Love. Sex. These are words that aren’t often synonymous with addiction. When we hear addiction we immediately associate it with alcohol or drugs…right? But, love and sex can be just as addictive and damaging to one’s life, self-esteem and those who inhabit that person’s world. I mean, seriously, why do men and women cheat on each other?
The cheater seems to believe they have an innate need or desire that simply can’t be fulfilled by one person. I actually dated someone who subscribed to this ideology. Was he an addict? One can never be sure, but he definitely had a desire that couldn’t be fulfilled…that’s for sure.
During SXSW Mark Duplass debuted a comedic film directed by Suzy Yoonessi and written by Duplass, Sarah Adina Smith and the film’s star Charlene duGuzman. deGuzman’s real-life love/sex addiction is the basis for Unlovable and features 12 original songs by he co-star John Hawke.
How is this even possible? duGuzman began communicating with Mark Duplass via Twitter after some comical tweets about her addiction caught his attention.
Joy seems to be living an enviable life. I mean first of all she has the name JOY. She has a somewhat steady job and boyfriend that she loves and loves her. Just one little hitch, she sleeps with random men and can drink any of them under the table. In one scene, she literally had sex with at least 6 men at a bachelor party, had no recollection and suffered the humiliation of being “paid for her services” the next morning. Can you imagine?
Thankfully, she joins an addiction group in hopes of breaking the cycle. After numerous setbacks, she does and starts a band somewhere in the middle with her sponsor’s (Melissa Leo) brother (John Hawke). Somehow, the music seems to help her heal her way into sobriety. Being a comedian, duGuzman perfectly balances the comedy with the tragedy of her addiction. An addiction that translates from stuffed animals, fake engagement rings and compulsive “I love you” texts.
In addition to the catchy John Hawke tunes, duGuzman created a percussion language complete with subtitles which charmingly compliments the scenes in which they are used.
Not sure where this film will end up, but kudos to Charlene duGuzman for putting her life out there in hopes of helping someone else. Unlovable opens exclusively on November 1st at Arena Cinelounge in Los Angeles.
