Fading Gigolo

There seems to be a secret male fantasy of being paid to have sex. So many men seem to romanticize the idea of being a prostitute or a porn star. This manifests itself in the endless amount of male writers who pursue the Don Juan story. In "Fading Gigolo," John Turturro brings to the screen his inconspicuous little sexual fantasy with a talented cast of fellow actors.

Nostalgia and style permeate this film from its first frames, a flickering and grainy 16mm image. We fade into a modern film stock only to find that the antique bookstore that has been in Murray's (Woody Allen) family for generations must now close its doors. Like film itself the media forms we used to revere are fading into the past.

Stylistically this film feels quiet and realistic, but don't be fooled there is a crazy, screwball comedy at its heart which begins to manifest itself when Murray offers to find a gigolo for his dermatologist (Sharon Stone). The sensitive and unobtrusive Floravante (John Turturro) is the last person one would expect to jump into the world's second oldest profession (Viagra-free, by the way), but Murray is a smooth talker and he doesn't have any other friends that even remotely fit the bill.

Before the film ends, Murray will find himself pursued by a vigilante, neighborhood watchman and tried by a self-appointed court of Hassidic Jews. Letting the actors improvise a little, "Fading Gigolo" has all the charm of Allen's better comedies from the 1990's like "Small Time Crooks" and "Bullets Over Broadway."

Each of the supporting women in this cast (Stone, Vanessa Paradis, and Sofia Vergara) gets a nice moment or two to shine, but this is hardly a film about (or even for) women. Though Floravante sensitively attends to these women's needs, and they in turn make strides to separate their identities for their husbands, the script still has a shallow view female identity, featuring lines like, "A woman is made to be looked at, or else she'll just fade away."

Quality people (men and women alike) are like books and movies. They seem to be disappearing and being replaced by shorter and more flashy alternatives.

This Blu-ray release has beautiful warm coloring, English and Spanish subtitles and a couple of special features - deleted scenes and an audio commentary with John Turturro. The deleted scenes are mostly just small extensions of scenes that remain in the movie. They're obviously cut for timing and because they really don't add anything to the film.

"Fading Gigolo"
Run time: 90 min.
Rating: R
SRP: $29.98