Pride in Pranksterism

A bunch of us went to La Casa Gelato the other night. They have 218 flavours, including weird-ass stuff like cinnamon, durian, curry, in addition to more traditional fare like chocolate or maple walnut. They'll let you sample the wares since nobody wants a cone-full of a flavour that they end up not liking.

K walks up to her mom hadriel. "Try this, mommy," she says.

hadriel puts the spoonful of gelati offered into her mouth.

K says, "It's wasabi flavoured!"

That was an excellently well-timed prank on the eleven-year old's part. She'll soon learn that grown-ups have long memories though.

The Girlfriend Experience

So I finally got to see this yesterday. It was a lot more boring and irritating then I imagined it would be.

First the bad stuff. Steven Soderburg needs to remember that avant garde cinema techniques are all well and good, but when they get in the way of the story, they're to be avoided. The movie is one week in the life of a high-end escort. It's not about time travelling aliens or people with wierd only-exists-in-fiction types of amnesia. Thus shooting it in the temperaly mixed style ala Pulp Fiction is not necessary and actually quite interesting. The only thing I can think of is the director was trying to hide the fact that there isn't really a plot or ending.

However, despite the lack of plot, there was a few worthwhile things in this film. First, stuff does happen and - if you can unwind the tangled narrative - you can see the very subtle center point of the movie. It's a moment of shattered confidence from which all subsequent bad decisions flow.

The best thing about the movie is new-to-the-mainstream Sasha Grey, currently one of the big names in porn.

Ms. Grey can act. And not in a damning "can act well, for a porn star" way either. Her performance is subtle and low key. In fact she might be the right porn actress at the right time in history to actually make the leap into the mainstream - her soon-to-be-past career no more noteworthy then Keanu Reeves Coke commercials.

There are also a couple of stand-out scenes that will stay with you for awhile, mostly encounters with her clients. Be advised that there is no actual sex in the movie and only a small amount of nudity. If you want to see Sasha Grey having sex, their's far easier ways to do it.

The creepiest scenes involve a would-be escort "reviewer" that manages to use consensual sex to violate the main character physically, intellectually and emotionally. I wanted to take a shower after watching it. The fact that we don't see the main character do so tells me that the director is confident enough in his abilities that he doesn't have to use the sledgehammer.

The escort reviewer comes off as the worst of a bad lot amongst the clientelle. I'm not sure I can think of a positive human character in this movie - everyone is broken in some way and no compensatory good traits are in evidence.

If you're a fan of Soderberg's weird films, or cinéma vérité then check it out. If you're interested in the stunt casting of a well-known porn star, check it out. Otherwise stay home.