“Fading
Gigolo” has Sharon Stone, crossing and uncrossing her legs in a very
short skirt--anyone remember “Basic Instinct”?--along with Sofia Vergara
showing ALL her assets. It has a threesome between the two women and
John Turturro, who also directed and wrote the screenplay, and a gigolo
(Turturro) along with a pimp, the latter being Woody Allen. With  all
this you would expect a lot of sex or what goes on behind the ‘business’
but the sexist scene is a kiss in a park in Brooklyn with Turturro
giving the kiss. (Hey he wrote, directed, stars in the film--he can do
whatever he wants!)

Hidden in all this is a sweet love story
triangle between Fioravante/Virgil (Turturro),  Avigal (Vanessa Paradis)
and Dovi ((Liev Schreiber). Avigal has been a Hasidic widow for 2
years, is the mother of 6 children and is in a religious Jewish sect
where women are invisible. Dovi is an officer in a Brooklyn Hasidic
neighbor watch with special cars and uniforms who has loved Avigal for
years but it is Fioravante who brings her alive with innocent touches
and that kiss.

The setup of Turturro and Allen as gigolo and pimp
is quickly set up but really isn’t necessary to the film except with
Stone and Vergara added to that part of the story extends the film long
enough to be a featured film. Whether Turturro would be considered sexy
enough to be a gigolo, get paid $1,000 and get Stone plus Vergara I’ll
leave up to you. He is sweet enough to get Paradis’s attention.

Vanessa
Paradis steals the movie from all with Liev Schreiber as the sincere
suitor who doesn’t know how to approach the woman he loves.

Instead
of the whole ‘sex for sale’ idea if more time had been spent on
defining how a ‘trial’ can be held and the procedure that takes place,
along with explaining more of  Avigal’s life it would have been a better
film.

This is a small ‘independent’ ‘art’ film that shows a
woman becoming alive because she receives attention that she had never
gotten even with 6 kids. It might also spark more interest in the
Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn.

“Fading Gigolo” is a film
that would be better being seen on the small screen but should be seen
on a movie screen to see Vanessa Paradis’s face and acting!