They say “sex sells,” and, honey, with a name like Sex, you better believe we clicked immediately. But don’t let the title fool you—this isn’t some Nordic skin flick with a sauna scene and dramatic lighting. (Though, now that we think about it, someone should greenlight that, too.) No, Sex, the new dark comedy from Norwegian filmmaker Dag Johan Haugerud, isn’t about titillation—it’s about truth.
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Set against the clean, crisp backdrop of Oslo—you know, the kind of city where even the plumbing is minimalist chic—Sex introduces us to two chimney-sweeping colleagues who are wrestling with identity, desire, and the strange things that happen when you take your feelings seriously for once. One is the CEO (played by Younger’s Thorbjørn Harr, who we’d let sweep our flue anytime), the other just “Chimney Sweeper” (Jan Gunnar Røise of The Thing, bringing peak Norwegian-dad energy).
Here’s where it gets gay—emotionally, spiritually, and, well, a little physically.
The CEO has been having recurring dreams, the kind that don’t just leave you with sweaty sheets but existential questions. A god-like David Bowie (as all dreams should feature) keeps calling him a woman. “What does it mean?” he wonders aloud. A masculine identity quietly unspooling? Or just a very stylish gender epiphany?

Rather than spiraling into self-loathing or starting a podcast (the American male method), he talks to his employee. And the Chimney Sweeper—who should honestly win Employee of the Year for his emotional labor—shares a revelation of his own. While cleaning a client’s chimney (yes, the euphemisms write themselves), he was propositioned by a man. Initially, he declined. But then… he went back. And this wasn’t a tortured, closeted affair. He was intrigued. So he tried it. And then, in possibly the most Scandinavian moment ever captured on film, he tells his wife.
To her understandable shock, he shrugs, “One beer doesn’t make me an alcoholic.” Honestly? We’ve heard worse defenses from straight men explaining crypto.
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This is where Sex excels: in the space between our public selves and private truths, and how slippery—and sometimes hilarious—that line can be. As Haugerud told Variety, “The main point [is] about trying to show the short span between ecstatic pleasure and shame. There are—and might always be—two sides of the same coin when it comes to sex, which also means that the uncomfortable and the funny sit quite tight.”

And tight they do. Haugerud’s dialogue is sharp but never showy, offering a window into how people really talk when the world around them doesn’t require constant posturing. No one gets boxed into a stereotype here, not even the wife (played by Siri Forberg, The Worst Person in the World), who reacts with confusion, yes, but also genuine curiosity.
The film is the final entry in Haugerud’s so-called “Oslo Trilogy,” which includes Love (a slow-burn romance between a doctor and nurse post-ferry ride) and Dreams (a student crushes on her French teacher—but not in the To Catch a Predator way). Each explores how people connect, misconnect, and occasionally surprise themselves with how open they really are.

In other words, this trilogy isn’t queer cinema per se—it’s human cinema. But if you’ve ever questioned gender roles, found yourself unexpectedly drawn to someone, or just want to see men talk about sex without a single punchline involving “no homo,” Sex is the kind of film you’ll want to see, discuss, and maybe text your ex about afterward. (Don’t.)
And let’s be real, we deserve more movies like this: ones where queerness isn’t a plot twist or a tragic burden, but just one more absurd, beautiful layer in the messy layer cake of life. So if you’re tired of “representation” that feels like it was drafted by HR, Haugerud has something genuinely different—gently radical, sharply funny, and deeply kind.
Sex opens June 13 in NYC and LA, with more cities to follow. Grab your friends, your partners, or your favorite ex, and catch the trailer now. David Bowie might not visit you in your dreams, but this film? It’ll definitely leave you thinking.
Because sometimes, one beer does make you realize you’ve been thirsty all along. 🥂
Source: Queerty