What a load of shite this was, but it’s another ‘must see’ movie off my bucket list.
The premise is ludicrous, as is almost everything that takes place. And it’s pure cringe, from him taking a streetwalker into a fantasy hotel, the wincing reactions of the staff and the guests, the squirming montage of her on Rodeo Drive trying on the outfits to ‘Pretty Woman’ (how clever), to the tedious board meetings.
And the bloke who played George Costanza from Seinfeld is in it and he is rubbish.
I mean, look at that fucking poster! Cool as milk, as is the movie. The script is a bit too melodramatic and Schrader is clearly a little too much obsessed with the cinema of Robert Bresson – the ending is almost shot-for-shot Pickpocket (1959). But the movie is pure sleek, art deco deluxe. And to top it off you’ve got Blondie and Giorgio Moroder on soundtrack duties.
Peak Richard Gere. No one plays the narcissist as well as he can.
Wanderings and ... wonderings. 