the lead couple’s closest friends. There might have been a socially relevant point or two about intimacy and privacy in the information age, but who cares? No one’s buying this ticket for its educational value. (7/18/14)