Sex and Death 101 (2007)

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

The movie title smacks of Woody Allen's earlier works, but conveying a different message for a changed time: With the waning of the Freudian parlance, the story is not about the dialectical interplay between Eros and Thanatos, but a comment on philandering and maturing. When a marrying man Roderick Blank (Simon Baker) learns from a list of destiny that he will have sex with 101 women in his lifetime, and his fiancée is only the 29th, he cancels the wedding and looks for the women on the list. The 101st turns out to be a serial killer, Death Nell (Wynona Ryder), but it takes little guess to tell that the last one on the list is the one he will marry. In a twisted way, it is a "family values" sermon, as the number 101 has a sophomoric ring to it, reminiscent of a serial number of a college-level introductory course. Matching the men's philandering is the women's turning into man-killing by the liberated sex—in spite of all the Sex and the City bravado, women do feel being molested big time, a sentiment that maketh the heroine a serial man-killer. Only when the scoring man (he is also lost) settles down with the enraged woman are both parties placated. The solution is so simple: old-fashioned, pre-sexual liberation marriage—and with kid.

"Sex and Death 101" is a dark and savvy little romantic comedy that gleefully dances away from many of the stale and stuffy conventions generally associated with the genre.Simon Baker stars as the allegorically named Roderick Blank, a handsome, seemingly insatiable lady killer who's decided it's finally time to put an end to his womanizing ways in favor of marriage to the beautiful Fiona Wormwood. Yet, literally on the eve of his bachelor party, Rod receives a mysterious email listing in chronological order not only all the women he's already slept with throughout the course of his life but all the women he is destined to sleep with in the time that still remains to him (the total is 101, if you haven't already surmised that from the film's title). Adhering to the adage "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak," Rod allows the list to essentially take over his life, waiting for the next promised woman to fall into his lap (sometimes quite literally), then crossing her name off the moment he's had his way with her. But is this truly the route to a satisfying life, even for a notorious playboy like Roderick Blank? Part science fiction and part metaphysical morality play, "Sex and Death 101" also boasts two wacky subplots that run contrapuntal to the main story: one featuring Winona Ryder as an avenging feminist who comes in the guise of a serial killer, luring unsuspecting misogynists to their well-deserved destruction; and the other involving three mysterious figures (mad scientists, intervening angels?) who kidnap Rod to inform him that he has been the victim of some bizarre cosmic prank and that he needs to destroy the list before it destroys him."Sex and Death 101" is not a perfect film by any means. Its attempts at surrealism are frequently heavy-handed and strained, and its black-comedy edge isn't always as razor-sharp as it could be. But, on the whole, this is a wildly original and surprisingly incisive look at the different ways in which men and women view sex and romance and the different ways they use both those things to get what they want. Writer/director Daniel Waters knows how to set even the most hackneyed romantic comedy cliché spinning on its head. For instance, the movie takes the obligatory "gay best friend" stereotype - who usually comes in the form of a flaming interior decorator or wedding planner - and turns it into a wise-cracking lesbian (smartly played by Mindy Cohn, best known as Natalie from "The Facts of Life"), whose duties as Rod's personal secretary go far beyond merely scheduling his appointments or knowing where his briefcase is.Although Rod is, in many ways, a typical character for a romantic comedy - afraid of commitment, obsessed with nailing every woman who comes his way, etc. - the route the script takes to get him to his admittedly rather predictable pro-woman/pro-romance epiphany is anything but typical. This freshness is further enhanced by the devilishly playful and utterly disarming performance turned in by Baker who completely captivates the viewer with his easygoing charisma and charm. The scene in which Baker and Ryder finally share screen time together is exceptionally well acted and staged. Even though the movie feels a little disjointed and unfocused at times, Waters does a nice job dovetailing all the seemingly unrelated plot elements into a satisfying whole in the end. "Sex and Death 101" is for those who like a little spice with their romantic comedies.

To be honest, I didn't understand how a machine could predict all those things, but anyway Winona's presence was perfect, why she doesn't look like that always? I mean, search for pictures of her in movie awards arrivals, or even street shots of her, she looks very different, but in this movie she was look like... man, I wanna marry her. Anyway the story was pretty well, it has a lot of sex, and may be now that we are talking about a seductor, wouldn't have been better that Dane Cook was the performer? I don't know, thats just my opinion, I think he is perfect for seduction performances, even much much better than this guy Jude Law, or one of the actors that I hate the most: Hugh Grant. Nooo men, Dane Cook is the men!!

It's another example of the critics not 'getting it'. This is a terrific movie, non-conventional, quirky, clever and funny. Go see it and enjoy yourselves. Be prepared to have fun, but's not for the faint of heart.Simon Baker (The Devil Wears Prada) is wonderful. He will be a big star. Winona Ryder is a surprise. She is back. It seemed as if her career was on hold, but she's great in this film.The language is unabashedly strong, the situations ditto, but the underlying message of the film is intelligent and 'right on'.Go see this movie.