Couple’s sex story a pleasure-filled rom-com romp

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This article was published 28/04/2023 (1224 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There comes a point in almost every marriage where the couple must confront the fact that it’s, uh, been awhile.

For Emma (Emily Hampshire) and Josh (Jonas Chernick), that point comes when they send their young daughters to camp and find themselves with a kid-free week in The End of Sex, the latest comedy from Winnipeg director Sean Garrity.

Right from the moment Emma suggests they could “make some sex” and Josh literally has to wipe the dust from a pack of condoms that has been languishing under the sink, we know exactly how this is going to go down (which Josh does, bless him).

As they attempt to get it on, the camera pans over the detritus of the married-with-kids life: the toys littering their suburban floor, the abandoned IKEA project, the toothbrushes in the ducky holder, the recycling collection schedule neatly tacked up on the fridge.

After his ’n’ hers faked orgasms, Emma and Josh realize they have a problem — and they have one week to fix it.

Written by former Winnipegger Chernick — who wrote Garrity’s 2012 film My Awkward Sexual Adventure, which also starred Hampshire — this tight and bright comedy puts Emma and Josh through their sexual paces, as they try everything to rekindle the flame, from a misadventure at a seedy sex club (keep an eye out for a cameo from Colin Mochrie as you’ve definitely never seen him before) and dropping ecstasy to the world’s most uncomfortable threesome.

But as frustrations mount, the tactics they use to spark desire start to become rooted in jealousy.

Despite their characters’ sexual frustration, chemistry is not an issue for Hampshire and Chernick. They are so likable together, so believable as a couple, that it’s not only easy to become invested in their relationship but to root for it, too.

It’s obvious Emma and Josh still love each other. Do they still want each other, is the question.

Chernick’s snappy script allows our couple to play to their comedic strengths; it’s obvious he understands the key to this kind of relationship comedy is big, dumb (so dumb) married fights, and watching the two argue is like watching a tennis match.

Hampshire shines as Emma, delivering the same kind of awkward charm and heart she brought to her role as Stevie on Schitt’s Creek, but with some added pathos.

While the economy of the storytelling is impressive and the pressure of a one-week deadline provides plenty of tension, one week is not enough time to adequately build Emma and Josh’s world.

While Melanie Scofano and Lily Gao are excellent as Emma and Josh’s respective co-workers — and Gray Powell is a delight as Emma’s filterless old art-school crush Marlon — all three, in their own ways, exist to serve the sexual plot. Emma and Josh seem to lack real platonic pals and confidants; rom-coms have fast-talking besties for a reason.

And because the kids — Emily Watt and Maya Misaljevic, who are so cute and charismatic that it’s a crime they don’t have more screen time — are bundled off to camp and the sexual issue is established within the first six minutes of the film, we’re robbed of context. We don’t see enough of the problem Emma and Josh are attempting to solve.

It perhaps would have made more sense for the kids to be sent to a summer camp, as opposed to a weeklong winter camp, so this story could unfold over several weeks or months.

Still, while some elements are unsatisfying, The End of Sex is a pleasurable film that you’ll want to spend a Friday night with. You may not get off, but you’ll still have a good time.

jen.zoratti@winnipegfreepress.com