FADING GIGOLO (2013)

Genre: Comedy
Director: John Turturro
Cast: John Turturro, Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Vanessa Paradis, Sofia Vergara, Liev Schreiber, Max Casella, Bob Balaban, Eugenia Kuzmina
RunTime: 1 hr 30 mins
Rating: R21 (Some Sexual Scenes and Nudity)
Released By: GV and MVP
Official Website: http://fadinggigolo-movie.com

Opening Day: 15 May 2014

Synopsis: Fioravante decides to become a professional Don Juan as a way of making money to help his cash-strapped friend, Murray. With Murray acting as his "manager", the duo quickly finds themselves caught up in the crosscurrents of love and money.

Movie Review:

The premise is titillating and sexy – A man decides to become a gigolo after his friend tells him that someone is looking for a male body to be involved in a ménage a trios (if you are a young reader who aren’t sure what this means, go check it up with Google). Of course, things aren’t that superficial with the storyline. This was done with the aim of helping a friend who is in need of money. Ridiculous sounding? Yes. A potential human drama? That’s a yes, too.

Given a R21 rating with consumer advice “Some Sexual Scenes and Nudity”, we wouldn’t blame you if you paid good money for a ticket, hoping to see some action. But a closer look at the two leading men of this American production will tell you this is not “that kind” of film.

On one end we have John Turturro. For the mainstream audience, you’d identify him as Agent Seymour Simmons in MichaelBay’s Transformers movies. For fans of arthouse cinema, he is a cast member of films like The Big Lebowski (1998) and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). Did you know that the 57 year old is also an established writer and director? A past nominee at Cannesfor his directing efforts in lesser known films like Mac (1992) and Illuminata (1998), Turturro is a versatile artiste who makes his presence felt in many areas.

It is no wonder then, that fellow filmmaker Woody Allen said yes to starring opposite Turturro in his latest work, playing a down and out old man who decides to take on a new “career” as a pimp (you weren’t expecting Allen to be the one taking off his clothes for “business”, were you?).

The two men have wonderful chemistry in this 90 minute feature, which explores nothing really groundbreaking if you seriously think about it. The usual themes of true love and how money can be a threat is told through Turturro’s script, and these are nothing new you haven’t heard before. What makes this film work are the scenes showcasing the two men’s casual banter and exchange. Allen and Turturro appear to be real friends chatting about life, giving each other ideas on what to do about certain situations. It does not seem like they memorised anything from any pre existing script, and it is a pleasant watch seeing the two men talk.

Where are the scenes warranting the R21 rating then, the concerned paying “customer” may ask. Well, there are a few fleeting sexual scenes alright, but they are not as titillating and sexy as you may expect a movie with the title “Fading Gigolo” to be. Sure, the filmmakers decided to throw in names like Sharon Stone (Casino) and Sofia Vergara (TV’s Modern Family) to excite the audience, but their involvement in the film isn’t what you’ll expect from Basic Instinct and Machete Kills. The supporting cast also includes French singer model actress Vanessa Chantai Paradis (Dubai Flamingo) and Liev Schreiber (The Last Days on Mars).

To sum it up, this is not a film you go to excite your senses. If you’re looking for a laid back movie experience without superheroes, explosions and monsters, then this is the one you’d go for. 

Movie Rating:

(A simple and straightforward film featuring winning chemistry between John Turturro and Woody Allen)

Review by John Li