Confusion of Genders (2000)

I've watched this only now because the poster and publicity back in 2001 didn't seem promising - decided to give it a try because of Julie Gayet, who is likely to become the next First Lady of France.What pleasantly surprised me though is that it avoids wallowing in negative stereotypes of bisexuals, while at the same time not presenting its anti-hero as a likable guy. If there's one thing that I (as a queer person) find irritating about gay men is that they are rather demanding when it comes to respecting their identity, but unwilling to grant that respect to sexual orientations other than their own, with a particularly negative bias towards bisexuality. 'Confusion of Genders' toys with this quite admirably: the main character - through his bisexuality and brusque openness about it - constantly challenges the people around him into both attraction and repulsion.His shifting affections and emotions are easily forgiven by his partners because he's open about them; being able to express his feelings clearly seems to make him irresistible - even though he is far from attractive and (too) often just telling his lovers to buzz off. But they seem to prefer even the most complex relationships over loneliness and lies - that's where the strange dry humor of this piece comes from. Needless to say, this will infuriate those who come to this with the expectation of a bit of silly antics and skin, which explains its low rating. Be warned that this is by no means an easy film to watch, even though it is good for quite a few laughs.'Confusion of Genders' is both a (sometimes overbearingly) intellectual farce and a step away from the usual gay/gender-bender clichés. If you're bi and frustrated about being vilified in (not just) gay-themed fiction, this one is for you. If you're anything else, open-minded and tired of being fed the same old sexuality-based stereotypes over and over again, you might like this as well.

The plot was too confusing and the protagonist was not that endearing to hold your attention. The acting was good, particularly the lead; however, his personality is not one that affirms he could have attracted such a broad and diverse group of males and females -- essentially everyone who came into his immediate orbit. The relationship between his employer seemed the more comfortable and most developed one and therefore her willingness to both sleep with and marry him was more believable. They both went into this disaster with eyes wide open and it appeared that they were willing to do it because they felt they had no real choices. It's an interesting movie and one can see the appeal to others, but it's a bit more precious without saying as much to recommend to everyone.

This film is the definitive example of pretentious French film-making at its worst. What could have been a sharp and witty satire on sexual identity is instead a rancid bouillabaisse of tedium. The main protagonist's character is utterly lacking in anything remotely positive and his "conquests" are as equally vapid. Everyone in this film either scowls or pouts and there is nothing likable about the whole bunch. For a film that is suppose to be a black comedy the one glaring omission is humor. It has the feeling of a movie that wishes to be many things but can't quite make up its mind as to what. What it ends up being is just relentlessly tedious. The only humor to be found is in asking ones self, "Do people really talk to each other this way?" One only wishes the ex-con at the end would have wiped out this whole sorry bunch of narcissists and brought some life into this dull mess.

This is by far the worst movie I've seen from France in the past 5 years. This supposed comedy is anything but funny. The lead character is a narcissist so wrapped up in his work & making appearances that he's unaware of the impact he has on those around him. Why anyone would associate with this creep, much less have an affair with him is beyond me. His character is so abhorrent that there is no empathy from the viewer to the events that take place. It also fails as any type of social critique or satire as it is decidedly unfunny and doesn't create any insight into its subject matter.