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Fioravante decides to become a professional Don Juan as a way of making money to help his cash-strapped friend, Murray. With Murray acting as his “manager,” the two quickly find themselves caught up in the crosscurrents of love and money.
What we thought:
In Fading Gigolo Woody Allen and John Turturro play the most unlikely pimp and gigolo to hit the streets of New York.
Bookseller Murray (Woody Allen) has fallen on hard times and has to sell his family business and find another way to make money to support his multicultural family. Enter Fioravante (John Turturro), his long time friend and handyman. Murray proposes that Fioravante extend his services to his dermatologist (Sharon Stone) and her partner (Sofia Vergara) who are looking for a body to hire to participate in a threesome. As if Stone and Vergara couldn’t find someone all on their own.
Fioravante initially declines but soon warns up to the idea. They eventually go into business together with Murray acting as his pimp. Business is booming and the clientele are pleased. Murray sets Fioravante up with an unlikely client Avigal (Vanessa Paradis), a young widow who is an orthodox Jew. They hit it off and a tentative innocent romance develops between the two. Needless to say once Fioravante’s heart gets stolen he can no longer perform and the business becomes a bust.
Woody Allen is brilliant! He’s acting is enjoyable to watch; he is funny, witty and offers some really sage advice about love and that human need to connect with someone. He balances his two-fold role of pimp and ‘family man’ quite well and you cannot help but like his character.
While John Turturro is an awkward Casanova he brings tenderness and sensitivity to the role. This is particularly touching in the scenes with Paradis.
In terms of character development and plot it is quite sketchy. The story has some loose ends; it would have been nice to know Fioravante’s back story and more about Murray’s family.
The characters and the setting all work together in this surprisingly heart-warming tale. While the title alludes to sex it is much deeper than that as it explores intimacy beyond just the physical. If you’re up to watching something totally different this movie won’t disappoint.
