Don't Believe the Hype

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

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.

At first, I thought this movie was going to completely suck. The story didn't make much sense at first and was sort of weird. However, once I got around the first half of the film I began to really see and understand the message. This is when I truly began to connect to this film in many different ways. I've had times within my life where I just feel lonely and desperate similar to the main character, Cole. There's nothing wrong with me (I hope), I've had multiple relationships throughout my young life. I've had times where my life felt great and where finding someone to get to know wasn't difficult. However, eventually this feeling of happiness and confidence drifted away. After a year long on and off relationship, I'm truly alone. I've tried to meet new people and find someone who I could hopefully, truly connect with, but as you can imagine, I've had no luck. This stage of life or feeling is referred to in the movie as a "dry spell" which is something that I, a 17 year old teenager just graduating high school, am fairly aware of. I've kept telling myself to just get out there and find whoever you can get and make the most of it similar to how Cole's friend Jt instructs him to do. While watching his movie that scene within the bar really inspired me to try and go out to find some girls and to hopefully end my 'dry spell'. However, by the end of the second half, my mind completely changed. Cole eventually realized that it wasn't important whether he got girls or had sex and that all that truly mattered was that he had to be true to himself. Cole learned that being the man he wanted to be was the utmost important thing and that doing the right thing matters most. This movie might not be the greatest or most exciting movie out there but it seriously has one of the greatest messages out there for young men. I didn't really thing that I would have clicked on this film in my Netflix browser but I have to say that I am truly happy I did.

I didn't like it. I know that I'm probably not being fair, as I only sat through about a little less than half of it, but really, it was just so...not great. I thought it was going to be a comedy. It is not. Osment has done a lot better films, so his acting really isn't to blame here. The script is just not there. But that's my opinion, and if you like this kind of stuff, a slow moving to fast moving to slow moving (what a strange pace it has!) late night comedy minus the comedy, then you're probably going to find it enjoyable. For me, it wasn't. I don't really like these kind of movies anyway, so I guess I'm bias.

'Sex Ed' has a solid comedic premise: Eddie, a sexually inexperienced 23-year-old teacher, struggles to teach a sex-ed class to middle school kids. Beyond that, there's not much else going on. Fine direction from Isaac Feder and good performances from the whole cast, especially Haley Joel Osment, whose boyish charm carries the movie. Unfortunately, the story is paper thin and there aren't many big laughs. The secondary characters are all underwritten. Retta's character exists only to offer Eddie corny motivational speeches from behind the bar, and Lorenza Izzo is used exclusively as a prop for Eddie's sexual desires - why she is immediately attracted to his awkward speech and creepy stares, I have no idea. These characters - along with Eddie's roommate and his girlfriend - flit in and out of the movie when the plot requires them and have no depth or stories of their own.While there is a lot of potential and talent involved in the film, it just isn't funny or interesting enough to hold your attention for 90 minutes.