Pokematic, the cure for love review.

Midwest premier of this play, how will it turn out?

If it's not a good game or catholic...who do you call?...why pokematic "hi."

I just saw the cure for love as put on by the theatre department here at college. After the last play I saw here, this time I was going to do some research. Like any modern person, I typed the play name into bing, because bing pays me, and went from there. I was able to find this British movie, but I had doubts as to an adaptation because it was made in 1949 and the story didn't seem like it would translate well to a play. When I get to the theatre, and there's a bit of a story in me getting there, I find out that this is the premier and was written my a friend of the director. So this is a new experience. Right now I would like to point out that while this show does focus rather heavily on sex, unlike the god awful Rocky Horror, this was actually done in a rather tasteful manner. I'll get to that after some story.

Walking in blind, it took me a second to really catch onto what is happening. It takes place in a french chateaux and, like most entertainment I see involving french, it's all about affairs. There's the main guy who the story kind of runs around, his mom and her lover, his wife, his best friend, his cousin, and a prostitute that he falls in love with. This is really the prostitute's story, he's more of a plot device. The guy is sick with an illness of the heart, love. His wife is not really "doing it" for him, he then sees this prostitute, and then falls in love with her and then has love sickness. His best friend,  mom and her lover decide that it would possibly help if his prostitute lover will see him, because he's a mental wreck. His wife is OK with this. Turns out the prostitute know everyone and it's a regular reunion. The rest you just have to see.

Now is a good time to talk about the humor of this play. Most of the jokes were sex related, and those that weren't were based on some rather clever word play. But unlike Rocky Horror, the sex driven humor was actually tasteful, or as tasteful as physically possible. Instead of a song about being transsexual and dancing around in lingerie, this sex based humor was based on clever euphemisms. Instead of the usual "I'll say penis or sex and get a big laugh because it's shock factor, deeeeeh," this actually required you to hear what was being said, quickly figure out what that euphemism meant, and no actual mention of physical acts or body parts. And then when the word "sexual" was stated, it wasn't the punch line. I guess the best way of putting it would be the "over the kids heads sex jokes you find in their cartoons." Don't believe me, watch spongebob, and if you can't stand that, try the final scene in toy story 2 and look at what Buzz does when Jessie does the amazing trick on the hot wheels car. There were a couple of instances of touchy grabby, but not to the extent that it was distasteful. It was sophisticated blue humor.

As with Blithe Spirit, this was on a stage where the audience surrounded the actors, except on one side where they had a wall with a curtain that characters would hide behind from time to time. Again, it was very interesting because unlike with conventional stage where you have to project your voice out to the audience and try as best you can to never turn your back on them, you're able to just act naturally, and with no back stage or wings to absorb your voice, no worries on where to project.

I'm not sure as to the availability to seeing this play based on it's small made status, but if given the chance, I suggest you do. It's not family friendly, but if the kid isn't mature enough for the jokes, they won't get them. It's never to distasteful like some low brow humor, because it takes a high brow to get what's being said. It's written cleverly, without relying on the blatant to be funny. Well this has been Pokematic signing off and bu-bye.