#TIFF22: “THE END OF SEX”

By David Baldwin

With the kids away at camp for the week, Josh (Jonas Chernick) and Emma (Schitt’s Creek’s Emily Hampshire) have the house to themselves. Initially unsure of what to do next, they quickly land on recapturing the sexual energy of their youth. Except that spark is not there anymore, just a never-ending routine of going through the motions. Dissatisfied, the pair come up with different ways to spice up their marriage – each more wild than the next.

THE END OF SEX is a sweet little Canadian romp that is just as charming as it is raunchy and cringe inducing. I laughed, I shrieked and I stared wide-eyed in bewilderment at some of the situations this couple finds themselves in. And just when you think it could not get any more mortifying, Colin Mochrie drops in for an extended bit you will not forget anytime soon.

While Chernick’s writing is nothing spectacular, the tonal pivoting honesty he brings to his performance as Josh is wonderful, as is Hampshire’s as Emma. They have a winning chemistry and a shared history that enriches the backstory we are only given precious few details of. The Comedy here is some of the most awkward you will see this year, yet it comes from a place of love and truth. I just wish the terrific supporting players like Lily Gao, Gray Powell and Melanie Scrofano were given so much more to do. They get many of the best and wildest lines in the Film, but their character development rings hollow.

And as a Hamilton boy, I loved seeing the way the city is portrayed here. Minus that terrifying moment when the Film turned a bar I used to frequent into a sex club.

THE END OF SEX screens as follows at TIFF ’22 as follows:

Sat, Sep 10 IN-PERSON Scotiabank Theatre 7:30pm

Wed, Sep 14 DIGITAL digital TIFF Bell Lightbox 10:00am

Wed, Sep 14 IN-PERSON Scotiabank Theatre 2:00pm