I AM A SEX ADDICT (Caveh Zahedi)
Caveh Zahedi’s (In the Bathtub of the World, I Don’t Hate Las Vegas Anymore) autobiographical comedy I Am A Sex Addict unabashedly chronicles the relationships of his life in conjunction with his sex addiction. The story unfolds through satirical re-enactment, documentary footage, and camera address as 43 year-old Caveh is about to embark on his third marriage.
In the opening scene Caveh acts out his first encounter with a Parisian prostitute. As he walks down the street he says into the camera, “Actually I couldn’t raise enough money to go to Paris so I’m just going to shoot it in San Francisco, which is where I live now, so if you could just pretend this is Paris.” The next shot is of a guy donning a beret, a baguette, and smoking a cigarette. I am a Sex Addict, filled with these instances of quirky comedy, also wields clever animation and strange vignettes.
Caveh has another addiction to honesty, in which he can’t help but tell his lovers about his obsession with prostitutes and lust for other women, which (although the women are surprisingly understanding) ultimately leads to the destruction of each relationship. Caveh begins to search for his own cure to his addiction by other means, from just trying it once, to going for it all the way and asking his girlfriend to watch.
Caveh’s monotone voice throughout the film adds an endearing hilarity. At one moment he describes his “boundless love” for his first wife, Caroline (played by porn star Rebecca Lord) and at the next he’s admitting the uncontrollable urge to grab a prostitute’s ass, all without change in tone or emotion.
I Am ASex Addict shares a candid history of one man’s philosophical journey through life and reminds us how we all walk the balancing act between justifying and struggling with our weaknesses. Best of all, Caveh unapologetically tells this story in all of its intimate and gory details inviting hysterical laughs all along the way.
