I Am a Sex Addict
IFC Films | Release Date: April 5, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
There's no other film like it. It's embarrassingly frank and self-revealing, sometimes funny, sometimes creepy, sometimes both. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Zahedi isn't afraid to put himself out there, even when his thoughts and actions are profoundly unflattering; his self-effacement makes the film a reflection on narcissism and misogyny rather than an exercise in both. Read full review
80
Village VoiceJim Ridley
Caveh Zahedi's one-of-a-kind movie--a funny, inventive, ground-shifting hybrid of essay film, mea culpa, and pathological real-life romantic farce--aims for truth by wrecking its own verisimilitude. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Zahedi is ruefully funny and savage in his self-exposure. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Although there's nothing funny about addiction, Zahedi - a thin, bug-eyed fellow with the air of an R. Crumb sad sack - brings wit and self-deprecation to his tale of obsession and woe. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Zahedi's search for fulfillment is depleting, like throwing good sex after bad. The more we learn about the hole in his soul, the more vivid his misogamy becomes. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
This deconstructive, minimalist comedy, like his 1990 "A Little Stiff" and 1994 "I Don't Hate Las Vegas Anymore," re-creates events with the vain self-deprecation of one of his role models, Woody Allen. Read full review
70
VarietyDeborah Young
Hits its stride from the opening scenes and continues hilariously for a while, before declining into more of same. Its undeniable appeal lies in shocking frankness shackled to irony, a combo that should attract indie lovers with psychoanalytic leanings and droll senses of humor. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Technically, I Am a Sex Addict is a stellar achievement, as it coaxes viewers to accompany Zahedi down avenues of sexual desire that have had little frank exposure on film. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Zahedi has been compared to Woody Allen, and he shares Allen's neurotic sense of entitlement and navel-gazing fascination with his own sexual peccadilloes. Whether you find either man funny or infuriating depends in large part on whether you identify more with their narcissistic quests for self-knowledge or the collateral damage left in their wakes. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
The way he presents his romantic history is both clever and entertaining, but after a while the story becomes tediously familiar. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A confessional film that's almost too confessional--is like getting buttonholed by a casual acquaintance at a party and then subjected to a flood of highly intimate revelations that just don't stop. Read full review
60
The New York TimesNathan Lee
The movie is a minor triumph of sincerity, neatly skirting the pitfalls of narcissism and unexamined misogyny. It never mugs for our good will, only our witness, which it rewards with honesty and wit. Read full review
60
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
This film is an inevitable product of our age, and enjoyable, right up to whatever your ickiness threshold is. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
While some may bail early, those who stay to the end are likely to dwell on Zahedi's unwavering (some would say unrelenting) belief in his own artistry, as well as the film's many funny, quotable lines. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
What this is remains mysterious after a single viewing, but not so mysterious as to inspire a second. Read full review
40
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
As for the overriding reason to see the film, that's easy. Lighten Zahedi's complexion, stuff him in a fright wig, and this fellow would be a ringer for Harpo Marx. Read full review
25
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Now that even Woody Allen has stopped making "Woody Allen movies," you would think that wannabes would move on, too. Read full review
More From This Movie

62 Critic Reviews

5.8 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL