*potential spoilers* Weak script and poor choices by the director
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tb-balla — 12 years ago(April 29, 2013 12:18 AM)
This movie is saying , look: not all pornsatrs are trashy bimbos with beep boyfriends. Also, the porn scenes were played by double, I am pretty sure. The beep roommate was invented to have Sadie learn the truth. Also as a contrast to the main character.
The grave scene was great.
I don't think this movie is about the porn industry hahah. Porn is just a sub plot. Which served no particular purposes in my opinion. Maybe the writers want people to learn about the industry.
Haters gonna hate -
eddyhuxster — 12 years ago(April 29, 2013 07:04 AM)
"I don't think this movie is about the porn industry "
"This movie is saying , look: not all pornsatrs are trashy bimbos with beep boyfriends."
If it's not about the porn industry then why the contradiction ?
You obviously saw it being about the porn industry or else you wouldn't of made that comment.The writer was the director of this film the interview with sean baker.He does say that's what the movie is about and he also made it soo people would learn about the adult industry.Your way of seeing this film is the way it was intended to be see.Tb-balla what did you think about dree hemingways performance as and actress? On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate the performances of sadie,jane, and melissa? Jane working in the porn industry as a profession i excepted as her background.In my opinion what served no particular purpose was having .What jane did spelled out for us like we are a bunch kids who haven't been exposed to pornography before.
Look at the times we live in sex is everywhere,whether your a prude or not.You've seen it on some level in some form.Overall though i thought it was a good movie could of been so much better.It seemed like there was so much that director/writer didn't bother touching on.Like why did jane enter into sadie's life ? she could of just as easily.Forgot about her i didn't see any grey area in that part of the story.For someone that acted like jane did why not have her spend the money instead.Then over time have guilt set in and show her trying to redeem herself by helping the older out.That would of made alot more sense too me .The relationships should been commited to more and .Less when it came to the adult industry which has enough attention payed to it already.Porn stars are adults so they know what they are getting into.They chose that life for some reason or another.There is no need to feel bad for them because,that is what they want.
It's different if the people involved in a black market sex trade cause that.In most cases is a form of slavery.That is something to sympathise with ,those people im sure hate living that life but.Are forced into it so they have no choice.Being a porn on the other hand is all about choices those people chose that life.Whether they are smart or bimbos or whatever they want to be where they are.
A man should look for what is and not for what he thinks should be." -
tb-balla — 12 years ago(April 29, 2013 10:14 PM)
Well, I did mention that the porn industry bit was just a sub-plot.
This movie is really about a friendship formed in an unusual circumstance. The fact that they are so different makes this friendship even more fascinating.
It's not really focused on the porn industry, really. -
mothnm — 13 years ago(January 07, 2013 07:44 AM)
Dree went the same way her mother Mariel did, following bad advice from aunt/sister Margaux whose experience was that you had to get boob jobs and take trashy roles to work in Hollywood. Mariel had been in a Woody Allen film and still trusted bottoming out, jealous sis, or so the gossip went. Sad. Margaux actually had some interesting footage in her B roles. Mariel could have had multiple amazing roles of her generation because she took risks but didn't seem trashy until she took trashy roles. Time will tell if Dree can rise.
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ferrisb1-1 — 12 years ago(April 29, 2013 08:38 PM)
Actually, this movie avoided all the cliches other movies of this type would have trotted out in an effort to make Jane, and even Sadie more sympathetic and as a result, less realistic.
Jane/Tess has no reservations about being a porn actress. In fact, she loves it. She smiles when Abrash tells her she made the cover of their latest release, had the highest number of pre-orders and will be his number one girl at the porn convention. She isn't a typical runaway who was "forced into the porn industry". She chose this life, enjoys it and isn't looking for something better e.g. to get out and lead a "normal" life. Most other films would give us the tired, Julia Roberts/Porn actress-with-a-heart-of-gold-stuck-in-the-life character which is far more unrealistic than those who are actually IN the porn industry by choice.
Sadie isn't some female savant who used to be some hot shot professor at UCLA, or other nonsense. She experienced heart break, but that wasn't the sole reason she "retreated from life". She is just eighty-something, and when people are near the end of their lives they stop caring to a certain degree. It doesn't make them bad, it just is what it is. Again, realistic.
The biggest cliche it avoided was the bitchy roommate not only finding the money, but then taking the money for herself (and her sleazy boyfriend/pimp) and "ruining" Jane's chances for "a better life". That would be the ultimate cliche and this is what I thought they were doing when the roommate found the money, but they didn't go that route, thankfully. Again, it comes back to having more realistic characters who don't need/want the money for "a better life".
The end scene ties the two characters together because it shows Sadie is not perfect either She lied about having kids But at this point it doesn't matter. For either of them. Jane is a good person despite her chosen profession which to a big segment of society is considered bad and immoral. Sadie also realizes Jane finding the money was a good thing in the end because it was the catalyst for their friendship and for helping Sadie live life again. That's why she forgives her (indirectly) and lets her in.
Could they have fleshed out the characters more?
Maybe, but then it might turn into the typical feel-good movie this is the exact opposite of at least in its portrayals of the characters.
Could the sex scene be cut down?
Sure, but it's there for the audience to experience what Jane does first-hand. It's one thing for other characters to talk about the porn industry and a completely different thing to experience Jane's job first-hand. This is what helps make her character more real coupled with the other things talked about above. -
Pequod88 — 12 years ago(May 09, 2013 09:44 AM)
"[T]his movie avoided all the cliches other movies of this type would have trotted out in an effort to make Jane, and even Sadie more sympathetic and as a result, less realistic."
There's not much to add to your thoughtful post, which touches on the strengths of this little gem of a film. While many may find the character study slow and somewhat uneventful, I found it be honest and to ring true. I, too, worried that the story would fall into the cliche of "bitchy roommate steals the cash," in the name of having a flimsy plot upon which to hang the successful character study. I was pleased that this was not the case.
The leads were quite good. Easy melodrama was avoided, as was a finger-wagging condemnation of the porn industry. Well shot and acted, Starlet never overplays its hand, trying to be more than a thoughtful and at times moving character study of two interesting women. -
pococo — 12 years ago(June 16, 2013 07:33 AM)
a great assessement,
ferrisb1-1
!
the porn angle serves to address why she doesn't go 'looking for love'the raison d'tre of practically any movie or tv show. she doesnt't strive to define or complete herself through a lover. she obviously enjoys sex (or at least has no problem with it). their quest for emotional fulfillment are met by what each seeks from the other. if that's not rrue love, what is? -
CocktailQueen — 12 years ago(June 16, 2013 06:01 AM)
"This is one of those movies where there will be talk about the "risks" Dree Hemingway took. When an actress actually performs sexual acts the talk is about her bravery for taking risks - remember Chloe Sevigny and The Brown Bunny?"
Except Hemingway never performed actual sex acts. She used a body double.
Jesus Christ I am in awe at the number of ignorant people on this board who think that just because the protagonist works in the adult industry, she's suddenly unlikable or unsympathetic. Get a grip. -
kickliquid — 12 years ago(October 19, 2013 09:13 PM)
Welcome to Puritanical America. Where violence is a mere blurb on our cultural radars and to an extent encouraged to further empower the notion that we are 'number one' and can kick anyones ass in the world.
But throw in as something as natural as sex in a scene and the psychologically unstable come out and hide behind unconscious insecurities with self justified arguments stating that it was to "gratuitous"