Movie #686 ........................."The Sessions"

Movie #686 "The Sessions" has one of the clunkiest scripts I've ever seen in a modern day movie --- yikes, it's cringe worthy at times. I was prepared to give it a 2 all the way through, and then Helen Hunt had the first good moment, right towards the end and the film very nicely finished out. You can tell, I think, where the writer deviated from the true story to the film ---- where he tried to add conflict, because the conflict added between husband and Helen Hunt and between Helen Hunt and Mark O'Brien (the inspiring guy in the iron lung) seemed sit- commish and not believable. The story itself I had surprisingly seen before, in a short action film that was nominated for an academy award a couple of years ago --- the new thing here was the addition of a sex surrogate and what she does --- and it is delineated in painstakingly slow, minute detail ---- I was more interested in the characterization of his and his attendees and the surrogate and her family, and I thought the film would never go there --- as it was, there were far less minutes spent on those moments than the sex ones. The film is 85 minutes, but I looked at my watch 2 times through it --- the sex surrogate announces that she can only see him in 6 sessions and I found myself counting down the sessions. I can't recommend the film, really. I've heard it touted for academy award nominations --- I will be surprised if it is. Helen Hunt has a good moment, and John Hawkes is competent, but he's forced to say so many dumb or filler lines that it's tough to get close to him --- I wouldn't bother on this one, but I must say Helen Hunt looks very well preserved, esp. with a special filter and from head on. I gave it 3 stars out of 5 The Sessions2012R After spending years in an iron lung, a man decides he wants to explore his sexuality for the first time, and hires a surrogate to aid the goal. Through their intensifying relationship, this indie drama illustrates the many forms love can take. Cast:John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, Moon Bloodgood, Annika Marks, William H. Macy, W. Earl Brown, Blake Lindsley, Adam Arkin, Robin Weigert, Jarrod Bailey Genre:Romantic Comedies, Social Issue Dramas, Romantic Dramas, Drama