Addressing the camera and dipping into a staged series of flashbacks (otherwise known as wishful thinking), Zahedi describes his cracked marriages and his fixation with hookers.

NEWYORKER: I Am a Sex Addict

It is the first word of the title, not the fourth, that dominates the picture, which is essentially the selective erotic memoir of a San Francisco filmmaker named Caveh Zahedi.

NEWYORKER: I Am a Sex Addict

Anybody worried that the movie will objectify women should be reassured by the actresses hired to play his paramours, who are, for the most part, far more in command of their bodies and souls than Zahedi can ever hope to be.

NEWYORKER: I Am a Sex Addict