Denial (1998 film)

Denial (released on video as *Something About Sex*) is a 1998 American drama written and directed by Adam Rifkin. It premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 21, 1998, and went to video a year later. The story follows several couples dealing with the difficulties of staying monogamous. The cast includes Jonathan Silverman, Leah Lail, Patrick Dempsey, Christine Taylor, Ryan Alosio, Amy Yasbeck, and Jason Alexander. Brad Wyman produced the film.

At a dinner, writer Art Witz argues in his new book that monogamy is false and people are naturally alienated. The three couples—Joel and Sophie, Sam and Sammie, and Isaac and Claudia—are offended and leave. The next day, Isaac has sex with a salesgirl after buying a wedding gift for his wife Claudia. Later, at a hockey game with Joel, he seduces another woman. Meanwhile, Claudia finds Art and sleeps with him, revealing that she and Isaac have secretly been polygamous for a long time. Joel, a Jewish lawyer, gets an erotic massage at an illegal studio but feels guilty. He has nightmares and wants to confess to his wife Sophie, but his brother Reuben—a geeky ne'er-do-well who likes obese women—advises against it. Sophie, a medical student, secretly sleeps with her professor Dr. Lionel Taft, then realizes she loves her husband. Joel confesses his infidelity to Sophie, but she keeps her own affair hidden. Sam, a chef for a toy catering company, is about to marry his pregnant fiancée Sammie. He secretly watches pornography, and when Sammie finds out, she fears he might cheat. She hires a private investigator, who uses a woman to test Sam. Sam resists the woman, and Sammie is relieved. The film ends at Sam and Sammie’s wedding, attended by their friends.

Filming took place in Los Angeles, California. Ken Eisner of *Variety* called parts of the film “adult tube fare,” “obvious,” and “forced,” but praised Rifkin’s direction for adding “enough edge and originality to make it a potential click with theater auds.” He noted that marketers would need to win over female audiences to the film’s “slightly male-skewed view,” and also commended the music score.