Investigating Sex (2001)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Alan Rudolph

Writers (WGA):

José Pierre (book)
Alan Rudolph (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

9 August 2002 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A group of men and two female stenographers scientifically study sex. |

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Great Depression | 1920s | Female Nudity | Freud

Cast

Dermot Mulroney	...	Edgar
Julie Delpy	...	Chloe
Robin Tunney	...	Zoe
Neve Campbell	...	Alice
Jeremy Davies	...	Oscar
Alan Cumming	...	Sevy
Til Schweiger	...	Monty
John Light	...	Peter
Nick Nolte	...	Faldo
Terrence Howard	...	Lorenz
Tuesday Weld	...	Sasha
Emily Bruni	...	Janet
Jacqueline Anderson	...	Linda
Marc Hosemann	...	Joey
Joseph May	...	Roger
Harvey Friedman	...	Carpenter #1 (as Harvey Friedmann)
Jeff Caster	...	Carpenter #2
Sparka Lee Hall	...	Zoe's landlady

Directed by
Alan Rudolph

Writing credits (WGA)
José Pierre		(book "Recherches Sur la sexualite archives du surealisme")
Alan Rudolph		(screenplay) &
Michael Henry Wilson		(screenplay)

Produced by
Helmut Breuer	....	co-producer
Sabine de Mardt	....	line producer (as Sabine Müller)
Jana Edelbaum	....	producer
Jan Fantl	....	co-executive producer
Frank Hübner	....	producer
Jodi Lahaye	....	associate producer
Nick Nolte	....	producer
Peter Paulich	....	executive producer
Klaus Rettig	....	line producer
Alan Rudolph	....	producer
Gerhard Schmidt	....	executive producer
Greg Shapiro	....	producer
Andrew Siciliano	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Ulf Skogsbergh

Cinematography by
Florian Ballhaus

Film Editing by
John Helde

Casting by
Pam Dixon

Production Design by
Norbert Scherer

Art Direction by
Adriane Stamer-Klassen

Set Decoration by
Bernhard Henrich

Costume Design by
Barbara Jäger

Makeup Department
Kathleen Asmuss	....	hair stylist (as Kathleen Asmus)
Kathleen Asmuss	....	makeup artist (as Kathleen Asmus)
Jens Bartram	....	key makeup artist
Chloe Brown	....	hair stylist
Chloe Brown	....	makeup artist
Sabine Schumann	....	hair stylist
Sabine Schumann	....	makeup artist
Gabriele Trutz	....	hair stylist
Gabriele Trutz	....	makeup artist
Lesli Winklmair	....	hair stylist
Lesli Winklmair	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Michael Frenschkowski	....	production manager
Beau J. Genot	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jan Sebastian Ballhaus	....	first assistant director
Tonja Schürmann	....	second assistant director
Mark Stehli	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Mehdi Benhadj-Djilali	....	art department trainee
Helmut Biber	....	set painter
Peggy Dix	....	draper
Christian Ehlert	....	lead set dresser
Frank Godt	....	construction coordinator
Ulrike Gojowczyk	....	set props
Marcus Haendgen	....	property master
Christian Jess	....	construction crew
Jan Rieger	....	assistant property master
Agata Schubert	....	principal artist
Soheil Specowius	....	company set dressers
Andreas Stähle	....	construction crew
Falk Stolte	....	construction crew
Mark Stolte	....	construction crew
Helmut Willmann	....	set painter

Sound Department
Joe Barnett	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Cridlin	....	boom operator
Jed M. Dodge	....	dialogue editor
Marc Fishman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Alan Freedman	....	adr mixer
Frank Gaeta	....	sound designer
David Grant	....	dialogue editor
Michael Hertlein	....	dialogue editor
Chato Hill	....	assistant sound editor
Thomas Jones	....	adr supervisor
Craig Jurkiewicz	....	foley editor
Michael Kamper	....	sound effects editor
Diane Marshall	....	foley artist (as S. Diane Marshall)
Garth Marshall	....	sound mixer
Michael Mullane	....	sound effects editor
Arkadius Rilka	....	boom operator
Alec St. John	....	foley mixer
Lucy Sustar	....	foley mixer
Jerry Trent	....	foley artist
Lasse Viehöfer	....	boom operator
Trevor Ward	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby

Special Effects by
Adolf Wojtinek	....	special effects

Stunts
Volkhard Buff	....	stunts (as Volkhart Buff)

Camera and Electrical Department
Isabelle Arnold	....	assistant camera
Voxi Bärenklau	....	gaffer
Simon Blasi	....	camera trainee
Jannot Borowski	....	electrician
Armin Dirolf	....	video operator
Jost Engelmayer	....	electrician
Alexander Jung	....	additional electrician
Glenn König	....	company grip
Jens Makeldey	....	electrician
Birgit Möller	....	clapper loader
Heather Norton	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Roland Patzelt	....	best boy
Joyce Rudolph	....	still photographer
Karsten Schüle	....	clapper loader
Bjoern Susen	....	best boy (as Björn Susen)
Felix Raitz von Frentz	....	grip trainee
Trevor Watkins	....	dolly grip
Trevor Watkins	....	first company grip
Klaus Witt	....	second company grip
Tom Witt	....	company grip

