Theater Whore: Fading Gigolo

Fading Gigolo 10/10

Last night Cam and I caught a double feature. The first film we saw was Fading Gigolo starring John Turturro and Woody Allen. Also in this were Liev Schreiber, Sharon Stone, Vanessa Paradis, and Sofia Vergara. Going into this I wasn't exactly sure what to expect and by god was I surprised at how much I loved this movie. Turturro wrote starred in, and directed this. I thought from what little I'd heard that this was about a guy who used to be a lady's man who was older and trying to get back into it. That isn't what this is about.

Turturro is Fioravante. He's a handyman, florist, and just an all around quiet, nice guy. He works with Allen who is named Murray. They have been friends for years and as Murray's book store is closing he proposes the idea of sleeping with a lady he knows for money. At first Fioravante is against it saying that he isn't a hoe. After finding out how much he'll get he decides to give it a shot. It is a test drive for a planned three-way between Dr. Parker and Selima (Stone, Vergara). He does it and everything goes smoothly. So smoothly that they start a business from it. Eventually Murray finds a client who is a widow with six children named Avigal (Paradis). A patrolman of the small Jewish neighborhood named Dovi (Schreiber) who has a thing for her tails her to Fioravante's “office” where he plans on giving her a massage. It goes horribly wrong. I now that Murray had good intentions but she ends up crying though not for the reasons I expected.

I am actually having a hard time explaining why this was such a good movie but I'll try. I was thoroughly engrossed in this. Everyone is it was just...perfect. Films that I can think of offhand that made me feel the way I felt after seeing this are Beasts Of The Southern Wild, The Artist, and Warrior. Just a feeling of “Goddamn, I love movies!” This wasn't a mean spirited movie and it had plenty of opportunities to be one. The music, the pacing, the scenery, the feel, the acting, everything was on point. There was not a wasted moment in this.

As we left the theater Cam said that she was mad that more movies aren't this good. I am far easier to please when it comes to movies than she is but still I agreed with her. If you get a chance to see this you really should. We saw it at Sundance up on Sunset. Great theater by the way. Good food, good seats, and the entire staff is awesome. This movie made us feel good and I am so happy that I saw it. More people should be talking about this but I know its hard when there are so many huge films coming out this summer. But when you get tired of seeing people get blown up and Earth threatened give it a try. Oh, and don't let the R rating fool you. This is rated PG at its worse.

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