Movie Review: The Girlfriend Experience

 

The Girlfriend Experience was a movie by Steven Soderbergh and starring now ex-pornographic actress Sasha Grey, although she was still performing in porn when the movie was made. It is about a woman named Christine (who uses the name Chelsea) who is being interviewed about her life as a high-end escort, and the effect that it has on her personal life, including her real relationship with her boyfriend. It is also a period piece that works in the financial crisis as her clients are finding it harder and harder to pay for her services, and she and her boyfriend are worried about having enough money to maintain their lifestyle.

This is definitely not a film with a lot of sex or even a lot of nudity in it. Grey is topless in a handful of scenes, but that is really it. It is more about the overall life of a call girl. There was much more sex in the series adaptation that aired on Starz. The movie most definitely has an indie film feel, and it is not fast-paced at all. The character of Christine was written to be very reserved with a lot of emotional barriers, so Grey really was not able to show the personality that she does in her YouTube videos.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, there are two cuts of the movie, the theatrical version and the unrated cut (which does not really add much at all to the movie, and unlike what some may think does not have any salacious sex in it). There is a commentary track on the movie with Grey and Soderbergh, a very short making-of featurette, and a few trailers for other movies.

Overall, the movie is good, but not great. It can definitely be a bit slow at times, but it does have a lot of great visuals of NY, which do look really good in HD. Grey was very young (just 21) when the movie was made, and she definitely gives off the vibe of trying to act like she's more in control of her life than she actually is. Whether this was true for her real life or just as the character she was portraying was hard to tell, but either way, it worked. It is not a movie that is going to appeal to everybody. But if you are a fan of indie movies and don't mind a slower, documentary-like style, then this is worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Girlfriend Experience Season 1

 

The Girlfriend Experience is a series adapted from the movie of the same name directed by Steven Soderbergh. Soderbergh serves as a producer on the series, the first season of which starred Riley Keough as Christine, a second-year law student in Chicago who is also clerking at a large patent litigation firm. She is having trouble juggling life as a law student and law clerk (which is definitely a real thing) and expenses (which is not as much a real thing for even a law clerk doing patent litigation at a large Chicago law firm), and decides, after a discussion with a friend to start working as a high-end escort. This is really where you have to suspend your disbelief as there is no way that any law student clerking in a litigation firm would ever have time to also work as an escort, although the show does write in the fact that she has a hard time juggling everything. Plus, if a law student were to get caught being an illegal escort, they would never even be able to sit for the bar exam, much less be allowed to practice law.

The story is essentially about Christine's highs and lows as an escort, as she loves the money she gets and the lifestyle it affords, but unravels as she has to deal with clients pushing boundaries, and the effect it is having on her school and job. As the series evolves, she becomes less and less likable, and by the end, it is hard to have any sympathy for the character as she just becomes outright manipulative. Keough (who of course is Elvis Pressley's granddaughter) does a good job in the role, but she is definitely not the greatest actress ever. She could definitely be a bit wooden in this role (although I do think that was, at least to some extent, how the character was written), but she gets better as the character of Christine unravels.

For those who get the blu-ray set, there are a few very short (two minutes or less) behind-the-scenes featurettes. There are no commentary tracks on any episodes, deleted scenes, or the like. The show looks great in HD, with some really good shots of the city.

Overall, the season is very good. There is, of course, a lot of sex and nudity in the show (much more than was actually in the movie) so it is not a family-friendly series by any means. The sex scenes are definitely more than a quick boob or butt shot as well. For example, toward the end of the season, there is a shot of Christine nude on the bed with (fake, of course) cum on her tits. While there is no x-rated graphic sex, it definitely is more than just the "regular" sex and nudity that you get in r-rated movies or the tamer TV-MA shows. That said, it is well-written and well-acted and is definitely worth checking out.