Body Shots (1999)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Michael Cristofer

Writer (WGA):

David McKenna (written by)

Release Date:

21 January 2000 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Tonight it's for sex. Tomorrow it's for real. (Unrated VHS Version)

Plot:

A tale of the mysterious, but necessary, mating ritual between men and women of today and everything they think about sex but are afraid to say.

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Attorney | Bar | Shower | Oral Sex

Cast

Joe Basile	...	Bartender
Sean Patrick Flanery	...	Rick Hamilton
Scott Burkholder	...	Man in Bar
Jerry O'Connell	...	Michael Penorisi
Liz Coke	...	Girl #2
Amanda Peet	...	Jane Bannister
Allison Dunbar	...	Girl #3
Tara Reid	...	Sara Olswang
Ron Livingston	...	Trent
Edmund Genest	...	Sara's Dad (as Edmond Genest)
Emily Procter	...	Whitney Bryant
Adam Lieberman	...	Burger Joint Cop (as Adam Gordon)
Sybil Temtchine	...	Emma Cooper (as Sybil Temchen)
Larry Joshua	...	Detective Richards
Elizabeth Liebel	...	Mrs. Drofsky

Also Known As:

Jello Shots (USA) (working title)
Last Night (USA) (working title)
The Night Before (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content including graphic sex-related dialogue, language, violence and scenes of alcohol abuse.

Runtime:

106 min | USA:103 min (R-rated version) | USA:106 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:R (Ontario) (unrated version) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Italy:VM18 | Philippines:R-18 | USA:Unrated | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Mexico:C | New Zealand:R18 | Singapore:R(A) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R (NO. 36662) | South Korea:18 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

The film's title was changed from "Jello Shots" to "Body Shots" because of threatened litigation on the part of Kraft Foods (owner of the "Jell-O" trademark).

Quotes:

Michael Penorisi: Things are going to get U-G-L-Y.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Take (2008/I)

Soundtrack:

Altamont Super-Highway Revisited

Gets off to a great start

Before falling off into oblivion. The first forty five minutes were good. It starts off in an interesting way and it's easy to become immersed in what is going on. Unfortunately the second half is poorly written. The driving force is killed off, and what follows only leads into the least anti-climatic ending ever seen. What's worse about the ending is that it fails to resolve any of the film's events. Which almost makes the entire movie a waste of a film.

The directing is great, way better than this film deserves. The acting was good. I liked Jerry O'Connell's performance. Tara Reid was surprisingly convincing in displaying her emotions. Amanda Peet could have done better. Ron Livingston was great, and is shown in a somewhat different light.

The film has a lot of wasted potential. I'm surprised that the last half of the script wasn't completely rewritten. It is as if the writer only planned out the first half before starting to write it. If it's a dollar rental, it may be worth it. Just to be safe, I'd only recommend it if it ends up on a subscription movie channel.