More Than a Whore

Sean Michaels, as actor and filmmaker, wastes the opportunity to deliver a convincing portrait of a sex worker. Instead he is quite smug, depicting himself as a Black version of "American Gigolo", caught up in a very poor melodrama.

Sean plays Louis Duval, a slick, smooth-talking gigolo of the title. He has the glamorous wardrobe, snazzy sports car and is rolling in dough servicing hot women. But, and this is where the video turned me off completely, he is soul-searching about his life choices. What does he really want to do with his life? When will he give up this whoring lifestyle?

Watching this poorly made video in 2025 (lousy sound recording and music, plus subpar acting), with hindsight we know that Sean has been saving away in the sex trade for 37 years, so that introspection by his character Louis didn't extend to his real life.

The screenplay is awful: Louis is setup for murder by someone he's wronged but the details of the frame-up and the chronology of events is way off. In fact, the story here is so flimsy that all we're left with is a glamorized look at prostitution, in this case from a male prostitte's vantage point. In particular, the character of Louis's boss, played by Sydney St. James, is not credible at all.

Like many of his famous peers, such as Manuel Ferrara, James Deen and Lexington Steele, Michaels has directed and/or produced hundreds of porn vehicles for himself, surrounded by adoring, beautiful ladies. Besides earning his keep, they are ridiculously self-serving ego trips.