There’s a fine line between “outrageous” and “fucking annoying turn this off,” and it can be quite a dance to pull off the former without drifting into the territory of the latter. John Waters and Peter Jackson knew how to do it and do it well, and now I can say Alex Phillips is another filmmaker talented enough to pull off such a tightrope act with his sophomore effort, Anything That Moves.
Liam has it all. As a happy go-lucky-sex worker and food delivery driver, he’s making good money and getting laid (a lot) in the process. His clients all adore him, as does everyone else in the film, and rightfully so: he’s an absolute sweetheart to everyone he deals with. However, Liam finds himself caught up in a series of murders where his clients begin falling, one by one, to a sadistic killer who seems intent on pinning the blame on him.
The most impressive thing about this film is the strange paradox of how utterly deviant it is, and yet, it comes off as really endearing and wholesome. One step away from softcore porn (indeed, it features two absolute legends of the genre, Ginger Lynn and Nina Hartley), it features not just gratuitous nudity, but also all sorts of sex acts and BDSM. Calling it transgressive is doing it a favor, as it feels like this film is preparing to break several taboos at any given moment.
That being said, there’s an unexpected sweetness to the film in how Liam works with his customers. He’s not averse to telling people he loves them, as well when they tell him they love him. His interaction with his clients is oddly tender, no matter how “depraved” their interaction is. When a man calls him over to fuck his wife in front of him, he tells Liam he’s ready for him to satisfy her and Liam tells him that he is actually going to be the one doing the satisfying. He comes across less as a lothario for hire and more as a Johnny Appleseed of helping out those in need of an orgasm and just wants everyone to feel good. You get the feeling he would do what he does simply out of the kindness of his heart, and there was something touching about that. Without spoiling anything, there’s a moment at the end when other sex workers rally to his defense that speaks not just to a really powerful sense of camaraderie and solidarity amongst the sex worker community, but also because Liam’s their fucking boy.
This film will shock you at times. There’s lots of nudity and boundary pushing, and some of it will absolutely make you feel uncomfortable. However, Phillips really brought his A-Game with this film and tightened up his approach to things. I wasn’t at all crazy about his debut feature, All Jacked Up And Full Of Worms, due to the similar gonzo approach it took in shocking the viewer, but this movie somehow does it with heart. I never thought I’d say there was a sweet and tender way to depict a sex worker getting a golden shower from an apartment balcony, but somehow Phillips pulls it off with this film. It’s a weirdly mesmerizing movie with an absolutely loveable protagonist that you can’t help but be utterly charmed by, in the midst of all sorts of X-rated activity, all done through the lens of grimy, ‘70s Times Square aesthetics, and I absolutely loved it.
