The title Relax...It’s Just Sex is delightfully provocative and catchy. The film itself only occasionally has the same impact. Writer-director P.J. Castellaneta (Together Alone) follows the lives of a group of friends whose only association in common is a frustrated gay playwright named Vincey (Mitchell Sauris). Vincey’s personal life is also gloomy because he’s lost the man he’s infatuated with (T.C. Carson) to an unfortunate buddy (Eddie Garcia) who has contracted HIV. His lesbian pals Sarina and Megan (Cynda Williams and Serena Scott Thomas) have broken up because Megan has fallen for a man, and his straight friend Tara (Jennifer Tilly) is having problems of her own with her commitment-shy boyfriend Gus (Timothy Paul Perez). There are some interesting moments, like when Megan’s mother (Susan Tyrell) chastises her for “going straight”; but most of the film is surprisingly tepid. Too many of the characters involved seem more like types than flesh-and-blood people. The endless talking-head monologues don’t help. Instead of making the movie seem hip and lively, they make a poor substitute for character development. (N/R)

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