Shocking, explicit, edgy, writer/director John Cameron Mitchell tries taking over the mantle as a modern-day Federico Fellini with Shortbus.

Story

Handsome James (Paul Dawson) is a bit depressed. In the opening scene, he pees while taking a bath and then sets up his camera as he fellates himself while a stalker across the street (Peter Stickles) watches. Then, James cries. He's miserable, and his boyfriend Jamie (P.J. DeBoy) doesn't know what to do. They go to a sex therapist, Sofia (Sook-Yin…

Early on in this erotic hot button of a movie, a dude contorts his body so he can suck himself off. It's all there, including the jizz. Before you write off Shortbus as the Jackass of porn, you should know that the movie is the id child of John Cameron Mitchell, the formidably talented creator, director and star of 2001's Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The sex is real in Shortbus, requiring the actors to give their all, but the film's concerns go way beyond exhibitionism. In examining the confluence…