Flash Movie Review: Fading Gigolo
There is a force that is more powerful than any drug; that can turn us into valiant, strong fighters and yet can also bring us down to our knees, wallowing in a puddle of our lost dreams. Love is the force that can make and turn us into so many different variations of ourself. There are some people who love to be in love, where the person they are with may not be the sole focus of their affection. I have seen couples like this, where one person is not motivated to do kind gestures from their heart; they have seen or read about it and are just copying it. An example would be surprising your significant other with tickets to, let us say, a play or sporting event. The fact that they do not know if the other person would like such things does not matter; they just know it is something one is supposed to do. Then there are some people who are driven by their love of something, like money or food. Love can make people do such a variety of things and you will be able to see it for yourself in this dramatic comedy. John Turturro (Barton Fink, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3) wrote, directed and starred as florist Floravante in this film festival winning movie. Since he was having a hard time making ends meet, Floravante agreed to the plan concocted by his friend Murray, played by Woody Allen (To Rome with Love, Deconstructing Harry). Floravante would be a male escort for a select group of clients. He would discover everyone had their own definition of love. My first reaction to this movie was it felt like it was trying to be a Woody Allen film. There was the same vibe and look to it and even had Woody playing Woody. I did not find much else in common, finding the script to be odd and disconnected in parts. Sharon Stone (Casino, Total Recall) and Sofia Vergara (Machete Kills, Modern Family-TV) as Dr. Parker and Selma were not believable in the least. All I saw on the screen was Sharon and Sofia, not there characters. A nugget of interest was generated with the story line involving Liev Schreiber (Salt, Defiance) as Dovi and Vanessa Paradis (Heartbreaker, The Girl on the Bridge) as Avigal but it never evolved and I disliked what happened to them. There were scenes that were amusing and others that were dull, making an unevenness that led to boredom. I think i knew what John was trying to do in this film but I did not love it.
2 stars
Posted on May 9, 2014, in Dramedy and tagged 2 stars, comedy, drama, dramedy, film festival winner, john turturro, liev schreiber, sharon stone, sofia vergara, woody allen. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
How you say in English “essere alla frutta”? “Allen is at the bottom of the barrel….
Molto buona, I feel Allen has entered his waning years. Thank you for coming by to leave your comments.
I like Sofia she really surprised me by how well she has done in Hollywood. It seems like this is just the beginning as well
I can appreciate her career path but honestly I feel she can do more than she has done so far. Thanks for the comments.
I never heard of this film before but I read the review and watched the trailer afterward. I honestly have never been a fan of Woody Allen films. I don’t know it that is his personality or a chracter he has concocted but it simply doesn’t work for me and I found myself bored with the trailer about half way through it. I fairly certain I would never be able to watch the entire movie.
It was weird to have Woody only as actor in someone else’s film and yet it still felt like a Woody Allen film. If I were you I would not spend any money to seek out this film.