Review of Fading Gigolo (2013) by Mavrinac D — 05 Sep 2014

"It is a dreary and cringe-inducing comedy starring Woody Allen and John Turturro".

Movie Review: Fading Gigolo.

Date Viewed: May 28 2014.

Written and Directed By John Turturro (Passione and Romance & Cigarettes).

Starring: John Turturro, Woody Allen, Sofia Vergara, Sharon Stone, Vanessa Paradis, Liev Schreiber, Bob Balaban, Aida Turturro and Max Casella.

"Fading Gigolo" was like watching an uncomfortable broadway play, it is a dreary comedy that falls flat. This idea could've had potential and it does have a great cast but "Fading Gigolo" is one of the most goofy and misguided comedies I've seen in years. Most of the blame goes to writer and director John Turturro who also stars in it.

Turturro plays Fioravante, a middle-aged man who decides to become a gigolo. He and his friend Murray (Woody Allen) are short on money and Murray's bookstore has just been closed. After Murray agrees to be his pimp, Fioravante soon has affairs with a wealthy doctor (Sharon Stone), her best friend (Sofia Vergara) and Avigal (Vanessa Paradis), the widow of a Hassidic rabbi. Then we get a subplot about a neighborhood patrol man named Dovi (Liev Schreiber), he begins to get suspicious about Murray's activities and he follows him.

Dovi is in love with Avigal but she's not interested in him. Fioravante and Avigal go out several more times but he is summoned to do a threesome with the doctor and her best friend. After the recent headlines about him and his daughter, It is just uncomfortable to watch Woody Allen play an 80-year-old pimp. John Turturro is a great talent but even his character is not likable. Would you pay a several thousand bucks to sleep with a 50-year-old man? "Fading Gigolo" tries to go sweet at the end but it's almost impossible to look at how tedious it is. Liev Schreiber isn't very good as the neighborhood watchman but at least the female characters stand out.

This Don Juan tale is a complete mess. You have all of this talent and "Fading Gigolo" still doesn't work? Why didn't Woody Allen rewrite this clunker?