History Film / TheSessions

* NiceGal: Cheryl is a warmhearted, selfless and extremely open-minded woman who genuinely wants the best for her clients.

* AdvertisedExtra: Creator/RheaPerlman, who plays the assistant helping Cheryl convert to Judaism, gets a prominent billing in the opening credits, even though she appears in exactly one scene for less than a full minute of screen time.

* BigPrickBigProblems: Mark becomes worried that his penis will be too large to fit inside Cheryl, which results in his having a panic attack when they attempt intercourse for the first time. Downplayed in that it's unclear just how much his fretting was justified, since his appendage is never shown onscreen (although Cheryl later describes it as "handsome and substantial").

** Cheryl manages to both subvert and exaggerate the trope at the same time. On the one hand, she's an amiable, GranolaGirl-adjacent middle-aged mother who doesn't really play up her sexiness despite her line of work. On the other hand, she spends most of her time onscreen completely naked, to the point where it's no exaggeration to say that Helen Hunt does more nudity in this one movie than most American actresses do ''in their entire careers''. This gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] during her final nude scene in the film, when Cheryl is converting to Judaism:

* TinyGuyHugeGirl: Well, "tiny guy," at least. In RealLife, Mark O'Brien was less than five feet tall due to his condition. John Hawkes is actually 5'10", but the film's camera angles tend to obscure the lower half of his body, helping to leave the impression that Mark is small and frail.

* AdvertisedExtra: Creator/RheaPerlman, who plays the assistant helping Cheryl convert to Judaism, gets a prominent billing in the opening credits, even though she appears in exactly one scene, for less than a minute of screen time.

* BuryYourDisabled: Mark does end up finding true love with Susan, but dies young, as he always assumed he would. The movie's BittersweetEnding shows Cheryl attending his funeral around ten years after their sessions together.

* [[HairyGirl Hairy Woman]]: Subverted. Despite her obvious GranolaGirl credentials (and the fact that the movie is set in TheEighties), Cheryl turns out to be very, uh...''neatly-trimmed'' down there.

** Cheryl manages to both subvert and exaggerate the trope at the same time. On the one hand, she's a wholesome GirlNextDoor type who doesn't really play up her sexiness despite her line of work. On the other hand, she spends most of her time onscreen completely naked, to the point where it's no exaggeration to say that Helen Hunt does more nudity in this one movie than most American actresses do ''in their entire careers''.

* NobodyPoops: Averted. Cheryl goes to the bathroom to pee midway through one of the sessions.

* TalkingInBed: Cheryl and Mark do this on multiple occasions. Their conversations become more revealing and emotionally vulnerable as time goes on.

* YouCanLeaveYourHatOn: Played with. Cheryl takes her clothes off in front of Mark on multiple occasions, and encourages him to watch her doing so for his sexual gratification; later on her conversion to Judaism requires her to strip naked in front of an older female attendant. However, all of this is shot in an extremely matter-of-fact, unadorned manner that parallels Cheryl's open yet grounded relationship with her body and her sexuality.

* AdvertisedExtra: Creator/RheaPerlman, who plays the assistant helping Cheryl convert to Judaism, gets a prominent billing in the opening credits, even though she appears in exactly one scene and gets less than a minute of screen time.

** Sex can be weird, awkward and embarrassing, but that's okay--what ultimately matters most is that those involved are open about their needs and desires, and that they treat one another with acceptance, kindness and respect. Or, more simply: so long as it's SafeSaneAndConsensual, then SexIsGood.

* [[CoolOldGuy Cool Older Guy]]: Father Brendan gives Mark the go-ahead to have sex, [[TheConfidant patiently listens to even his horniest and most embarrassing confessions]], and tries his best to offer him helpful advice.

** Cheryl manages to both subvert and exaggerate the trope at the same time. On the one hand, she's a wholesome GirlNextDoor type who doesn't really play up her sexiness despite her line of work. On the other hand, she spends most of her time onscreen completely naked--it's not an exaggeration to say that Helen Hunt does more nudity in this one movie than most American actresses do ''in their entire careers''.
--->'''Mikvah lady:''' [[CaptainObvious I see you're very comfortable being naked.]]
--->'''Cheryl:''' [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl It's never been one of my problems.]]

* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Cheryl and Mark's third session begins with a close-up on Cheryl's rather pained-looking face accompanied by the sound of muffled grunts coming from offscreen. Cut to the wide-angle RevealShot: a full rear view of a butt-naked Cheryl kneeling over Mark's head as he struggles to perform oral sex on her. It's startlingly explicit (on Cheryl's part, at least) and played for CringeComedy, particularly when, much to Cheryl's horror, Mark begins ''choking.''

