Sex comedies are one cinematic staple with far too few female-led entries. Not only does The To Do List work to correct this imbalance, it does so in an outrageously filthy, frequently hilarious manner. Aubrey Plaza stars as Brandy Klark, a recent high school graduate with zero sexual experience who’s determined to bag hottie Rusty Waters by the end of the summer. To do so, she comes up with a list of sexual activities to experience first, and finds a number of willing and (somewhat) able partners to help. One of the most refreshing elements to the film is how the stereotype of women being emotional about sex is flipped on its ass – here, Brandy goes through her list in a near-academic manner of workmanship, while her partners become the emotional ones. While this is largely Plaza’s show, and she does a remarkable job, she’s aided by a substantial number of supporting players, from SNL veteran Bill Hader (also writer/director Maggie Carey’s husband) and Community‘s Donald Glover to Connie Britton and Clark Gregg as Brandy’s parents. Aside from one scatological moment, the film is one of the funniest of the summer, and there’s a fair amount of rewatch value to boot.
