Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)

Director:

Woody Allen

Writers:

David Reuben (book)
Woody Allen (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 August 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

If you want to know how this man made a movie out of this book... "Everything you always wanted to know about sex* - *But Were Afraid to Ask" you'll have to see the movie!

Plot:

Seven segments related to one another only in that they all purport to be based on sections of the book by David Reuben...

Plot Keywords:

Aphrodisiac | Queen | Jester | Court Jester | Purity

Cast

Woody Allen	...	The Fool / Fabrizio / Victor Shakapopulis / Sperm #1
John Carradine	...	Dr. Bernardo
Lou Jacobi	...	Sam Musgrave
Louise Lasser	...	Gina
Anthony Quayle	...	The King
Tony Randall	...	The Operator
Lynn Redgrave	...	The Queen
Burt Reynolds	...	Switchboard
Gene Wilder	...	Dr. Doug Ross
Jack Barry	...	Himself
Erin Fleming	...	The Girl
Elaine Giftos	...	Anne Ross
Toni Holt	...	Herself
Robert Q. Lewis	...	Himself
Heather MacRae	...	Helen Lacey

Also Known As:

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) | Singapore:M18 | Brazil:14 | Spain:18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Iceland:Unrated | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #23359) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Agoura, California, USA

Company:

Rollins-Joffe Productions

Trivia:

A segment that was filmed but eventually cut out of the film was "What Makes a Man a Homosexual?" The sequence had Woody Allen as a common spider and Louise Lasser playing a black widow. After a mating dance on the black widow's web, the spiders make love and the black widow eats the common spider. Allen cut the sequence as he was unable to find a suitable ending for it.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The second "baseball player" in the final chapter is football great Joe Namath.

Quotes:

The Operator: Can we please have an erection? What the hell is going on down there?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fierce Creatures (1997)

Soundtrack:

LET'S MISBEHAVE

EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX: 3/4 stars.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask is hysterical romp that makes the book look even more shameful. The sketches are hit and miss but the ones that hit are brilliant and will have you laughing long after the film has ended. For istance, the whole 2nd act with Gene Wilder having an afair with a sheep is one I won't soon forget. And the most creative of the skits is the last one where we see what happens to a man before I night of sex. Some skits will run on a bit long, such as the spoof of monster movies where a man and a woman and a man are being stalked by a huge tit. This skit is done well, but it really isn't that funny. Another one that falls flat is the third skit in which a man keeps trying to bring his wife to orgasm. This has a good opening but really just falls apart towards the end. All and all this is some great Woody Allen work and I certainly enjoyed it.