* YouCanLeaveYourHatOn: Played with. Cheryl takes her clothes off in front of Mark on multiple occasions, and encourages him to watch her doing so for his sexual gratification; later on her conversion to Judaism requires her to disrobe fully in front of an older female attendant. However, all of this is shot in an extremely matter-of-fact, unadorned manner that parallels Cheryl's open yet grounded relationship with her body and her sexuality.

* AnachronisticSoundtrack: Although most of the movie takes place in TheEighties, its trailer prominently featured OK Go's "This Too Shall Pass," which came out in 2010. Averted for the actual film, which doesn't have any pop songs in its soundtrack, period-appropriate or otherwise.

--->'''[[CaptainObvious Mikvah lady:]]''' I see you're very comfortable being naked.
--->'''[[ShamelessFanserviceGirl Cheryl:]]''' It's never been one of my problems.

* AnachronisticSoundtrack: Although most of the movie is set in TheEighties, its trailer heavily featured OK Go's "This Too Shall Pass," which came out in 2010. Averted for the actual film, which doesn't have any popular songs in its soundtrack, period-appropriate or otherwise.

* AlmostOutOfOxygen: Mark can only spend a few hours at a time outside of his iron lung, as he's too physically weak to breathe on his own for any longer than that.
* ArtisticLicense: The movie is based on true events, but a substantial proportion of what's shown onscreen is fictional. For instance many of the supporting characters are made up, and the romantic undertones to Cheryl and Mark's relationship weren't present in reality. Cheryl's personal life is also significantly altered: she was a mother to two children, rather than having one son as depicted in the film, and she had converted to Judaism some two decades prior to meeting Mark.

* GoodShepherd: Father Brendan, the benevolent Catholic priest who helps Mark reconcile his faith with his QuestForSex.

* IdealizedSex: Deliberately averted and deconstructed. The movie showcases the mechanics of sex, warts and all, with Mark's disability regularly leading to situations which are awkward and even [[CringeComedy cringeworthy.]]

* OscarBait: An inspirational, bittersweet dramedy, based on a true story about a disabled person, starring a [[Creator/JohnHawkes respected character actor]] who physically manipulated his body in order to play his role, and a [[Creator/HelenHunt former Best Actress winner]] going full-frontal in her late forties. For all of these reasons, the movie was widely tipped to be a major contender in the following year's Academy Awards, but it wound up only getting nominated for one Oscar, which it didn't win.

* RomanticFalseLead: Mark and Cheryl are this for one another--in fact, they agree to end at four sessions instead of the planned six because they can see that they are developing an emotional attraction to one another, which is a major professional no-no for Cheryl in particular. After the sessions are over, Mark begins an actual long-term relationship with a woman named Susan Fernbach, while Cheryl stays with her husband.

* ShiksaGoddess: Cheryl comes from a Christian family but is married to a Jewish man. At his urging, she eventually converts.

* LoveHurts: Mark develops a crush on [[LustObject Amanda]], an attractive young woman working as one of his caretakers, and awkwardly proposes marriage to her. To his dismay, she freaks out and abandons him. She [[TheBusCameBack returns at the end of the movie]], though, and both she and Mark admit that they could have handled the situation better. Eventually, she's one of the attendees at his funeral.

** Cheryl, obviously. While she's one of the most wholesome variants of this trope in cinema, the fact remains that she spends most of her time onscreen completely naked. It's not an exaggeration to say that Helen Hunt does more nudity in this one movie than most other American actresses do ''in their entire careers''.

* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: While Mark is at the center of many awkward and humiliating sexual mishaps throughout the film, Cheryl's physical proximity to him means that she gets her fair share of embarrassing moments as well (particularly since she's the only one of the two whom the audience actually gets to see fully nude).

* BigPrickBigProblems: Because his understanding of anatomy seems to be derived entirely from some [[SexMiseducationClass literature of dubious quality]], Mark becomes worried that his penis will be too large to fit inside Cheryl, which results in his having a panic attack when they attempt intercourse for the first time. Since Mark's penis is never shown onscreen, though, the extent to which his fretting was justified is unclear.
* TheBodyPartsThatMustNotBeNamed: Averted. In keeping with her uninhibited personality, Cheryl ''definitely'' isn't shy about discussing sex organs.

* [[CoolOldGuy Cool Older Guy]]: Father Brendan. He gives Mark the go-ahead to have sex, [[TheConfidant patiently listens to even his horniest and most embarrassing confessions]], and tries his best to offer him helpful advice.

* FlatCharacter: Mark has a male helper named Rod, who is seen on a couple of occasions but doesn't get much characterization.

** Mark runs into this due to his erroneously viewing Cheryl as a HookerWithAHeartOfGold. When they meet for the first time, he immediately commits a faux-pas by pointing out that "your money's on the dresser." Luckily, Cheryl doesn't hold it against him, and is willing to explain to him ([[{{Exposition}} and the audience]]) what separates her job from that of a prostitute.

