Meet Monica Velour

Kim Cattrall flexes her acting muscles in a whole new direction with much success in this surprisingly original film expertly written and directed by Keith Bearden. Dustin Ingram is the ideal combination of nerd and charm as Tobe Holbert, while Brian Dennehy is fun as Tobe's father (aka "Pop Pop"). Keith David provides a breath of fresh air from all the quirkiness as Claude, an amiable and wise character. I saw this at an opening in Chicago which was attended by Dustin Ingram and included a Skyped interview with Keith Bearden post-showing. I was delighted to find that Bearden is just as much of a cool character in real life as the ones he created for the screen, while Ingram maintains a genuine sweetness and vulnerability. Meet Monica Velour is definitely a well spent 98 minutes.

Looked at as a whole, Meet Monica Velour is missing some key elements that would make audience members walk away saying, "Wow." The cinematography reminds me of riding in the car with my 85 year old grandfather when I was a kid...it feels like you're not even moving. The director seems to have been too much of a rule-follower, as if he was following class notes in numerical order. However, the cast was wisely chosen and the poor technical issues of the film can be overlooked because of the commitment of the actors. It's possible to get lost in a story, to forget about the poor technical issues, if the story is well told - that's what happened in Meet Monica Velour. In particular, Kim Cattrall is so convincing in this lead role, so enveloped in this character, that one might begin to wonder if and why Hollywood shut her out so early. This film proves that they could have had another Meryl Streep on their hands, and they let her go. I'm certain the producers of Meet Monica Velour are thankful that they did.

Watched this because I'm a Kim Cattrall fan. She shows she is a versatile and talented actress who can do much more than just Samantha. She can play anything from sophisticated Manhattanite to even trailer trash former porn star. She even lets all the wrinkles show.

Her co-star Ingram is a bit too goofy looking to be watchable. Makes the movie a bit second rate. Could have chosen a more appealing nerd geek type.

Unfortunately the story is more painful than touching.

Overall watch it if you are Kim Cattrall fan, otherwise it isn't a must see.

Wow, who knew? "Meet Monica Velour" turned out to be a rather unique and charming comedy unlike most other teenage comedies. And while it may not be the type of comedy that will have you laughing your heart out, it is the type of movie that sinks right into the heart and sticks with you.

The story is about 17 year old Tobe Hobert (played by Dustin Ingram), an awkward teenager who travels across USA in an old hot dog vendor van to see a rare performance by Monica Velour (played by Kim Cattrall), his favorite porn star from the 1980s. An odd friendship blossoms between the smitten teenager and the struggling former porn actress.

It is the odd and unique storyline that makes "Meet Monica Velour" such an enjoyable movie, and the permeated sense of real life as well. But also the amazing performances by Dustin Ingram and Kim Cattrall.

"Meet Monica Velour" was really a surprise of a movie, and I was genuinely entertained by the story and performances.

If you haven't seen this fabulous movie, then you should really take yourself an hour and a half to watch "Meet Monica Velour". This movie scores a rock-solid seven out of ten stars from me.

Although some of my colleagues were a bit shocked by the subject matter I was extremely satisfied with this dark comedy film with feeling. It was truthful yet entertaining (mostly due to the Cast & heartfelt writing). Dustin being a newcomer allowed me to believe this was a real boy struggling with the issues of growing up under his slightly unusual circumstances. Kim Cattrall was wonderful and her chemistry with Dustin was unbelievable! I would love to know if she and he were long time friends and she had something to do with choosing him as Tobe. Brian Dennehy was strong yet short lived in this film. I believe there could've been an entire movie in itself based on POP-POP and TOBE'S relationship and home life. (Maybe an HBO Series). Ha! I'm very excited that Kim has shed the "Sex In The City" suit for a more "real" dark character and with a new star on its way in the form of Dustin Ingram, this movie will be a long lived tribute to his start (although he has plenty of younger Disney & Nickelodeon credits). I highly recommend going and seeing it in April 2011 when ANCHOR BAY is supposed to release it nation wide! And don't let the taboo of the word "Porn Star" keep you from enjoying a delightful movie about young love and maturing in a current world of motherless and fatherless households with our children being raised by the media. Please support this work of art written and directed by Kieth Bearden.