A movie review

Some number of weeks ago we put the movie “Kinsey” in our Netflix queue. It showed up in the mail one day last week, and we got around to watching it last night.

Not exactly my idea of a date movie.

Okay, I admit it; I’m an old prude. I was uncomfortable with some of the scenes.

The thing is; I’ve been thinking about the movie much of the day. No, not the sex scenes. In fact, the sex shown was depicted in such a clinical setting and manner that it didn’t make me squirm at all.

And philosophically I tend toward the view that what goes on in private between consenting adults is private and thus no one’s concern.

There are those who claim, “Oh, but that activity will lead to other acts NOT in private, and withOUT consent, etc., etc.” Well, if it does, then THOSE acts need to be dealt with, but not the private ones with consent between adults. Call me a libertarian, I guess, but if there’s no “victim,” where’s the crime?

So why was I uncomfortable? Maybe it was the scene where the Kinsey family was having dinner together. The conversation between the parents and their three teenage kids involved Dad’s ideas about when intercourse was and was not appropriate, and specific (graphic) advice to the younger daughter about some of the mechanics of sex.

Their teenage son was uncomfortable and left the table. I guess I could relate with him. His expressed view was, “This (having a conversation like this) is not normal.”

Of course, Dr. Kinsey’s main thrust was to challenge folks’ ideas of what was and was not “normal.”

Maybe it was the depiction of Dr. Kinsey trying out an affair with another man. I consider myself pretty open-minded about gays and same-sex partners (again, in private between consenting adults), but I don’t find the idea personally attractive and therefore can’t relate to the characters shown thus engaged.

If the movie was at all close to what Dr. Kinsey was really like and really trying to do, I think he’d have understood my discomfort. He probably would have challenged me to determine why I felt that way, and to question the logic of it.

I guess, overall, I’d have to say the movie was well done. And that I enjoyed it.

But I probably won’t put it back on my queue to see it again.

My advice would be: if you rent it, don’t watch it with your kids unless you have a VERY open environment with them and can discuss literally anything with them without embarrassment.