Love & Air Sex is a quirky little film from director Bryan Poyser. He starts us off with an introduction to the relationship of Stan (Michael Stahl-David) and Cathy (Ashley Bell); two soon-to-be-lovers on their very first date together. The date goes well, as they hit it off immediately. Just as quickly as we’re introduced to them, Poyser throws us into a credit sequence that shows the development of their relationship over time. We then learn that they are pulled in different directions from their home of Austin, Texas. Stan is pulled to L.A. to pursue a career in acting but is stuck working at a pizza shop, while Catchy heads to New York City to attend med school at NYU.
While browsing facebook Stan stumbles on a post revealing that Cathy is on her way to Austin for a visit to see their mutual friend Kara (Sara Paxton). It just so happens that Kara also recently broke up with her own boyfriend Jeff (Zach Cregger), who is Stan’s good friend. On a whim, Stan books a trip to Austin, planning to crash with Jeff, playing it off as a random visit to his buddy. Only Stan fully hopes on having a chance encounter with Cathy, no matter how awkward it may be.
Of course, when landing at the airport Stan has a chance encounter with Kara, who is smart enough to know Stan’s arrival is no coincidence. She does her best to keep the two away from each other, but is just as equally fixated on getting Jeff’s attention. Stan hopes for a normal weekend out with Jeff, hitting up the old bars and clubs that he and Jeff used to frequent in order to run into his old flame. Only Jeff and his roommates already have a set of unusual plans made for that weekend. Jeff has signed up to participate in the Austin Air Sex challenge, which is basically an air guitar competition only with “air sex.” Stan, not prepared for such a thing (who would be? and yes, the air sex competition really does exist), is frustrated this complicates his plans of finding Cathy.
Further complications ensue for Stan after bumping into a cute musician named Haley (Addison Timlin) whose in Austin for a short time to play some shows. They hit it off right away, deterring his focus off Cathy for a while. Stan is pulled in multiple directions, especially once Jeff comes to the realization that Stan came to see Cathy and not to hang out with him. Stan soon has to figure out where his faith lies, and this causes plenty of awkward happenings all over. The same goes for Cathy who meets the charming Tim (Justin Arnold) on a night out, she too becomes torn on what to do after she discovers her ex is in town.
Poyser’s film is very much an ode to the city of Austin, with all of the events taking place in the heart and soul of the downtown area. The air sex competition leads to some hilarious scenes triggered by Zach Cregger, who is one of the members of comedy group Whiest Kids U’ Know. The scenes are very bizarre and wild, something that’s hard to imagine seeing live. There’s a lot of laughs to be found when a script revolves around such a competition, but the relationship of Stan and Cathy is the heart of the film.
Credit to the writing team of Bryan Poyser, David DeGrow Shotwell and Steven Walters for handling Stan and Cathy’s relationship in a refreshing way. Things don’t go quite the way you’d expect, as the two of them are actually separate for most of the film. Thankfully this allows the film to avoid all of the usual cliches that films revolving around a romantic relationship bring. All of this material is balanced out by the wacky relationship between Jeff and Kara, thanks to some hilarious performances from Cregger and Paxton.
Love & Air Sex sports a fun script and a highly likeable cast that has solid chemistry together. The film is often funny and sports plenty of charm, but there’s just something missing it that prevented it from taking that next step forward. It’s very likeable, but at the same time, I found myself hoping to like it more. It’s certainly and entertaining watch, but I don’t know if it’s much more than that.
Rating: 6.5/10
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