Woody Allen and John Turturro
Review by Paul Goldfinger, Editor, Blgfinger.net
Fading Gigolo is a quirky new movie directed and written by John Turturro, who also stars in the film as Fioravante, a florist. But the most important name is that of 78 year old Woody Allen who costars as Moe and delivers his best performance in years. He returns to his old ways of New York style humor, but his character is less neurotic, hypochondriacal, intellectual, and bumbling than the old Woody, and this time he is more real and has some touching and believable moments alternating with laugh-out-loud lines, making the movie worth seeing if you are a Woody fan as I am.
Allen and Turturro play old friends who are down on their luck. They form a partnership where Turturro becomes a gigolo while Woody is his “manager.” Tarturro is so charming, sensitive and sexy that women who look like Sharon Stone (she plays Woody’s dermatologist) want to pay to sleep with him. I found that to be a tad unrealistic, but Eileen, who has a weak spot for Italian men going back to Alan Alda in Mash, did not find it difficult to get. The relationship of two old friends with nearly 30 years separating them is great fun.
I have to say that there are enough wonderful moments in this movie, including the marvelously rich cinematography of New York City by Marco Pontecorvo and a fine jazz score with Gene Ammons, that you can overlook the sometimes ridiculous plot lines.
And the actresses in this film are funny, sexy and beautiful. Vanessa Paradis, a French singer and actress, is cast as a widowed Hassidic woman who is lonely. The Hassidic plot line gets awkward at times, but she is wonderful in that part.
If you like the idea of this film and the performers who star in it, then go see it and let yourself enjoy the great parts and don’t get too picky over the elements that don’t work so well.
It is at the Bow Tie Cinema in Red Bank on White Street. There is a big parking lot across the street. —-Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
GENE AMMONS. “Canadian Sunset” from the soundtrack of Fading Gigolo,
Reblogged this on Blogfinger and commented:
This movie review from 2014 has been requested on BF recently, and it is fun, so check it out and watch the trailer. A beautiful woman in the film says, “A woman is made to be looked at or she will fade away.” That line reminds me of our “girls in their summer clothes” series. About that, I heard from a male Grover yesterday who encouraged us to keep up that series including our Florida good lookers. Click on Blogfinger below.—Paul
Thank you Marie. The Showroom is convenient, but I like going to Red Bank. Their downtown has retained its artsy feel, and there are some good restaurants in RB. Walk to the corner from the theatre, and there is a Starbucks. The Count Basie Theatre is also nearby and it has a major advantage over the Great Auditorium: It is open all year and has shows on days other than Saturday. —Paul
I just wanted to mention that ‘Fading Gigolo’ is playing across the Lake in the Showroom. This little theater shows some great stuff.
Also, thank you for your blog. I enjoy it every day.