Casting Department
Iris Müller	....	extras casting
Rebecca Rian	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Suzanne Goretzki	....	wardrobe supervisor
Sparka Lee Hall	....	wardrobe supervisor
Barbara Koeppl	....	costumer trainee
Beate Scheel	....	extras costumer

Editorial Department
Joe Finley	....	digital color timer
Melody Gehrman	....	apprentice editor
Alana Greenfield	....	negative cutter
Terry Haggar	....	color timer
Kiersten Harter	....	first assistant editor
Phyllis Hart	....	negative cutter
Vivian Hengsteler	....	negative cutter
Charlie Lézin	....	assistant editor: Germany
Dan Muscarella	....	color timer
Achim Strack	....	post-production coordinator: Germany

Music Department
Sheri Ozeki	....	music editor
Ulf Skogsbergh	....	music arranger

Transportation Department
Daniel Mattig	....	additional driver: cast

Other crew
Toska Baltruschat	....	key production assistant
Christa Bentlage	....	assistant: Mr. Schmidt
Luzie Besser	....	assistant: Mr. Schmidt
Kathi Bildhauer	....	script trainee
Steffen Blechschmidt	....	office production assistant
Heather Edison	....	assistant: Mr. Shapiro
Michael Foertsch	....	caterer
Rick Hester	....	assistant: Mr. Edelbaum
Kristin Hirt	....	executive assistant to director
Margret Höher	....	cast coordinator
Pauline Jardel	....	production coordinator
Susen Jarmuske	....	set production assistant
Anne Johnson	....	production accountant: USA
Stefan Lux	....	production accountant
Pattee Mack	....	assistant: Mr. Nolte
Samia Mainz	....	assistant: Mr. Hübner
Tanja Pelster	....	production accountant trainee
Tanja Ploetz	....	stand-in
Bettina Raub	....	production accountant
Marco Schenke	....	crowd marshall
Sandra Scheucher	....	script supervisor
Manuel Schröder	....	assistant: Mrs. Campbell
Sabine Smit	....	production design assistance
Altay Ünsal	....	set production assistant
Marlene Woznicki	....	office production assistant
Ulrike Zürn	....	assistant: Mr. Nolte

Production Companies

• ApolloMedia
• Gemini Film
• Janus Films
• Kingsgate Films

Distributors

• Universal Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Albatros Film (Japan) (theatrical)
• Alta Classics S.L. Unipersonal (Spain)
• Screen Media Ventures

Other Companies

• Digital Sound & Picture  sound post-production
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Viv Kim Negative Cutting Service  negative cutting

Also Known As:

Intimate Affairs (USA) (new title)
Investigating Sex - Auf der Suche nach dem perfekten Orgasmus (Germany) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content including dialogue and nudity.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | USA:R | Germany:16 | Spain:18 | Japan:R-18

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

ApolloMedia

Quotes:

Sasha: Sex is in the groin of the beholder.

Investigating why this garbage got made

I generally like Rudolph's work, even when it borders on the pretentious, but this one plain reeks of it, to the point where I was shaking my head at the screen, not believing what I was hearing and seeing during most of the film's running time. The premise is interesting and somewhat perverse ~ the men hire two stenogs to transcribe every stupid word they utter; one of them is played by the always-good Robin Tunney, who's sexually evolved a bit, having at least 3 conquests under her belt, and the other is the squirmy, virginal Neve Campbell, who's never been worse. A ridiculous part, no question, but someone with some panache - I kept picturing Geraldine Chaplin when she was younger - might have at least brought some fun and believability to the proceedings.

Good cast, and good performances, otherwise (considering the material). Nick Nolte's a hoot, raving about his sexual encounters with a particularly attractive donkey, whom he'd enjoyed on Tuesdays and Thursdays, he tells us, in his drunken stupor, and on Wednesdays there was a goat he'd set his sights on but said goat was too fast and he never could catch him. Him. That's right. His character professes to be an equal-opportunity bestiality master, who is married to Tuesday Weld, who talks with a ridiculous sort of German accent part of the time and sounds like she's from the Bronx for the rest.

Alan Cumming, who is always fun to watch, is fun here as well, relieving himself of his shirt every chance he gets and posing like a Greek god around the room these clowns are supposedly 'investigating' sex in.

By the end, it means absolutely nothing, of course, except that you wasted a little time hoping for some clever titillation at the very least and some possible insight on the subject. There's more insight to be had in any Will Ferrell movie, folks, and that's a harsh indictment.