Movie Review: Sex Tape

Sex Tape is a perfect example of film that is released during the Studio summer dumping ground in late July. Most of the major titles have passed and we are left with movies that had great promise, but are now left with a flat buzz with theater goers. When you look at Sex Tape, an R-rated comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, you would think this film had a chance to gain some traction in a summer where raunchy comedies are at a minimum.  The issue is the lazy attempts at laughter and ridiculous scenarios prevent Sex Tape from reaching its potential.

The first big problem is the casting in Sex Tape. I'm a big fan of Jason Segel, but there's no way he's landing Cameron Diaz. This makes it hard to buy into the relationship between the two. Diaz is a complete sexpot as bored house wife, Annie. If you're looking for eye candy in your movies then Sex Tape may be your thing courtesy of Cameron Diaz in a pair of small underwear and roller skates. Even though Segel is an unbelievable partner for Diaz, the guy is still funny as the sweet everyman, Jay, who is trying to fix the embarrassing mistake of releasing the couple's private sex tape to the public. The problem is Segel gets caught up in too many cheap laughs that drag on at certain times in Sex Tape. How many times have we seen someone fight with a guard dog in a comedy movie? Segel does his best to keep his head above water in a poorly written script that is really just a one trick pony when it comes to laughs.

The saving grace of Sex Tape is the brief, but stand out role of Annie's possible future boss played ironically by Rob Lowe. Lowe's previous job on Parks and Recreation proved he can be hilarious and Sex Tape shows off his dry sense of humor again. The twenty-minute sequence with Rob Lowe is the best part of the movie even with a corny dog fight going on in the background. I would have been happy with a film just about Rob Lowe's eccentric millionaire, but the laughs dry up after his character departs the film. The third act just gets dumber and dumber until Sex Tape's inevitable feel good forced ending. There are some laughs in Sex Tape, but for the most part you'll be wondering what could have been.

Overall, I give Sex Tape 2 out of 4 stars.

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