After years exploring sexuality in movies like his Teenage Apocalypse trilogy in the mid-90s (Totally F***ed Up, The Doom Generation, and Nowhere), Araki is no stranger to pushing a few envelopes. It must feel odd for a pioneer of queer cinema to read headlines claiming that the new generation isn’t getting laid—or even trying to, in some cases. That puzzlement plays out through Erika, a provocateur with an ironic sense of humor and a few edgelord-adjacent comments at the ready, who can’t understand why the most sexually liberated generation isn’t enjoying themselves. What could have simply been a story of exploitation (as it turns out, Erika does exploit Elliot’s willingness to do whatever she asks) in a drama about workplace sexual harassment gets complicated because, for the most part, Elliot is an enthusiastic participant, hungry to try the things he can’t in his passionless relationship with his girlfriend Minerva (Charlie xcx in a pitch-perfect deadpan performance). Despite its unethical beginnings, Elliot enjoys his kinky coming-of-age.
Because workplace romances are one of the last semi-socially acceptable taboos, I Want Your Sex can spare a few jokes about a boss coaching an employee on how to use a dildo or instructing him to bring a friend over to her home for a threesome. The absurdity starts in Erika’s gallery, where Araki sets the stage for Wilde to preside over her concrete and white-walled fiefdom with over-the-top outfits and mercurial requests. Wilde takes to the role like a lioness on the prowl, keeping those working for her in line, yet she shows enough affection to keep Elliot pining at her door. Hoffman’s enthusiastic, lovestruck Gen-Z assistant is perfectly matched with Wilde’s cool-girl persona, and he chases her approval and attention like a moth to a flame. That dynamic channels the fast-paced, mismatched “opposites attract” appeal of screwball comedies like Bringing Up Baby, The Lady Eve, and What’s Up, Doc? where the “liberated” woman leads their straight-laced male counterpart to a new kind of sexual awakening.
Araki emphasizes his leads’ great performances with a few winning foils of their own. Erika’s right-hand man Vikktor (Daveed Diggs) gives Elliot disapproving stares and warnings like a jealous coworker, occasionally stressing Erika out with the business side of operating a gallery. Elliot finds a fellow comrade in the assistant trenches in Zap (Mason Gooding), a hilariously privileged and handsome source of support, whose dual purpose in the story makes light of the well-heeled trust fund kids who can afford to work in the arts. Elliot’s best friend and roommate Apple (Chase Sui Wonders) reluctantly gets roped into one of his dalliances with Erika and shows how people can get hurt when fooling around with sexual desires.
In addition to the delightful cast, Araki offers a few over-the-top antics of his own, including cartoonish sequences like a fantasy where the disaffected Minerva puts down her medical books and opens her top to reveal bouncing cartoon breasts or another when Elliot physically sinks into his bed after a moment of rejection. Araki and Karley Sciortino’s script finds the comedy between the sheets and the vulnerability it takes to open oneself up to experimentation. It’s an outrageous story, but one that’ll provoke a few cheeky conversations and plenty of laughs.
Director: Gregg Araki
Writer: Gregg Araki, Karley Sciortino
Starring: Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Charlie xcx, Johnny Knoxville, Margaret Cho, Daveed Diggs, Chase Sui Wonders
Release Date: July 31, 2026
Keep scrolling for more great stories.