Dreadfully Boring

Absolutely the worst movie.

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

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

From the title, I imagined a very serious film where people in a sex addicts program would give the salacious details of their addiction. I did not expect one of the most original and brilliant comedies of the last decade.The surprising thing is that the movie has great style and is quite fast paced. This is rare in independent films where low budgets often restrict movies to a few sets and long scenes.I was also impressed with his philosophical style of honesty. He knows how to be philosophical and funny about his life and the human condition and that isn't always appreciated. See some really nasty and undeserved comments among these reviews.The only criticism I have is that the movie is hopelessly sexist, however it is of the romantic, putting women on a pedestal, type of sexism. It is generally pretty gentle and the humor is aimed more at himself than others.There are lots of great performances here. Amanda Morse (Christine) and Amanda Henderson (Devin) are two of the standouts who need to do more films.It is sad that nobody has given Caveh a million dollars to do another film since this one. It shows that Hollywood still does not recognize great talent.

The Holy Moment- Caveh Zahedi's Quest For Truth In Cinema.Although it has a lurid title that invokes B movies of the 1950's, "I Am A Sex Addict" is an original work of art that will challenge your ideas of films, reality, and the nature of relationships between a man and a woman. Caveh Zahedi is the director and star of this de-facto home movie, and to say he is a talented filmmaker would be an incomplete sentence. Zahedi is a performance artist, somebody who has the unique ability to flaunt his flaws with honesty and still be able to bond with his audience.My first exposure to the mind of Caveh Zahedi (like many others) came during Richard Linklater's animated "Waking Life" (which I consider one of the best films of this decade). Caveh discusses Andre Brazan's Theory of "The Holy Moment", in which since everything is God- film captures God in every frame. This sort of chatter could be dismissed as philosophical bullshit, but that scene (where at the conclusion the two characters attempt a holy moment and turn into clouds) always resonated with me. Pictures, film, and video have been in our lives since we were born, so we have demystified them. But when you think enough about how amazingly strange the process of "capturing moments" is then you can truly wrap your brain around what I Am A Sex Addict is trying to accomplish.The film (which is part documentary, part fiction, and with a dash of "reality TV" thrown in for good measure) opens up with Caveh in the rectory of a church beginning his confessional about his addiction to prostitutes. He is minutes away from being married (for real), and this decision to begin the story at this moment is one that will elicit groans of tastelessness and exploitation. But this is a perfect place to start the movie, since this joyful hope (what is more optimistic than a wedding?) of the present time makes us relax to what will follow.And the next hour and a half or so will force you to abandon all preconceived notions of truth, sex, and relationships. And more importantly- what it is that constitutes film-making. Because "I Am A Sex Addict" uses every tool of the trade- there's still pictures, old home movies, animation, reenactments of real life events, dear-diary-type confessions, and the behind-the-scenes footage of the frustration of trying to recreate what really happened.Is there a plot? Well, I suppose it is Caveh's search for a soul mate and his desire to rid himself of his prostitute addiction. Those two things are his goals, and they drive the film forward. I won't spoil what happens during this quixotic adventure, but I will say that Caveh travels the world and meets all kinds of interesting people (mostly whores but some really cool "regular" women) and the events are documented in an entertaining, comical, and honest manner."I Am A Sex Addict" is all about the obsessions and compulsions of its director/writer/actor, but it never dissolves into narcissism or solipsistic fare. How does Caveh accomplish this? First of all, the film was made with a light comic touch and never takes itself too seriously. Secondly it never devolves into sexual conquest bragging or even celebrates the idea of being a Don Juan-type character. And third, it is trying to be honest and real about sex- the scenes depicting the act might be blunt but they are never glorifying. If anything, when we see Caveh having an orgasm it only brings to mind the vulnerability and ridiculousness of how we are when we're naked and engaging in this passionate state.This film received a very limited release, and the only reason I even heard of it is because I read an article about Caveh Zahedi in the SF Weekly (he lives in San Francisco). I believe it played at The Roxie (a great theatre in The Mission where I last saw a Hal Hartley film), but I missed it. Fortunately "I Am A Sex Addict" is available on DVD and you can put it in your queue on Netflix. I recommend you do so at once. It will make you forget (for awhile at least) all the crappy and formulaic films that are released by the major studios every week.*This review and many others can be found on: http://amodelcommunity.blogspot.com/

Perhaps you have to be a filmmaker to like it, but I really liked this film a lot. The reflexive nature (commenting on the actresses and the "real" versions) is one of the most interesting parts of the film. Other films would just recreate situations and either present them as fiction or non-fiction, but Caveh's hybrid is a very interesting one. The film is as much about Caveh as it is about the film itself.This film is about sex, yes, but the sex isn't sexy and that's how the filmmaker meant it to be. He struggles with a prostitute fetish, and the viewer is supposed to be repulsed when he picks up hookers, not turned on. If you are either too immature to deal with frank discussion of sex or too immature and become upset that the sex is not sexy, I'm sorry, this film is definitely not for you. If you like reflexive documentaries with a dash of meta, you will like this film. And if you DID like this film, check out Caveh's other film, In the Bathtub of the World.

The guy is obviously sick and I can't believe that he found somebody to fund this self indulgent masturbatory aid. He wants so desperately for you to like him and accept him that it just comes off as slimy and annoying.I got to see this movie for free and I still feel as though I have been cheated. It's no wonder that this film was rejected by Sundance, I'm glad at least one group of people had the chance to tell him how crappy this movie was. p.s. although there are lots of boobies and sex scenes, none of them are even worth fast forwarding to.