Shirin (Desiree Akhavan - also Writer/Director) is an outspoken
twenty-something Brooklynite trying to please her Persian parents, from whom
she is hiding her bisexuality, whilst trying to find meaningful employment
after a break-up from her domineering, but likeable, girlfriend Maxine (Rebecca Henderson). The news of her brother’s betrothal to a
prize Iranian bride forces her to reflect on her own romantic decisions as she
begins to unsuccessfully date a collection of ill-matched men and women around
the city.
There is a
biting moment during the break-up scene when Maxine attacks Shirin’s
bisexuality stating that ‘knowing you, this is all just a phase’… This line is
delivered with the same devastating vitriol as when Brittany Murphy’s Tai
declares that Cher as just “A virgin that can’t drive…”
in Clueless. Anyone from my generation knows how iconic
that line became and how harshly it hurt the character and this tired
accusation from Maxine also felt like a really
cruel low blow. For me that line
entirely sums up a key theme in the film, namely that bisexuality is only a
temporary stage and that mature sexuality is on one or the other side of the
fence.
What feels
different with Appropriate Behaviour
from other comedies of its kind is that the sex scenes are actually incredibly
realistic (and hot). One scene has
Shirin meeting up with a couple in a bar before heading back to their apartment
for an eventual threesome. After Shirin
finishes having oral sex with Marie, Marie then begins to do the same to Ted
leaving Shirin to awkwardly watch alongside him on the sofa. Not knowing what to do she leans in and
lightly kisses his shoulder just to feel included, which immediately kills the
mood for both of them – this tiny action perfectly captures the potential
awkwardness of casual sex whilst also being very, very funny. The bedroom scenes with Maxine also show a
subtle depiction of consensual sexual dominance that is infinitely more erotic
than anything in Fifty
Shades of Grey…
Another scene
that separates the film from other such similar comedies is a flashback scene
where Maxine and Shirin get a delivery of weed and find out that they “are the
same kind of stoned person” – again showing that drugs are slowly becoming more
and more accepted (to the point of banality) in mainstream American
movies. This kind of trivial realization
is what makes couples fall in love, yet again is presented as funny but tender
instead of just going for larger, cheap and obvious ‘stoner’ laughs…
The socially
insecure Iranian-living-in-Brooklyn narrative reminded me a lot of the insecure
Canadian-living-in-London plot of recent UK debut MLE
from Sarah Warren, both working
as romantic homage to a city following in Woody Allen’s footsteps. In the case of Appropriate Behaviour, Brooklyn serves as kind of melting pot of
weirdos (Shirin’s conceptual artist flatmate for one), different ethnicities
(the Persian party scene is amazing) and hipsters whilst being both
economically intimidating and socially welcoming at the same time. Much like MLE’s
London…
The joy of
Akhavan’s film is that it both celebrates and ridicules the nostalgic
‘quirkiness’ and stylistic bombast of the NY hipsters, yet at the same time has
a quietly political message of (sometimes bemused) tolerance towards different
sexualities and ethnicities. You might
watch for the brilliant jokes, but the message will ultimately resonate for
longer…
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