* LoveHurts: Mark develops a crush on Amanda, an [[LustObject attractive young woman]] working as one of his caretakers, and awkwardly proposes marriage to her. To his dismay, she freaks out and abandons him. She [[TheBusCameBack returns at the end of the movie]], though, and both she and Mark admit that they could have handled the situation better. Eventually, she's one of the attendees at his funeral.

** Cheryl, obviously. While she's probably one of the most wholesome variants of this trope in cinema, the fact remains that she spends most of her time onscreen completely naked. It's not an exaggeration to say that Helen Hunt does more nudity in this one movie than most other American actresses do ''in their entire careers''.

* NobodyPoops: Averted; Cheryl goes to the bathroom to pee midway through one of the sessions.

* RomanticFalseLead: Mark and Cheryl are this for one another--in fact, they agree to end at four sessions instead of the planned six because they can see that they are developing an emotional attraction to one another, which is a ''major'' professional no-no for Cheryl in particular. After the sessions are over, Mark begins an actual long-term relationship with a woman named Susan Fernbach, while Cheryl stays with her husband.

* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: While Mark is at the center of many awkward and humiliating sexual mishaps throughout the film, Cheryl's physical proximity to him means that she gets her fair share of embarrassing moments as well (particularly since she's the one who is actually [[NakedPeopleAreFunny seen nude by the audience]]).

* FlorenceNightingaleEffect: Cheryl, Amanda and Susan, three women who are involved in Mark's medical care, all wind up loving him in one way or another.

* GoodShepherd: Father Brendan.

** Cheryl, obviously. If she appears in a scene, she's probably going to get naked in short order. It's not an exaggeration to say that Helen Hunt does more nudity in the movie than most other American actresses do ''in their entire careers''. This even gets [[DiscussedTrope discussed]] and [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] InUniverse.

* MustNotDieAVirgin: Part of Mark's reasoning for [[QuestForSex working with Cheryl]] is that he figures he doesn't have much longer left to live.

* OscarBait: An inspirational, bittersweet dramedy, based on a true story about a disabled person, starring a [[Creator/JohnHawkes respected character actor]] who physically manipulated his body in order to play his role, and a [[Creator/HelenHunt former Best Actress winner]] gamely going full-frontal in her late forties. For all of these reasons, the movie was widely tipped to be a major contender in the following year's Academy Awards, but it wound up only getting nominated for one Oscar, which it didn't win.

* RevealShot: Cheryl and Mark's third session begins with a close-up on Cheryl's rather pained-looking face accompanied by the sound of muffled grunts coming from offscreen. Cut to the wide angle: a full rear view of a butt-naked Cheryl kneeling over Mark's head as he struggles to perform oral sex on her. It's startlingly explicit (on Cheryl's part, at least) and PlayedForLaughs. Even more so when, much to Cheryl's horror, Mark begins ''choking.''

** Sex can be weird, awkward and embarrassing, but that's okay--what ultimately matters most is that those involved are open about their needs and treat one another with kindness and respect. Or, more simply: so long as it's SafeSaneAndConsensual, then SexIsGood.

** Sex can be weird, awkward and embarrassing, but that's okay: what ultimately matters most is that those involved are open about their needs and treat one another with kindness and respect. Or, more simply--so long as it's SafeSaneAndConsensual, then SexIsGood.

** Sex can be weird, awkward and embarrassing, but that's okay: what ultimately matters most is that those involved are open about their needs and treat one another with kindness and respect. Or, more simply: so long as it's SafeSaneAndConsensual, then SexIsGood.

** It's fine for sex to be weird, awkward and embarrassing, since what ultimately matters most is that those involved are open about their needs and treat one another with kindness and respect. Or, more simply: so long as it's SafeSaneAndConsensual, then SexIsGood.

* BigPrickBigProblems: Because his understanding of anatomy seems to be derived entirely from some [[SexMiseducationClass literature of dubious quality]], Mark becomes worried that his penis will be too large to fit inside Cheryl, which results in his having a panic attack when they attempt intercourse for the first time. Cheryl later compliments Mark on his "handsome and substantial penis," but since it isn't ever shown onscreen, it's unclear how much his fretting was justified.

* [[HairyGirl Hairy Woman]]: Despite her obvious GranolaGirl credentials (and the fact that the movie is set in TheEighties), Cheryl averts this trope by being very, uh...''neatly-trimmed'' down there.
* IdealizedSex: Deliberately averted and deconstructed. The movie showcases the mechanics of sex, warts and all, with Mark's condition regularly leading to situations which are awkward and even [[CringeComedy cringeworthy.]]

