"See it with someone you fuck"

First of all I'd like to give a big shout out to Cam Smith of Cam's Pop-Culture Episodes for pimping me and my blog on his podcast, which I might contribute to in the near future if I can find something interesting enough to talk about.

In the mean time, check out the trailer for Steven Soderbergh's "The Girlfriend Experience". The film has already gained some notoriety over the fact that it features adult film star Sasha Grey making her mainstream debut as the lead. A simple perusing of the IMDB message boards will show you the kind of vitriol she has inspired in some people. Many have complained that an untrained "whore" with no mainstream credentials managed to obtain the lead role in a Steven Soderbergh film while countless unknown actresses continue to struggle without resorting to pornography. That kind of reaction is to be expected, I guess. But some quick biographical research on Ms. Grey reveals her to be a little more complex than her primary profession implies. She's also a mainstream model - she has appeared in album artwork for Smashing Pumpkins and the Roots - and a musician. She also has a keen interest in existentialism and Jean-Luc Godard. In the film she plays a high end call girl who promises her clients "the girlfriend experience" - kissing, companionship, etc. - and maintains a romantic relationship with a personal trainer.

It already has its detractors on IMDB, who are decrying it for being "boring" and "pretentious". A few trustworthy critics (J. Hoberman in particular) praised the films economical, bare bones style. Soderbergh also cited my favorite film, Ingmar Bergman's "Cries and Whispers", as an influence so I'm especially intrigued. It sounds like the kind of film that most people won't go for, and that's fine. "Wendy and Lucy" was an excellent film, but you wouldn't know it if you cruised the IMDB messageboards. Meditative neo-realism isn't exactly their cup of tea. In any case, this film is already available On Demand, but I'm waiting to see it in theaters and I urge others to do the same, for no other reason than to support smaller art-house theaters. Believe me, they need it. As far as the next blog entry goes, it might be a write up on Atom Egoyan's "The Sweet Hereafter", but I make no promises.