Working from a strong script from writer/director Rachel Hirons, A Guide to Second Date Sex delivers a lot of laughs and more than a few pearls of wisdom. It does well to incorporate humour, irony, a bit of raunch and one of the most awkward sex scenes ever seen on film.
Ryan (George MacKay) and Laura (Alexandra Roach) are out with friends at a night club, where they drink too much and end up in bed by the end of the night. That was the easy part, no comes the difficulty of following up that night of drunken passion with a second date. Ryan and Laura both receive absolutely useless advice from their friends and so end up getting together completely unprepared.
It’s the screenplay’s ability to tip toe its way through cliche and predictable events towards a believable scenario that is the strongest component of the film. Both Roach and MacKay are also quite believable as the bumbling potential lovers. It even successfully traverses a rather contrived occurrence that would sink most other productions of this ilk.
Having a woman at the helm gives things a less divisive feel. Both male and female shortcomings are given equal status as are the virtues of honesty. This is a work with a simple and inviting approach. It helps you sympathise with the two main players as you often times see more of yourself in them than is comfortable.
Rob Hudson
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