writers_reign Given the fact that the French are widely credited with inventing risqué, slightly 'off-colour' stories, novels, plays, movies, etc revolving around sex it seems highly improbable that Josie Balasko - a proved triple threat (writer-director-actor) several times over - was unable to generate interest in Cliente - which she wrote originally as a screenplay - until she re-wrote and published it successfully as a novel. Be that as it may Balasko admirers who revel in her multi-talents will not be disappointed in Cliente in which all three artistic hats are well and truly adorning her head. Virtually any male actor around thirty could have played the gigolo but wisely Balasko tapped one of the finest French actresses of her generation, Nathalie Baye, for the role of Eric Caravaca's principal client and it did no harm at all to have his - initially - unsuspecting wife played by Isabelle Carre - one of the finest French actresses of HER generation i.e. the generation that succeeded Baye, Huppert, etc. No one is claiming it will wind up on a Ten Best Films Of All Time list but it is, nevertheless, a fine example of commercial film making at the highest level.

jotix100 Patrick, a Parisian young man, has a secret life he shares with no one: he is a male prostitute. But mind you, he is into women, he has nothing to do with men. Patrick, whose real name is Marco, is married to a hairdresser who has no clue as to what her husband does when he is not working as a house painter. Marco brings home expensive items justifying their provenance as something that he either found, or fell out of a truck. Actually, Marco is not a gigolo, in the sense that he does not make his living from only one woman. He is a male escort that can be persuaded to service the lady paying for his charms.Judith, a television hostess from a shopping network channel, likes the services Patrick provides. She does not bat an eyelash when she pays this man 300 euros for a quickie in an underground parking garage. Her sister Irene, also involved in the shopping venture, understands her sister's needs. Judith ends up falling for Patrick deeply, against her better judgment. Irene discovers happiness with a Native American, Jim, from Arizona, a guest in the sisters' program to help them sell a line of "indian tents".This French film directed and co-written by Josiane Balasko, is filled with clichés. Ms. Balasko has an uncanny way for bringing the type of naughty sex situations long associated with a certain type of French people, which is a myth that should be addressed properly. Her other films, or at least the ones we have seen, Ms. Balasko is not shy about what she decides to bring to the screen. Irene and Jim becoming an item, and Irene going to Arizona to live happily ever after with Jim, struck us as completely false.Nathalie Baye, the star of "Cliente", deserves better. Ms. Baye has been known to play risky roles, such as Judith in this picture, but with better results. Josiane Balasko has done better in other appearances. She has enough sense to leave things up to the star of her movie. Eric Caravaca plays Patrick/Marco. The rest of the cast is not interesting at all.

gradyharp CLIENTE ('A FRENCH GIGOLO') is a bit of French fluff using the subject of the world's oldest profession in an up to date role reversal situation. The 'seller' in this story is a young male construction worker (Marco - Eric Caravaca) who is married to Fanny (isabelle Carré) who owns a beauty salon that is on hard times: Marco's income drops below tolerable and he decides to try being a gigolo so that his wife won't lose her salon. The 'buyer' or client is divorced television personality and executive Judith (Natalie Baye) who satisfies her personal needs by hiring men via the internet for lunchtime trysts. Marco (who uses the name Patrick for his secret profession) connects with Judith and Judith pays him well for his services until Fanny discovers the source of Marco/Patrick's income and threatens to end their marriage. Marco returns to the home front, but returning to his life as a construction worker hardly pays the bills, and as Fanny stands to lose her salon, she encourages Marco to re-enter the life of a gigolo. Judith hires him again and a growing bond results from what should be a business arrangement. How Judith copes with the changes and the decisions Marco/Patrick makes fleshes out this light comedy that contains just enough of a bite to make it realistic. There are other sidebar stories - Judith's sister's her affair with an American Indian, Marco's beloved Grandmother, Fanny's obnoxious live-in sister and Fanny's mother, and the reaction at the television studio by Judith's compatriots and their responses to her life style - that keep the story floating with very humorous and at times very tender diversions. Natalie Baye is her usual stunning self and manages to keep her character from becoming a parody. Josiane Balsako directs her own screenplay based on her own novel and understands the delicacies as well as the humor of the subject matter. It all works well and provides an evening of French comedy with a twist. Grady Harp

Paolo A. Gardinali Pas mal, but so what? There seem to be a novel French cultural obsession with male love for hire. Last year gave us the total fluff of "Hors de Prix," but at least that had Gad Elameh, Audrey Tatou, Nice and Biarritz as a stunning backdrop. Cliente does a little better on the fluff side, with director (and excellent support actress) Josiane Balasko injecting some social concern in an otherwise lightweight comedy. Viewers are however left wondering if the setup was really necessary.The story revolves around Marco, aka Patrick, escort for hire for older rich ladies in search of lunchtime company in Paris. Marco is pushed to the oldest profession by the need to support his wife's budding business, and therefore escape from a difficult cohabitation. When the wife Fanny finds out about the moonlighting, like the say, things will never be the same.In any case Cliente delivers good fun, almost never misses a beat and has a couple of truly hilarious moments.