This remarkable film, an autobiographical portrait of the man who pioneered sexuality research in the 1940s, is written and directed by Bill Condon. Condon was also the writer-director of GODS AND MONSTERS, a sensitive and controversial portrait of James Whale, director of the early Frankenstein films. It might seem like a cinematic impossibility to make an interesting and entertaining film out of a lot of scientific and historical details about a man who was essentially a scientist, but that is what Condon has done. Of course, since the subject is sex, the subject matter is bound to be a draw and, in this day and age, a source of anxiety. Condon approaches his subject with humor, sensitivity and an unflinching sense of detail.
 
Liam Neeson plays the adult Kinsey, whose adolescence is portrayed as mostly rebellion against his stern, moralistic preacher father (played with perfrection by John Lithgow). Neeson is a fine actor and certainly brings gusto and complexity to this role. Kinsey studies biology in college and becomes an expert on insects, in particular completing an impressive (well, to fellow insect experts anyway) study on gall wasps. He meets and falls in love with a student (Laura Linney). Their wedding night is a disaster, but rather than accept their lot, the two decide to approach their sexual problems scientifically.

They approach an open-minded doctor, and do some experimenting on their own. When their sex life not only rapidly improves but becomes exemplary, Kinsey decides he would like to teach a "marriage" course at the university. Essentially, it is a course on sexual behavior and is so popular students lie about being married or engaged to get into it.

One eager student, Clyde Martin, later becomes Kinsey's main research assistant. Played with obvious relish by Peter Saarsgard (director Condon has commented it was difficult to get Sarsgaard to keep his clothes on on set, where usually actors are somewhat uncomfortable with nudity), Clyde is a smart and sexually-assertive young man whose own bisexuality proves instrumental in unlocking Kinsey's own sexual identity. Later, as the famous research begins (wherein Kinsey and his assistants ask thousands of men, then women, about their sexual habits and preferences and experiences), Kinsey and his assistants (two more are played by Timothy Hutton and Chris O'Donnell) also start experimenting with polyamorous behavior, slkeepingw ith each other's wives and husbands. They make films of each other in order to observe sexual response up close. Perhaps predictably, Kinsey's experimentation affects his personal life and his relationship with is wife goes through some rocky times, even as she willingly participates in some of the untraditional liaisons. A film like this often falls down when it tries to portray chronological history, but since the marriage of the Kinseys is the main focus of the narrative, it works well to help trace the man's life and work. Using the couple's marriage as an anchor in the timeline also offers some very interesting perspectives on the sorts of relationship difficulties endured by the man who is considered the father of sexuality studies.
 
Some fascinating research moments are portrayed in the film, including the interview with a man who claims to have had sex with hundreds of people, children and animals. Kinsey's assistants are disgusted with the subject's frank explanations and storm out, but Kinsey, while obviously disturbed, continues the interview in a guarded manner. The team travels around the country gathering data and it is easy to see why this exhaustive and thorough work was considered a scientific and social breakthrough at the time. Human sexual behavior had simply never been studied in this mannner (through anecdotal and persoanl interviews with average people) and on this scale (thousands of subjects). The resulting public response was staggering. Cole Porter even refers to "the Kinsey report" in his song "Too Darn Hot" from the musical Kiss Me Kate on Broadway; by the time it was filmed for MGM in the 1950s the lyric was changed to "the weather report."
 
Ultimately Kinsey has difficulty getting funding for his work. After his very popular study on Male Sexual Behavior comes out in 1948, followed by an equally popular one on women (both books were widely excerpted and discussed in magazines and newpapers), he finds that the US government becomes ensnared in the Red Scare and Kinsey, while not in danger of being thought a Communist, is seen nevertheless as a threat to the status quo. His passion and frustration are difficult to watch, because Kinsey must know how crucially important his work is, and perhaps even what his legacy will be. The film wisely does not choose to offer an epilogue at the end, instead letting a tender, insightful moment between Kinsey and his wife Mac serve as a comment on the man's life and work.
 
It's the perfect time for the DVD release of this film. With Ashcroft gone, and the nude statues in the White House losing their drapery, we just might be turning a corner in the morality wars. (Do you think Alfred Kinsey would have recommended absintence?) The special features include some fascinating commentary from writer and director Bill Condon and interviews with the cast. Don't miss the final credits which include some wonderful, hilarious footage of animals in various states or amorous behavior!
 
Once you get used to doing these exercises, you probably will not need to lie on the floor–you can do them standing or while seated, and with no one able to detect what you are doing. You can also vary the rhythm and timing of them, with shorter clenches, fluttering them quickly, etc. This variety of movements will help you increase sexual pleasure and control even more. You may find you can do things with your vagina that you'd never even imagined, and your lover or partner is sure to notice the difference, too. Once you start Kegel, stay with it for increased sexual vitality and pleasure! 

Cick Here to Purchase a copy of this DVD Kinsey (Single Disc Edition) (2004) Starring: Liam Neeson, Laura Linney Director: Bill Condon Plot Synopsis: Life story of Alfred Kinsey, a man driven to uncover the most private secrets of the nation, and a journey into the mystery of human behavior. In 1948 Kinsey irrevocably changed American culture and created a media sensation with his book "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male". Using the technique of his own famous sex interviews, story recounts the scientist's extraordinary journey from obscurity to global fame. After being hired to teach biology at Indiana University, Kinsey meets and marries a witty, freethinking female student, Clara McMillen. In the course of his teaching he discovers an astonishing dearth of scientific data on sexual behavior. When students seek him out for advice about sexual concerns and problems, he realizes that no one has done the clinical research that would yield reliable answers to their questions. Inspired to explore the emotionally charged subject of sex from a strictly scientific point of view, Kinsey recruits a team of researchers, including Clyde Martin, Wardell Pomeroy and Paul Gebhard. Over time they refine an interviewing technique, which helps people to break through shame, fear, and guilt and speak freely about their sexual histories.