The good news is Sex Tape is not what it promises on the box. It is, however, exactly the comedy you expect. Firmly set in the quantity over quality school of gag humour, Sex Tape uses its premise – married couple Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz make a sex tape and mistakenly send copies to friends, colleagues and the mailman – to induce a series of increasingly chaotic situations, trading plausibility for comedic potential at every opportunity.
That’s fine. With the exception of a tendency to over-explain the far-too-contrived means by which the video has gotten ‘out there’ (but not online) the film runs with each unlikely twist fast enough and far enough that the audience doesn’t have time to stop and ask “wait, why would anyone do that?” This allows for extended Jason versus the German Shepherd chase sequences, a redefinition of the term drug den with Rob Lowe, and an examination of the kids crèche facilities at an online porn company.
That’s as inventive as Sex Tape gets. The underlying plot is exactly what you would dream up with a few friends given the set up. This bunch just had better access to celebrity cameos. At heart this is a tale of two parents trying to reignite the spark. It’s safe. Rudeness is limited to blue language. Even the sex is more of an extended skit.
Good without being great, Sex Tape, like its millions of namesakes, is completely uninspired yet more than able to satisfy your needs of an evening. But don’t wait for anything after the credits, the film just doesn’t have the staying power.
