Title: Loving Sex: What Men Want Studio: Alexander Institute Director: Dr. Bernie Zilbergeld Cast: Dr. Bernie Zilbergeld, Sunset Thomas (uncredited), Sharon Kane (uncredited), Chanel (uncredited), Steve Hatcher (uncredited), Tina (uncredited) Genres:: How-To, Amateurs, Couples, Exhibitionism, Games, Instructional, Massage, Voyeurism Condoms: No Reviewer: SexHerald Staff

Rating:

Though What Men Want was directed and narrated by the late psychologist and sexpert Dr. Bernie Zilbergeld, its basic content and “on-the-street” male interviews make it somewhat impractical as a tool of pure arousal for the pornography connoisseur. Furthermore, its intended educational value is quite negligible for all but the most sexually uninitiated, and its simple tips are hardly worth the purchase price.

First, it should be noted that What Men Want, though it features several scenes of rather attractive couples making love, is meant to be an educational resource to teach women simple techniques to spice up their sex lives, please their partners and allow their partners to please them. It can’t really be directly compared to pornography or erotica.

That being said, What Men Want isn’t completely devoid of content that can be used purely for sexual arousal. However, for this purpose alone, the film is only for the most vanilla of viewers. The DVD features traditional & oral sex and mutual masturbation, which won’t satisfy anyone used to more hardcore fare, and the tasteful, Playboy-esque camera style (no cum shots or hardcore shots of female genitalia) further limit any possible fan base. (Also, it should be noted the scenes often fade out and end prior to an orgasm.)

The film does feature varied situations, however, such as games (leaving a trail of nude photographs and lingerie for a lover to find), sex in the shower, sex in a Jacuzzi, sex in public, sensual massage and voyeurism, which make it somewhat less clinical. For the most part, though, the lovemaking scenes are rather bland and the generic, un-risqué dialogue doesn’t do the viewer any favors.

Another detraction is the irremovable onscreen captions of everything happening in the film, from Dr. Zilbergeld’s narration to the moans and groans of the lovemaking couples. These can be quite obtrusive and should have been included as an optional DVD subtitle track, rather than permanently integrated into the video, itself. (Is the caption “Mmmmm” really necessary for the non-hearing-impaired?) Furthermore, the captions are sometimes sloppily done, with spacing errors, and also often appear out-of-sync with the actors or simply transcribe things the actors don’t actually say.

As for the tips that can be gleaned by a female viewer, a highly inexperienced or extremely inhibited woman might find guidelines, such as “don’t be afraid to aggressively initiate sex,” “surprise your man with something unexpected” or “give your partner feedback while you’re making love by moaning or stimulating your nipples” helpful, but this sort of thing could be easily learned in an hour or two of trolling Google for free sex advice. Observing the sex scenes for visual tips on technique could be helpful for such a viewer, but again only for the most inexperienced or inhibited.