Movie Review ... Fading Gigolo

 

‘Fading Gigolo’ sees a rare acting role for director Woody Allen.  Content in over-seeing films than appearing in them, it usually takes a lot for him to appear in front of cameras.  It’s appropriate he’s chosen ‘Fading Gigolo’ for his on-camera return as it shares similarities with his work.  Exploring humanity’s frailties in a comedic way makes good use of Allen’s scarcely seen thespian skills.

Fioravante (John Turturro) wants to help his long-time friend Murray (Woody Allen).  Continually looking for ways to support his family, Murray’s financial situation is dire.  Hitting on what he thinks is a good idea, he suggests Fioravante become a professional gigolo.  Servicing a ‘select wealthy clientele’, he soon becomes highly in demand.  When meeting Avigal (Vanessa Paradis), his world changes with his new career further complicating their frantic lives.

Written and directed by star Turturro, ‘Fading Gigolo’ is a fair attempt in doing something new.  Using the romantic comedy genre as its base, it explores the character’s issues with intimacy and religion.  All members of the Jewish faith, their actions continually clash with the doctrines by which they have lived.  The culture shock in breaking away from established guidance brings some interesting reactions with Turturro subtly showing these changes.

These serious issues are reasonably conveyed in a generally amusing manner.  ‘Fading Gigolo’s more funnier moments come from Allen who does his usual ‘shy nerdy Jewish guy’ routine well. His performance outshines those of his co-stars who seem somewhat dis-engaged.  Turturro in particular fails to project the necessary charm his role needs in order to seduce the ladies he meets.  This is one of Fading Gigolo’s few down-sides with certain character motivations also being made frustratingly unclear.

Although not in the same league as Allen’s work, ‘Fading Gigolo’ has its moments.  Unlike some comedies it creates genuine amusement about a group of people awkwardly learning the art of seduction.

Movie Review Rating out of 10:  6

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

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TRAILER

SOUNDTRACK

A Clara Bow Moment

 

Trivia Bits 03 May

 

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• The birth name of boxer Muhammad Ali was Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr, born on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky.
• The popular synonym of the dinosaur known as the Apatosaurus is Brontosaurus and is thought to have lived from about 154 to 150 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period.
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Quotables 03 May

 

A Claire Trevor Moment

 

Trivia Bits 02 May

 

• The Lepcha people are found in Asia and are among the indigenous peoples of Sikkim, numbering between 30,000 and 50,000 with also being found in western and south-western Bhutan, Tibet, Darjeeling, the Ilam District of eastern Nepal, and in the hills of West Bengal.
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Quotables 02 May

 

A Christopher Walken Moment

 

Trivia Bits 01 May

 

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Quotables 01 May

 

A Cher Moment

 

Trivia Bits 30 April

 

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Quotables 30 April

 

A Charlie Chaplin Moment

 

Trivia Bits 29 April

 

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Quotables 29 April

 

A Cary Grant Moment

 

Trivia Bits 28 April

 

• In relation to sports organization, the letters IIHF stands for International Ice Hockey Federation, founded in 1908, is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 72 members.
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Quotables 28 April

 

A Carole Lombard Moment

 

Trivia Bits 27 April

 

• The discovery of the J/Ψ particle in 1974 earned Burton Richter from Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and Samuel Ting at MIT Brookhaven National Laboratory the Nobel prize as it confirmed the idea that baryonic matter (such as the nuclei of atoms) is made out of quarks.
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• Swedish author, Astrid Lindren, invented the character Pippi Longstocking.
• The X-Files is a paranormal – thriller franchise that generally focused on paranormal or unexplained happenings with the first franchise release—simply titled The X-Files—debuted in September 1993 and ended in May 2002 with its characters and slogans e.g., "The Truth Is Out There", "Trust No One", "I Want to Believe" became pop culture touchstones in the 1990s and originally followed Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and their work in the FBI office dedicated to the X-Files.
• When Lilian Bland built an aircraft in 1910 in Carnmoney in Northern Ireland, she used her aunt's ear-trumpet and a whisky bottle to feed petrol to the engine. The Bland Mayfly is credited as the first aeroplane to be designed and constructed by a woman.
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• Models Inc. is an American prime time soap opera that aired during the 1994-1995 television season starring Australian actor, musician and presenter Cameron Daddo as Brian Peterson who was a photographer dating supermodel Teri Spencer.
• The 1999 novel The Hunter is about efforts to find the last remaining Tasmanian Tiger and was the first novel by Julia Leigh, Australian novelist, film director and screenwriter.
• Johannes Kepler, a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, first published his laws of planetary motion in 1592 in the Mysterium Cosmographicum (The Cosmographic Mystery). This was modified in a later publication in 1621 when Kepler published an expanded second edition of Mysteriumdetailing in footnotes the corrections and improvements he had achieved.
• Wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s full surname is Spencer-Churchill.
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• The Laccadive Sea is located in the Indian Ocean and borders India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka.
• Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott was a Scottish-born Australian rock musician, best known for being the lead singer and lyricist of Australian hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. His grave site has become a cultural landmark; with the National Trust of Australia listing his grave the list of classified heritage places as it is reportedly the most visited grave in Australia.
• Great Britain is made up of the here constituent countries of England, Scotland and Wales.
• The Erta Ale a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of north-eastern Ethiopia, the most active volcano in Ethiopia.
• Ratel is an animal that is better known as a Honey Badger and is a species of mustelid native to Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian Subcontinent.

Quotables 27 April