Sex Tape (2014)
Certified: 15
Duration: 94 minutes
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Rob Corddry, Ellie Kemper, Rob Lowe, Nat Faxon, Nancy Lenehan Randall Park, Dave ‘Gruber’ Allen, Jack Black
KRS Releasing Ltd

Annie (Cameron Diaz) is married to Jay (Jason Segel), an internet blogger whose writing turned her into a hit. The two had once enjoyed a healthy sexual relationship but they now seem to have lost that ‘magic’ and are caught in a rut.

Annie’s words on the internet have made her so popular that Hank (Rob Lowe), who heads a huge morally self-righteous company, wants to get her on board as well as take over her blog. She attempts to rekindle her passion with Jay but the two discover they are out of synch and so have to resort to other means.

So Annie suggests they make a sex tape and record it on his iPad. The session, all three hours of it, is a huge success. But little do they know that the footage which Jay was supposed to have deleted has in fact automatically synchronised itself with the two’s older iPads which they had given to friends and family. This also counts for the iPad Annie gave to Hank when she was giving the presentation.

The cast’s good disposition gives the movie its sprightly feel that goes beyond its title

Thus starts the search to retrieve the iPads or delete the film. However, a text message of admiration for the video comes in, their teenage son puts a spanner in the works and their friends Robby and Tess (Rob Corddry and Ellie Kemper) get to see the film. It seems that once on the net it’s very difficult to retrieve what has been uploaded.

The raunchily-titled film sees the acting team of Diaz and Segel and director Kasdan improving on their 2011 hit Bad Teacher. Boiled down to its essentials, Sex Tape is a better movie than their previous effort, one reason being that the characters here are more likeable and interesting. Besides, this film takes its time to introduce them and, from the opening montage, we get to have a quick yet thorough insight into the main couple’s relationship.

Another of the film’s highlights is Lowe’s performance: he is energetic, inspired and as over-the-top as can be. He provides a marked difference to the rest of the cast and is quite a buzz. It is evident Lowe and the entire cast are game and enthusiastic about the film, giving it its bouncy and feel-good zany sense of comedy. Diaz adds a playful attitude to the film. She brings a certain level of charm that gives the picture its laugh-out-loud moments. She is also synchronised with the movie’s script and her comic timing is well set.

Segel’s sparring bouts with a German Shepherd dog are hilarious and add more flavour to the highlight sequence of the film that involves the two actors trying to get the iPad back from her boss. Segel and Diaz have an easy-going chemistry that makes them seem like a plausible couple.

Sex Tape has the right pacing and the cast’s good disposition gives the movie its sprightly feel that goes beyond its title.