nzpedals So, you thought Mick Jagger was just a floppy-mouthed, flamboyant rock-star? Think again. Here, he shows that he is also a very good actor. Untrained, so it seems, so perhaps all that stage prancing about is also acting? Here, he is quiet, suave, measured, and totally convincing!Byron, (Andy Garcia) works for an advertising agency, but when he writes a novel, he tells the boss, Go... yourself". But then finds that his book is not selling very well. The first scene, where he persuades a lady to buy his book is one of the best-ever first scenes you will ever see.Then he rents a room to write in that is away from the distractions of a beautiful wife and child. Alas, writers block stalls him. His agent and publisher are not very helpful. He meets Luther (Jagger) from an adjacent office, who offers him a job. Luther runs an escort agency, catering for wealthy women who need a male, for whatever... (rotten job, but someone has to do it?, or... nice work if you can get it?).One of the clients is Andrea Alcott (Olivia Williams) whose husband is older, dying but accepts that his wife needs... company and so, when he comes across them... quietly turns and leaves the bedroom.Mr Alcott is a very successful writer, but Byron finds fault with his latest book. After some 'words', Alcott agrees to rewrite it, with Byron's help, and they agree to share the royalties. Alas, nothing is written down. So, after Alcott dies, things change.At the end, he writes another book and has another bookshop experience, this also is very good, and helps tie the movie together.Williams is so elegant, so real. An outstanding performance. All the cast are excellent too, and there are some especially good scenes with memorable dialogue.

zyxek Do you feel that films about novelists are inherently intelligent, and that watching them makes you better than those who watch "Hollywood garbage" that "shoved down our throats"? Does a pre-requisite for your favorite independent films involve no one ever having really heard of them?In that case, this is your movie. For the remaining 98.6% of the film-watching population: don't waste your time.The story is of a struggling writer whose critically acclaimed thriller about Hitler's secret progeny never quite took off. But he and his hyper-supportive wife quote the reviews to each other during sex (oh, wait I get it! Critics are prostituting themselves to the writers they admire: that's f-ing deep!) His next novel is about migrant workers, and it's apparently depressing. We learn this because his thick publisher explains that people riding buses to work don't want to read those kinds of downers. Since when are low-income commuters a key demographic for literary fiction?So he inexplicably becomes an escort, with Mick Jagger as his pimp. This is not nearly as amusing as it sounds. In fact, it's all very serious and ironic, and oh so very f-ing deep.The plot continues to take ridiculous, illogical turns. The farther you get in the plot, the less removed you are from reality. When it comes down to it, the screenplay is probably among the worse ever produced.

Lee Zebold As necessity is the mother of invention, this story brings us to the essence of a man who will do anything to provide for his family, even if it means risking its demise. There are very provocative truths brought forth exposing a man's desperation and men's failure at self respect making them impotent. It reveals the grist that men share which drives them to achieve against all odds.Surprise actor, Mick Jagger, does an excellent job with his character, showing an ability never seen in his normal singing life. Andy Garcia is the core character, and with style, and respect to the struggle, handles the part as a pro.

ninja_superstar-1 The Whore! The Whore! The Whore! Ever wondered why men become gigolos, or why women become prostitutes? If so, then this movie is for you! And speaking of prostitutes and gigolos, Mick Jagger shows up and looks rather dandy for a hideously ugly man.Other than the plot and fact that this movie was made, the worse part of this movie is the abuse of neo-noir lighting/color, voice-over narrative, and jazzy muzak. It's embarrassing, because in most film noir, a woman outsmarts/outsexes an idiot man and then she pays for it in the end. Some of this film noir formula is there, but it's so utterly undermined by the film's moronic premise and overall crappiness that I could not help but rage against my television.In fact, I looked over to my girlfriend 25 minutes into the movie (we hadn't said a word since it started) and said, "This sucks, huh?" "It's getting that way," she replied. The only pleasure I could take was predicting the train wreck before it happened. And when it did happen, I was sad to witness Andy Garcia's last attempt at acting.