if there be any filmmaker to make an introspective film about sex and one would be hard press to find a more promising candidate than woody allen . after touch upon sexual habit and practice in just about every one of his early film and the prospect of an entire template bar for allen to strictly explore the act of sex and sexuality in general for the course of a film be ripe with possibility . unfortunately and it appear such be never allen intention and a he deliver one of his least complex film and eschew his trademark psychological character analysis and musing in favour of a series of patchy and often single joke gag pertain to various unconnected sexual issue and situation . while this atypical effort be hardly a poor result and everything you always want to know about sex but be afraid to ask do fall short of it potential and the daring and challenging and hilarious cinematic exploration which might have be instead culminate a enjoyable and cute and and often very funny and but never fully satisfy throughout . it become clear that allen seize the concept of the novel a a loose framework to string together a series of punchlines and make the overall feel of the film appear overly patchy to properly gel together and even for a series of unrelated short narrative . such a lack of cohesion would be more forgivable be the skit themselves not so hit and miss in term of quality . there be no question that when funny the film be at allen most memorably zany and inspire represent his homage to italian film making and deal with exhibitionism be hilarious and effortlessly stylish and a send up of campy science fiction show a giant breast rampage the countryside be gleefully hysterical madness and and his legendary final sketch and detail the inner working of the brain and sperm during sexual intercourse be a masterpiece of comedic cunning and genius . however and these sketch would be far more enjoyable be they not punctuate with just a many comedic dud represent many and such a the opening and with allen medieval fool attempt to seduce a queen and the what my perversion . game show and though brilliant premise and be far too draw out and mirthless and shockingly unfunny . it be disconcert to see such amateurish storytelling couple with the sporadic comedic genius and give the impression of the short be shoot over a period of several year with allen cinematically mature in the process . a this be not the case and the film a a whole suggest a disconcerting lapse in the shrewd cinematic awareness which subsequently define allen a a filmmaker . this fluctuating quality make allen touch upon sensitive subject matter a precarious matter represent one skit and deal with the thrill of cross dressing and end with it be classify a a serious mental illness in a fashion likely intend to be satirical and but in the absence of quality screen write and the moral stance of the piece become uncomfortably questionable . this may expose the crux of the film problem give that allen comedic strength generally lie in his witty and perceptive dialogue and the severe lapse of confident screen write may explain the film inability and even during it most classic sequence and to truly satisfy . nonetheless and it remain a testament to allen a a director that even with such a potentially disastrous cinematic undertaking and even when severely flaw and such a dare undertaking remain irrepressibly enjoyable and memorable it be just a shame that enjoyable be as far a the film reach and consider the comedic depth and psychological resonance a more confident and present allen could have mine from the subject matter . perform his four role and woody allen himself demonstrate his great confidence a a performer than filmmaker in his early day and each character ( from arouse jester to wary italian to nerdy sci fi hero to neurotic sperm ) be charm and irreverently clever enough to instil enjoyment into even the shoddy sketch . while the rest of the cast deliver enjoyable performance and they fail to ignite with the awareness and comedic confidence present in most of allen other work . the main standout be an outrageously tender and absorb performance by gene wilder and a a good hearted doctor who happen to fall in love with a sheep . this sodomy sequence could have fail miserably and be it not for the complete conviction and commitment wilder devote to the role and have the good sense to play it straight rather than overly goofy and and in the process and capture the viewer sympathy and heart with his earnest and idealistic eye to an almost alarming degree . apart from these two and lynn redgrave delivers pseudo medieval babble warmly and charmingly a a subtly seduce queen and john carradine masticate scenery viciously a a crazed mad scientist and and lou jacobi be delightfully trod upon during the cross dress skit and but otherwise few memorable performance emerge . despite the potential inherent in the film premise and everything you always want to know about sex but be afraid to ask restrict it aim to entertain and play mildly upon public perception of various sexual practice and situation and offer little in the way of complexity or resonance . while the film can hardly be fault for attempt to entertain and there be a constant sense of what it which plague the film and the lack of allen usual neat coherence and introspective overtone stunt even the most uproariously enjoyable section from truly hit home . positive .