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He taketh and he giveth

Saw 'The Sessions', an indy film based on a true story of a man in the iron lung and some fun with Jewish idiosyncracies. Highlight is the theme for the believers that he who taketh also sometimes giveth. And giveth good. The protagonist is a polio affected man in his thirties who has braved the odds to live a life without pity and with optimism about his future. He is a graduate from a reputed University in California. He has high hopes to achieve what many would consider brazen in light of the odds. Plot focuses on his wish to experience intimate interactions with the opposite sex and the interesting journey that results. From engaging in a dialog with his priest played by William Macy (who plays the part of a liberal advisor and friend) to having a cast of nurse attendants that help him seek what he is missing he finally finds a woman who is in the business of providing surrogate sex therapy. She clarifies her position as being different from a prostitute because apparently the latter seek repeat business and she does not. I found that part of the movie derogatory to the prostitutes; who in my opinion are also providing a therapy for several amongst us that may or may not have found the courage or the luck to naturally experience intercourse. That they do not have any credentials and tend to be vulgar at times with sketchy backgrounds is not of their choosing. There are a lot of those that appear on television shows and movies and are part of corporate America who will provide sex for money except they do not get labeled. So I am not sure what the director was trying to say there. With oft repeated views of a naked Helen Hunt in session, the movie ends on a logical note with the departure of the protagonist. While in his last few years on the planet he does manage to win the heart of three comely ladies including Helen Hunt who has sex with him in an official capacity and the other two about whom we are left to wonder. For sure the takeaway may be that sometimes 'Where there is a Will, There is a Way' and NO Relatives!

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