The Laundromat

The Laundromat (2019)

Starring Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, David Schwimmer, Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeffrey Wright, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Nonso Anozie, Will Forte, Chris Parnell, James Cromwell, Melissa Rauch, Larry Wilmore, Robert Patrick, Rosalind Chao, and Sharon Stone

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Written by Scott Z. Burns

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C-

Movie Review - Fading Gigolo

Fading Gigolo (2014)

Starring John Turturro, Woody Allen, Vanessa Paradis, Liev Schrieber, Sharon Stone, and Sofía Vergara

Directed by John Turturro

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Fading Gigolo works best when Woody Allen and John Turturro play off each other with Allen's typical neuroses and Turturro's serious tone juxtaposing surprisingly amusingly.  Whenever their two characters are separated, however, screenwriter-director Turturro's film lags with a romance that never really blossoms to anything captivating.

Woody Allen is Woody Allen -- oh no, wait...he's Murray (who is really just Woody Allen), an aging guy whose used book store is being forced to shut down.  Desperate for money, Murray -- after visiting his dermatologist Dr. Parker (Sharon Stone) -- spitballs the idea of his single buddy Fioravante (Turturro) sleeping with his skin doctor who mentioned that she and her single friend Selina (Sofía Vergara) were interested in having a threesome.  Fiorvante balks at the notion, but then acquiesces, although Dr. Parker wants to "try him for herself" first.  Fioravante discovers that he doesn't mind sleeping with women for money and Murray enjoys the commission he's receiving for setting Fioravante up with the ladies.

In and of itself, the storyline above is at least amusing.  However, Fading Gigolo tries for heart and attempts to achieve that when Murray takes one of his girlfriend's lice-stricken kids to see Avigal (Vanessa Paradis), the widow of an Hassidic rabbi, for treatment.  Avigal is in pain (both physical and emotional) and Murray convinces her to come and see Fioravante whom Murray says is a massage therapist.  Fioravante almost immediately has a connection with Avigal and the two begin a relationship that doesn't exactly go over well with Avigal's Jewish neighbors.

Unfortunately, the whole Avigal story -- which is really the bulk of the movie -- falls flat.  Avigal as a character is emotionally stilted and quite blasé.  While that's no fault of Vanessa Paradis' portrayal, the lack of vigor in her character brings the film to a halt whenever she's onscreen.  I never really believed the connection between Avigal and Fioravante either which I think is important to latch onto in order to care about the proceedings.  The Murray-Fioravante teaming was amusing, but the rest of Fading Gigolo lacks oomph.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Lovelace

Lovelace (2013)

Starring Amada Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick, Juno Temple, Chris Noth, Bobby Canavale, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, and James Franco

Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman

Deep Throat is the highest-grossing pornographic movie of all time.  Made in 1972, at the very least the film grossed $100 million although some estimates have it grossing $600 million (which is seemingly unfathomable for a film that played in only X-rated moviehouses).  The star of Deep Throat was the "normal-looking" Linda Lovelace who became incredibly famous thanks to her...um...oral capabilities. Termed a "sexy Raggedy Anne" by a character in Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's Lovelace, Linda was seemingly a gal who never imagined becoming a porn star, but was pushed into the industry by her husband who was desperate for money and essentially pimped out his wife in order to keep his head above water.

Following the film, I did a tiny bit of wikipedia research on Linda Lovelace and her story may have easily been sugarcoated for this film which is a love letter of sorts to the woman who only starred in one porn film and then managed to get out of the industry.  Still, despite the possibility of being one-sided, Lovelace is a decent picture...and this is coming from someone who's never particularly fond of biopics.

I typically can't stand Amanda Seyfried, but I think she gives her best performance to date as Linda.  Because of the way the film is cleverly set up, we see Linda's introduction to the porn industry through two different lenses -- one being the "excited" face she puts on for those around her and then, in a flashback, her seemingly true feelings about the industry.  Seyfried embodies both sides of Linda quite well and she absolutely makes Linda a relatable character.

As her husband Chuck, Peter Sarsgaard is a frightening and scary presence.  Having won over Linda's parents with his charm and grace, once married to Linda, his personality changes and his disgusting treatment of his wife is fodder for the second half of the film.  Sarsgaard is always good at playing a creepy guy, but here he successfully adds a menacing aspect that I haven't yet seen from him.

The rest of the cast is full of well-knowns and they all do fine work.  If anything, the film doesn't allow these other characters to develop as much as Linda and Chuck thanks to the brisk pace that the directors employ.  Still, overall, Lovelace is a film that I wasn't expecting anything from, but found an interesting look at an "important" moment in the film industry.

The RyMickey Rating:  B