Fading Gigolo

I can see how this film could be perceived as Woody Allen film. The familiar Manhattan setting, the insecure characters, (not to mention that it also stars Allen) are all the elements that make up one of his movies. However, it is not, and if you look closely it differs from an Allen film just slightly.

This has to do with director John Turturro, who should be familiar with audiences of all ages having been in over sixty films. The film has a sort of faster pace than I originally thought it would have. In the first scene, we get straight to the action, there's no messing around introducing characters. Murray (Allen) gets straight to the point and asks his friend Fioravante (Turturro) whether or not he would be interested in the idea of being a male escort.

It happens just like that and we the audience are just as confronted by the idea as Fioravante. As he contemplates the idea, we get to see into Fioravante's life. Very soon he accepts and starts to do his duties as gigolo with a number of women, including Dr. Parker (Sharon Stone) and Selima (Sofia Vergara).

Allen of course plays his old role as always. There are some very funny scenes where he is out and about trying to find women in his role as pimp. He soon comes along Avigal (Vanessa Paradis), a Jewish widow living in Brooklyn. She is watched over by Dovi (Liev Schreiber), a neighbourhood watch officer, who believes himself to be a suitor of Avigal.

Schreiber is a great foil to Turturro and could be menacing if his character wasn't such a wet rag. There was one scene that he was involved in where I was confused and this involved an underground Jewish court trial.

Verdict: Turturro has made a very funny film that features some very beautiful women. I don't know if I would like to be picked up by four burly Jewish guys in an SUV.