The Vagina Monologues The Vagina Monologues HBO Home Video 2002 / color / 1:33 flat full frame / 90 min. / Street Date June 4, 2002 / $24.98 Starring Eve Ensler Cinematography Dan Stoloff Film Editor Paula Heredia Original Music Rick Baitz Written by Eve Ensler from her play Produced by Frank Doelger, Paula Mazur, Willa Shalit, Meema Spadola, Jonathan Stern, David Stone Original stage production directed by Joe Mantello
	Reviewed by Glenn Erickson Here's the film of the play that every man dreads being dragged to see. Eve Ensler takes us on a cultural tour of the 'primary female sex organ', which is a taboo on at least some level in most cultures. Far from being squeamish or shocking, if you can handle some words you may have thought were dirty, Ms. Ensler's play is an entirely uplifting and mind-opening experience that demythologizes and de-shames sex and women's bodies. Synopsis: Eve Ensler's arrangement of monologues about the Vagina are interspersed with backstage talk, and excerpts from the interviews she used to write the monologues and piece them together into play form. There's a commitment and joy to Ms. Ensler's play, which is very impressive in its approach to its subject. There's also a lot of frank talk, but she's not a performance artist making use of cheap shocks. Nor does she stress unduly the political implications of her subject, which are plenty. The Vagina Monologues is practically a re-introduction for women to a part of their own bodies. Ensler explains that for many women, the Vagina is a source of shame and denial on multiple levels. Smiling, unburdened by doubt or secondary motives, her play asserts in positive terms the personal value of taking possession of one's own sexuality as a source of pleasure and self-pride. Along the way we hear stories both simple and dramatic about women's relationships with their vaginas - Ensler very simply asserts that women aren't whole until they acknowledge the physical partnership. Taken from her research interviews with women of many backgrounds, we hear stories of humiliation and discovery, outrage and pride. Never becoming strident or didactic, the play relates the intimate organ to the 'whole woman' through accounts of women learning to consider their vaginas as beautiful, and finding fulfillment through sex that can only be achieved by exploring one's feelings without shame. The hot topics are all here: rape, lesbianism (one of the most charming vignettes, actually), and, in personal testimony from the Bosnian war, rape as a form of political terror. One never gets the feeling that the show is expoiting any of them. We're accustomed to hearing the crude names given the Vagina in humiliating & vulgar circumstances, and we're also used to hearing the sounds of a woman having an orgasm mocked and belittled in cheap comedy. Ms. Ensler strings all the words she's heard for the Vagina into a litany that shows them for what they are, just words. They're ugly only because society can't handle or wants to bury Sex. When she says them all out loudly and proudly, instead of being a cheap show, she empowers herself and her audience. It's an interesting spectacle. And when she turns one segment into a review of all the kinds of moans women make during sex, giving them humorous but uncritical names, it's an acknowledgement that, for heaven's sake, a woman should be able to make all the noise she wants when she's happy! Ms. Ensler is a wonderful personality. She's very self-assured, but has just enough softness in her manner to allow us to listen without worrying about agreeing with her or not. The things she says and the words she uses definitely ignore conventions about what women (or men) should say or be thinking about - and perhaps her strongest message is that overcoming the barrier of 'the way one was brought up', might be the key to self-understanding. Another surprising aspect of The Vagina Monologues is that, because she's simply the messenger for the thoughts and discoveries of the women she's interviewed, we don't have the option of writing her off as an isolated, radical woman with an agenda to sell. A lot of very different kinds of women would find useful truth in the stories Eve tells. Only ideologues unable to penetrate the frequent explicitness and honesty (crudeness?) are going to equate Eve Ensler's message with decadence. I can't imagine any woman not having a 100% positive reaction to the last segment, which is about the birth experience. It comes at a good moment, just when we might forget that most basic function of the Vagina, and conveys the beauty and wonder of the miracle of birth with a combination of graphic honesty and poetic lyricism. It ends the show on an upbeat note, combining the pleasure and reproductive aspects of sexuality into a positive philosophy. Very educational, as they say. HBO's DVD of The Vagina Monologues is a handsome rendering of the television special, that has exceptionally clear sound and a sparkling picture. The only flaw on the disc is a chapter toward the rear, that had some very ragged stair-step patterns around highlights and Ensler's red dress. They may have occurred in the encoding. Otherwise the picture is cleaner than clean. The DVD opens up the one-woman Monologue format to show Ensler backstage for brief segments. This helpfully allows her to convey her personality in a different situation. We see that her bright and friendly attitude can't totally be a stage creation. In many little interspersed segments, we also see a couple of dozen women of all ages and races being interviewed in a studio setting. Their bright, wholesome faces talking with Ensler convince us that the intimate issues of The Vagina Monologues aren't just the preoccupations of one progressive New York feminist, but apply to all women everywhere. On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, The Vagina Monologues rates: Movie: Excellent Video: Excellent Sound: Excellent Supplements: Eve Ensler bio, weblinks Packaging: Snapper case case Reviewed: July 12, 2002 [Savant Main Page] [Savant Links] [Article Index] [Review Index] [Savant 5 Year Report] DVD Savant Text © Copyright 2007 Glenn Erickson Advertise With Us Review Staff | About DVD Talk | Newsletter Subscribe | Join DVD Talk Forum Copyright © MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use