12 years, that’s how long it’s been since filmmaker Gregg Araki released his last movie. An essential figure in the New Queer Cinema movement that aimed to re-examine sexuality in the early ’90s, Araki has been working steadily in television since 2014’s polarizing White Bird in a Blizzard. The genre-defining voice behind The Doom Generation (1995) and Mysterious Skin (2004) returns to the big screen in a big way with I Want Your Sex (2026). Araki’s latest is a whip-smart, nuanced, and playful erotic comedy that thrives off the white-hot chemistry between Cooper Hoffman and Olivia Wilde. I Want Your Sex forces audiences to re-examine their relationship to sex, while having a ton of fun in the process.
The young Elliot (Hoffman) is at a dead end. He fails to pay rent to his best friend and roommate, Apple (Chase Sui Wonders), while his grad-student girlfriend, Minerva (Charli xcx), wants nothing to do with him most of the time. Things start looking up when he gets hired as an assistant at the sex-forward Los Angeles art gallery of provocateur Erika Tracy (Wilde). Despite their wildly different demeanors, the two are instantly attracted to one another as they enter into a forbidden, sexually adventurous relationship where Elliot becomes Erika’s “sub.” As their nights of passion progress and boundaries blur, the pair realizes they have very different expectations for their sexual arrangement.
I Want Your Sex Boasts a Stacked Cast
Cooper Hoffman (The Long Walk) and Olivia Wilde (Don’t Worry Darling) engage in a sultry game of cat-and-mouse that simply must be seen. Hoffman’s awkward Elliot has a tremendous amount of charm; Wilde bounces off him with her absolute showstopper of a performance in Erika, a kinky and brash artist who teases out a wilder side in her sub. The chemistry between them practically shoots steam out of the screen in some of the most well-conceived sex scenes in modern cinema simply because they prioritize build-up, aftermath, and the joy therein rather than simple titillation. Moreover, there is no shame presented in any of the acts depicted in I Want Your Sex.
Courtesy of Black Bear
Surrounding Hoffman and Wilde is a cast to die for. I Want Your Sex is seriously stacked. Apple, played by Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio), could easily be the typical “adorkable” friend, but that would undersell the character’s layered relationship to her own sexuality. Pop star Charli xcx (The Moment) is quite amusing in her icy role as Elliot’s girlfriend. Daveed Diggs (Blindspotting) gets a lot of laughs as the second in command at Tracy’s gallery, who has one mode: menacing. Mason Gooding (Heart Eyes) also displays an unforeseen range in a frequently funny role as Elliot’s co-worker, Zap. Even Johnny Knoxville and Margaret Cho make a brief yet memorable appearance!
Gregg Araki Brings His Signature Heightened Style
Gregg Araki’s filmmaking aesthetic has been sorely missed in recent years. Tucker Korte’s candy-colored cinematography creates a cartoony, over-the-top world for I Want Your Sex, allowing the story’s real thoughts and emotions to surface naturally. Angelique Clark’s production design is likewise a standout, especially Erika’s gallery, which feels like a Pee-Wee’s Playhouse of sorts for the sexually liberated. Special mention should go to costume designers Arianne Phillips and Monica Chamberlain, whose eccentric costumes for Erika portray her as a figure of danger and freedom. Of course, Araki’s taste in music remains unmatched, with tracks from artists like Slowdive, Tamaryn, and Boy Harsher primed to go directly into the audience’s personal playlists.
Easily the strongest aspect here is the script, written by Gregg Araki and co-writer Karley Sciortino. The film explores a modern culture that has a strange relationship with sex, specifically among the Zillenials and older Gen Z. Now, Araki and Sciortino aren’t interested in categorizing younger viewers as out-of-touch puritans, nor are they looking at Erika’s version of sexual encounters as the be-all, end-all. In a society that, for a number of reasons, is growing increasingly afraid of the topic even being discussed, I Want Your Sex conveys that sex can lead to a freeing, safe space — one that can often be hilarious as well. Inversely, it also acknowledges that boundaries can be crossed.
I Want Your Sex Opens Up Necessary Conversations
Particularly engaging in I Want Your Sex is an exploration of kink that feels uncommonly open-minded, portraying acts in Cooper Hoffman’s role as a “sub” that would be played as 100% comedic in any other movie. I Want Your Sex wants you to be seduced and even made uncomfortable in certain moments. However, more than anything, it just wants us to have a conversation about sex, fully sincere without any hints of irony. Gregg Araki and his well-rounded cast open up the floor to include both positive and negative perceptions. As long as there is an inclusive and productive conversation, the film has done its job.
Courtesy of Black Bear
It’s impressive that I Want Your Sex manages to include such a meaningful and relevant conversation in a narrative that manages to be this distinct and laugh-out-loud silly. When he exploded onto the scene in the early ’90s, writer-director Gregg Araki helped redefine how sexuality was explored in cinema. Now, in a time when people would rather avoid the topic, he’s made an excellent comeback. Powered by Cooper Hoffman and Olivia Wilde’s most dynamic performances yet, and a supremely intelligent screenplay that knows exactly when not to take itself too seriously, I Want Your Sex is a cinematic object of desire. It’s everything Araki fans want and a dynamite erotic comedy in its own right.
★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
I Want Your Sex premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival!
Release Date: TBD.
Directed by Gregg Araki.
Written by Gregg Araki & Karley Sciortino.
Produced by Gregg Araki, Karley Sciortino, Seth Caplan, Teddy Schwarzman, & Michael Heimler.
Executive Producers: Courtney L. Cunniff & John Friedberg.
Main Cast: Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, Daveed Diggs, Charli xcx, Johnny Knoxville, Margaret Cho, & Roxane Mesquida.
Cinematographer: Tucker Korte.
Editors: Gregg Araki & Victor de la Parra.
Production Company: Black Bear Pictures.
Distributor: TBD.
Runtime: 90 minutes.
