‘How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town’ really lays all of its cards on the table with the title. Yes, it’s a sex comedy and there will be discussions of sex and naughty bits, frequently even for the sake of dirty giggles. (The horror!) But it’s also a pretty sweet little movie that won’t push boundaries too far.

In fact, it’s a pretty unconventional rom-com about people who are obsessed with sex for good reasons and bad, yet are ultimately looking for something soft and mushy in a very different and far more emotional way. That writer/director Jeremy LaLonde could pull off the trick of delivering something so warm-hearted and gently titillating at the same time is a trickier feat than it seems on paper.

Jewel Staite (‘Firefly’) stars as Cassie, a professional sex columnist who returns to her small town following the unexpected death of her mother. Years ago she fled the community after an awkward stab at losing her virginity turned into a night walking home topless, followed by a searing viral article attacking her prudish home that launched her career. Now it’s years later and she’s dodging a book deal because she has nothing to write and has already spent the advance.

At the funeral, Cassie runs into her former bf (Ennis Esmer) and learns that the girl who shamed her in high school is now his wife (Lauren Lee Smith). A public argument leads to the wife challenging Cassie to help her stage an orgy. The writer agrees, hoping to get a book out of it. Soon they gather up a collection of possible participants, including Cassie’s best friend (Katharine Isabelle, ‘Ginger Snaps’), her awkwardly homophobic ex-husband (Mark O’Brien), a pair of charming record store employees who seem a wee bit obsessed with each other (Jonas Chernick and Christine Horne), and a few other awkward small town types who just might get goofily embarrassed by the premise. As you can imagine, the plan doesn’t run smoothly.

Basically, this is one of those goofy sex romps and all the obvious favorite gags in such projects make an appearance. There’s some premature ejaculation, passionless marital baby-making, weird O faces, and all sorts of cringe-inducing prudishness. It works mostly because of the cast. LaLonde assembled an ensemble of adorable performers who make even the goofiest character types (like Lauren Lee Smith’s competitively sexual housewife) feel like at least recognizable small town folk, if not outright believable ones. Everyone’s motivations are pure, but their sexual discomfort just tends to get in the way.

Jewel Staite grounds the film as one of those actresses who is impossible to dislike. Even the more ridiculous characters like Mark O’Brien’s overcompensating self-described stud have just enough humanity to play as more than sketch comedy subjects. LaLonde’s script is crafted as a giggly crowd-pleaser, but with enough understanding of actual awkward interaction to have just the right amount of emotional pull.

Sure, it’s not hard to guess how the various love triangles and octagons will play out, and there’s nothing here that will make anyone with internet access uncomfortable about sexual extremity, but that’s not really the point. While the movie is filled with some great jizz jokes and spine-shivering sequences of embarrassment, it’s ultimately all about love, not sex. That may be a simple message, but it’s a worthy one.

It’s entirely possible that some horny viewers will be disappointed with ‘How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town’ because it isn’t wall-to-wall nudity with flowing fluids. However, that’s deliberate. The movie pulls you in promising titillation and then soothes you with some satisfying sap. You know, kind of like how millions of satisfying relationships work.