"Spent" has a plot I haven't encountered before; Stuart and Sparrow live in a kind of mini-commune, and they have silent dreams of forming a "polycule." Their nonbinary child has left for college (Oberlin!)--and they have some time on their hands....
Stuart and Sparrow meet an alluring bisexual planner-of-farmers-markets, Naomi. Soon, the three are trysting. ("I had so, so wanted to give cunninlingus," says Sparrow. "I was so excited, I almost passed out!" ...And Stuart raises an eyebrow.) A vegan purple dildo arrives at the commune; Stuart wants to wear it on top of his actual dick, for reasons that aren't fully explored. The group rejects the term "polycule"--it sounds too much like a growth on one's liver tissue--and Stuart and Sparrow worry about how to break their "life news" to their child.
Meanwhile, Alison Bechdel lives down the road on a pygmy goat colony. There is a new baby--"Goaty McGoat"--but she requires medical aid. So a hot lesbian vet materializes. ("She looks like Cherry Jones!") ...Alison begins to worry that her wife--Holly--might forget her marital vows.
Everything reaches a climax at a demonstration on behalf of Gazan civilians. Is Holly now having an affair--or is she unreachable simply because Goaty McGoat has swallowed her flip phone? Why is Sparrow seen making out with Naomi behind the pile of "Ceasefire Now" banners? What can this mean? Won't Dad--Stuart--be devastated?
In a delightful bit of self-mockery, Alison is often seen working on a dry "memoir" about Marxism--a memoir called "$um." I have a feeling the real Bechdel had attempted this sort of project--until someone said, "Just write a sex comedy."
Thank God for that. Two thumbs up.
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