Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
A collection of seven vignettes, which each address a question concerning human sexuality. From aphrodisiacs to sexual perversion to the mystery of the male orgasm, characters like a court jester, a doctor, a queen and a journalist adventure through lab experiments and game shows, all seeking answers to common questions that many would never ask.
Woody Allen's anthology comedy is a genuinely singular piece of filmmaking — seven wildly disparate vignettes each parodying a different cinematic genre (Italian neorealism, horror, game shows, Antonioni) while riffing on Dr. Reuben's pop-sexology book. The novelty is unquestionable: no other film quite assembles this anarchic, formally adventurous variety of comic approaches to sexuality. Acting is charming and game across the ensemble, though uneven by design. Cinematography serves each parody's visual grammar adequately but without distinction. The plot — being an anthology — varies wildly in quality; some segments (the giant breast, the sperm-mission finale) land brilliantly while others feel thin. The ending, the famous sperm-launch sequence, is inventive but trails off rather than landing a knockout closing punch, leaving the film feeling slightly deflated at the finish.