Melinda (Melora Walters) and Dan (Jay Mohr) are stuck in a marriage that just doesn't seem to work. Dan has an erectile dysfunction and Melinda thinks that it's just with her (it doesn't help that he slept with a waitress after the problem started). They decide to see a couples therapist, Dr. Emily Paige (Lara Flynn Boyle). Dr. Paige, deciding that Melinda is depressed, refers her to Dr. Klink (James Spader), a depression therapist. However, on the day of their first appointment, Dr. Klink leaves his wife (Megan Mullally). After hearing tales of Melinda's sexual woes, he chooses not to treat her as a patient, and instead screws her in an elevator, then in his office. When Dr. Paige finds out, she becomes determined to take everything Dr. Klink has.

Speaking of Sex isn't a bad idea for a movie. A series of sexual mishaps played with some talented actors sounds fantastic. There are just two problems. The first is the writing and the second is the directing. The script uses the situations for its comedy, which should work fine, except that they forgot to include any funny lines. And whatever funny lines they did include became hopelessly mangled by the actors.

The worst example of this is James Spader. Normally a fine actor, and a fine comedian at that (take a look at Boston Legal if you don't believe me), here Spader must have been given only one direction: "Ham it up." I've never seen such an affected performance by a normally talented actor. Spader plays his part like a man who's constantly hearing firecrackers behind him. Every scene he's jumping around, bug-eyed, like some kind of scared boy at a carnival. Jay Mohr is just as bad. His direction must have been: "Louder! Louder!" He does nothing but scream the entire time. Melora Walters is wooden and uninteresting.

The rest of the cast isn't quite as bad. Lara Flynn Boyle is suitably lusty, and Law & Order: CI's Kathyrn Erbe makes a small camero, but the real show stealers (and really, this is no surprise) are Catherine O'Hara and Bill Murray as opposing legal counsel. Catherine O'Hara is a hilarious combination of legal inhibitions and sexual desire. Murray, who I've never seen give a bad performance, brings his own inimitable style to the picture and wrangles the only laughs to be had.

The DVD:

The Image:
Speaking of Sex comes to us in a 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced transfer. This isn't a big movie, and thus has garnered absolutely no attention from Lions Gate. Thus, the image is soft and the print has noticeable dirt on it. Not a good job, at all.

The Audio:
We get a Dolby Digital 2.0 mix that is utterly perfunctory. Again, no special attention was given to this one.

The Supplements:
What supplements? This disc is the definition of barebones.

The Conclusion:
Speaking of Sex is definitely less interesting than thinking of sex. And watching it is less interesting than, oh, just about anything you could think of. Skip It.

Daniel Hirshleifer is the High Definition Editor for DVD Talk.