** Although Cheryl is probably one of the most wholesome and grounded variants of this trope in existence, it's not an exaggeration to say that Helen Hunt does more nudity in the movie than most American actresses do ''in their entire careers''. She spends so much time in the buff that it even gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] InUniverse:

* RomanticFalseLead: Mark and Cheryl are this for one another--in fact, they agree to end at four sessions instead of the planned six because they can see that they are developing a deeper attraction to one another, which is a ''major'' professional no-no for Cheryl in particular. After the sessions are over, Mark begins an actual long-term relationship with a woman named Susan Fernbach, while Cheryl stays with her husband.

* SceneryCensor: During the sex scenes, Mark is always covered up in some way, often with a ModestyBedsheet (or by Cheryl--for whom this trope is ''very'' strongly averted--straddling him).

* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: While Mark is at the center of many awkward and humiliating sexual mishaps throughout the film, Cheryl's physical proximity to him means that she gets her fair share of embarrassing moments as well (particularly since she's the one who is [[NakedPeopleAreFunny seen nude by the audience]]).

* YouCanLeaveYourHatOn: Played with. Cheryl takes her clothes off in front of Mark on multiple occasions, and encourages him to watch her doing so for his sexual gratification; later on her conversion to Judaism requires her to fully disrobe in front of an attendant. However, all of this is shot in an extremely matter-of-fact, unadorned manner that parallels Cheryl's open yet levelheaded relationship with her body and her sexuality.

* IdealizedSex: Deliberately averted and deconstructed. The movie showcases the mechanics of sex, warts and all, with Mark's condition regularly resulting situations which are awkward and even [[CringeComedy cringeworthy.]]

** The clerk at the motel where Mark and Cheryl have their final two sessions. He asks Mark's carer Vera some fairly inappropriate questions about Mark and his disability, and later hits on her in a harmless but very unsubtle manner.
** Mark runs into this due to the fact that he initially thinks that Cheryl is a HookerWithAHeartOfGold. When they meet for the first time, he immediately commits a faux-pas by pointing out that "your money's on the dresser." Luckily, Cheryl doesn't hold it against him.

** Although Cheryl is probably one of the most wholesome variants of this trope in existence, it's not an exaggeration to say that Helen Hunt does more nudity in the movie than most American actresses do ''in their entire careers''. She spends so much time in the buff that it even gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] InUniverse:

* NotInMyContract: Cheryl makes it very clear that although she has nothing against prostitutes, she is ''not'' one of them herself.
-->'''Cheryl:''' So the difference between me and a prostitute is a prostitute wants your return business--I don't. I'm here to help you learn about your sexual feelings, so you can share them with a future partner.

* YouCanLeaveYourHatOn:
** Cheryl takes her clothes off in front of Mark on multiple occasions, and encourages him to watch her doing so for his sexual gratification.
** During Cheryl's conversion to Judaism, an attendant guides her through the process of disrobing. Downplayed in that although Cheryl spends the remainder of the scene naked, it's not sexual in any way.

* IdealizedSex: Averted and deconstructed. The movie showcases the mechanics of sex, warts and all, with Mark's condition regularly leading to situations which are awkward and even [[CringeComedy cringeworthy.]]

** Mark runs into this due to the fact that he initially thinks of Cheryl as a HookerWithAHeartOfGold. When they meet for the first time, he immediately commits a faux-pas by pointing out that "your money's on the dresser." Luckily, Cheryl doesn't hold it against him.

** Cheryl is probably the most wholesome variant of this trope in existence, but all the same, it's not an exaggeration to say that Helen Hunt does more nudity in the movie than most American actresses do ''in their entire careers''. She spends so much time in the buff that it even gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] InUniverse:

* RevealShot: Cheryl and Mark's third session begins with a close-up on Cheryl's rather pained-looking face accompanied by the sound of muffled grunts in the background. Cut to a full rear view of a butt-naked Cheryl straddling Mark's head as he struggles to perform oral sex on her. Then, much to Cheryl's horror, Mark begins ''choking''. It's startlingly explicit (on Cheryl's part, at least) and PlayedForLaughs.
* RomanticFalseLead: Mark and Cheryl are this for one another--in fact, they agree to end at four sessions instead of the planned six because they can see that they are developing a deeper attraction to one another, which is a ''major'' professional no-no for Cheryl in particular. After the sessions are over, Mark begins an actual long-term relationship with a woman named Susan, while Cheryl stays with her husband.

* SceneryCensor: During the sex scenes, Mark is always covered up in some way, usually by a ModestyBedsheet (or by Cheryl, for whom this trope is very, ''very'' strongly averted).

* SpeedSex: Between his inexperience, his lack of muscular control, and his sex therapist being a very beautiful and sensual woman, Mark climaxes far too early almost every time. While he gets better, he only gives Cheryl an orgasm once and never reaches his goal of simultaneous orgasm.