Dying for Sex on FX proves that having cancer in a sexless marriage isn’t a death sentence in this heartfelt, darkly comic limited series.
“I wanna be touched by someone who wants to touch me,” says Michelle Williams’s Molly in the first episode of Dying for Sex.
Based on the podcast and life of Molly Kochan, the FX limited series already comes with an interesting premise: A woman sets out to experience an orgasm with another person (her husband Steve, played by Jay Duplass, hasn’t touched her in three years). But of course, the twist is that she’s doing it as a bucket list item since she’s dying of metastatic breast cancer.
Since “80% of having cancer is waiting,” Molly decides she isn’t going to wait any longer and begins a journey of sexual discovery with the support of her best friend Nikki, played by the Millennial Marisa Tomei, Jenny Slate.
Michelle Williams’ Gift for Untenable Emotion
The biggest surprise about the series isn’t that Michelle Williams is looking at her next Emmy nomination (and possible win!), but how frank and hilarious the show is. In the second episode “Masturbation is Important,” Molly spends all day pleasuring herself at a hotel, while occasionally chatting online with male sex workers and learning about their family life. When the sex worker asks to see her genitals, her casual, honest reply of, “No, I don’t think so” is a laugh-out-loud moment.
Always an actress on her game, Williams never ceases to amaze. Her gift has always been her untenable emotion, where you can’t always read her. She plays complicated characters with complex feelings, whether she’s watching her husband kiss his male lover or she’s running into the ex who caused immeasurable tragedy. Here in Dying for Sex, her thought process is on full display, and it’s fun to walk around in her character’s head.
Jenny Slate is just as impressive, with Nikki as more than just “the sidekick.” You watch her on her own journey as someone who proactively mourns the loss of her best friend in small bursts, like a cry alone in the hallway, while also demonstrating the toll cancer takes on caregivers. As much as the show is about a woman’s sexual adventure, it’s also about the power of female friendship (Duplass’s Steve even says so himself!).
What Women Want in the Bedroom and Healthcare
As if this premise doesn’t have enough going on, Dying for Sex also tackles the combination of women, kinks, and healthcare in a nuanced conversation in Episode 4’s “Topping is a Sacred Skill,” written by Madeleine George and directed by Shannon Murphy. Molly ends up applying the skills she learns being a sexual submissive into getting the care she wants from her doctor.
Equally ambitious, the show also honors the wonder of the human body, which film and television rarely do.
“My body did a really good job,” Molly says in one of her final moments.
From orgasms to the process of death, Dying for Sex celebrates the physical mysteries of being human.
All episodes of Dying for Sex stream on Hulu starting April 4.
