- Young People Fucking (movie 2007) review: Martin Gero’s funny, touching, provocative, and at times surprising comedy-drama focuses on various forms of sexual and romantic entanglements. As a plus, the youthful cast is uniformly good.
Young People Fucking (movie 2007) review: Youthful romantic comedy-drama not afraid to be funny, touching, and provocative
Directed by Martin Gero, and written by Gero and Aaron Abrams, Young People Fucking is a romantic comedy-drama revolving around, you guessed it, young adults engaging in sexual intercourse, in addition to the circumstances surrounding the acts and the disparate lives of the various participants.
The ballsy title alone draws one’s attention to the film, but it’s the quality of the script that will keep viewers’ interest throughout.
In fact, one of the things Young People Fucking has going for it is that the filmmakers are not afraid to be provocative when it comes to sexual matters, as they mix humor, sensuality, and assorted emotions in a cauldron that is bound to tickle viewers’ funny bones and tug at their heartstrings.
True-to-life sexual & emotional entanglements
Now, what really makes Young People Fucking stand out – besides the copious nudity and semi-nudity, that is – is the true-to-lifeness of the various situations, namely: The Friends, The Couple, The First Date, The Roommates, and The Exes. The sexual themes, for their part, are: Prelude, Foreplay, Sex, Interlude, Orgasm, and Afterglow.
Among the situations, none feels truer than The Exes.
What begins as two old flames’ casual night out to dinner – with sex as dessert – quickly turns into something unexpected. That “something” is the fact that Mia (Sonja Bennett) and Eric (Josh Cooke) still care for each other; as a result, throughout their encounter remnants of those feelings are dragged kicking and screaming to the surface.
And that brings up another important point in Young People Fucking: The all-around great acting. The performers are serious when needed, funny when called for, and sincere at all times.
The Couple’s shocker
The Friends is another segment that oozes authenticity, and one that provides Young People Fucking with some of its funniest moments. These take place when sex becomes part of the equation for lifelong “friends” Matt (co-screenwriter Aaron Abrams) and Kristen (Carly Pope).
Elsewhere, the two most surprising segments are The Couple and The Roommates. In the former, one sequence will likely have most males thinking to themselves: “What the Fuck! Are you serious? Get the fuck outta here!” But within the parameters of Young People Fucking, the happenstance in that particular segment isn’t out of place, besides having the benefit of jolting the viewer.
Whether or not what occurs is an “endurable” surprise depends on the sexual orientation and open-mindedness of said viewer. I will say this much: Andrew (Josh Dean) really loves his wife, Abby (Kristin Booth).
Never judge a book…
The Roommates is a fantasy-type segment, as it centers on the stuff of some men’s dreams: One roommate, Gord (Ennis Esmer), asks the other, Dave (Peter Oldring), to have sex with his girlfriend, Inez (Natalie Lisinska).
I should add that I’m not spoiling anything for you. The question is asked right at the beginning.
And let’s not forget what The First Date contributes to Young People Fucking: A game, a player, and naïveté.
The player who brings the game is Ken (Callum Blue), while the naïveté belongs to Jamie (Diora Baird). As mentioned further up, what’s great about this segment is that the unexpected happens, stunting the personal growth of one character while leaving unfulfilled the other’s sexual needs. The old adage is indeed true: Never judge a book by its cover.
Raw comedy-drama
Summing up, Young People Fucking is a very funny movie that pulls no punches when it comes to dialogue rawness or onscreen nudity.
As a plus, Martin Gero’s romantic sex comedy-drama never sags and is considerably more incisive than many others that have touched on the same subject.
Young People Fucking (movie 2007) cast & crew
Director: Martin Gero.
Screenplay: Martin Gero & Aaron Abrams.
Cast: Aaron Abrams, Diora Baird, Sonja Bennett, Callum Blue, Kristin Booth, Josh Cooke, Josh Dean, Ennis Esmer, Natalie Lisinska, Peter Oldring, Carly Pope.
Cinematography: Arthur E. Cooper.
Film Editing: Mike Banas.
Music: Todor Kobakov.
Production Design: Diana Abbatangelo.
Producers: Tracey Boulton & Steven Hoban.
Production Companies: Copperheart Entertainment | Téléfilm Canada.
Distributor: Maple Pictures (Canada) | Image Entertainment (United States).
Running Time: 87 min.
Country: Canada.
“Young People Fucking / YPF (Movie 2007): Funny + Provocative Dramedy” review text © Reginald Williams; excerpt, image captions, bullet point introduction, and notes © Alt Film Guide.
“Young People Fucking / YPF (Movie 2007): Funny + Provocative Dramedy” notes
Awards
Among its handful of award wins and nominations, Young People Fucking earned Kristin Booth Best Supporting Actress honors at the 2009 Genie Awards.
Martin Gero’s romantic sex comedy-drama also received an Honorary Mention at the 2007 Vancouver Film Festival.
Young People Fucking movie credits via the British Film Institute (BFI) website.
Aaron Abrams Young People Fucking movie image: Copperheart Entertainment.
“Young People Fucking / YPF (Movie 2007): Funny + Provocative Dramedy” last updated in April 2023.