A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008)

A Complete History of My Sexual Failures: Directed by Chris Waitt. With Aleksandra Boyarskaya, Danielle McLeod, Olivia Trench, Chris Waitt. A humorous look at life for a loser in love.

“I remember reading reviews, some quite negative, about Chris Waittu0026#39;s film and I think a few might not have got the conceit; the film is more of a mockumentary, with the audience laughing with and at Waitt; it is the comedy of embarrassment rather than a genuine examination of romantic relationships.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFirst of all, Iu0026#39;d like to put on record that Waitt comes across as a fundamentally good-natured, if lazy, shambling shaggy-dog of a man (shaggy dog story), essentially quite lovable. Compared to the way some men treat women, Waitt is not that bad a person: his main faults appear to be laziness and a lack of commitment.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs the film progressed, it became obvious that a lot of the scenes had been set-up (his exasperated producers, a blind-date) and too many of the people inhabit Waittu0026#39;s media world making you doubt its veracity (one ex is an actress, he ends up finding love with a journalist). It is a piece of guerilla/gonzo film making with the film-makeru0026#39;s mother becoming a character, exasperated at her sonu0026#39;s feckless behaviour, with her pithy comments.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe first girlfriend, it is eventually revealed, was from Waittu0026#39;s childhood (eleven), so completely undercutting the adult conversation and our expectations. I donu0026#39;t doubt many of Waittu0026#39;s former girlfriends refused to appear, but maybe that was more to do with appearing on film than with Waitt himself. The scene with the girlfriend hidden in a hotel room and then giving her scathing comments via a machine obscuring her voice came across as comedic as did the encounter with an ex- in the Indian restaurant; it emerges that since Waitt, she has only gone out with Asian men. It then becomes obvious that the film is sending up both Waitt and romance as he pushes things to the extreme.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHalfway through the film, I began to lose interest and decided to catch up the highlights of the Football League Show on another channel before catching the end of the film. It isnu0026#39;t serious enough to deserve full attention.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film does end on a more serious, optimistic note. At the beginning of the film, one ex-girlfriend from his teenage years is asked what she learnt from the end of their relationship and she replies about learning to do things differently and,in a sense, this is the lesson Waitt learns as well as appreciating a former girlfriend and the love she felt for him.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film is faintly reminiscent of John Cusacku0026#39;s role in Nick Hornbyu0026#39;s u0026#39;High Fidelityu0026#39;, (a more conventionally structured and narrative driven account) also punctuated with moments of embarrassing comedy (the ex-girlfriend traumatised from the break-up).”