La Double Vie de Samantha

For the ultimate girls' night, rent the Lifetime movie The Client List starring one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, Jennifer Love Hewitt. It was extremely successful during its initial airing and spawned a television spinoff (but with new characters and supporting cast members), and Jennifer was even nominated for a Golden Globe. It was very well-deserved - she did a lot more than just prance around in lingerie. Complete with a fantastic Texas accent, she shows frustration, desperation, disgust, self-loathing, fear, and sorrow. She doesn't usually take on roles like this, so it's really great to see her show her acting chops. Finally, she's more than just a pretty face.

But what a face! One wonderful thing about Jennifer Love Hewitt movies is you know she's always going to look beautiful. She'll be all dolled up in makeup and false eyelashes, show off her gorgeous, thick, wavy hair, and wear beautiful, figure-hugging clothes - unlike some beautiful women who continually grunge themselves up in their movies (Keira Knightley, I'm looking at you). So in The Client List, you'll see her parade in a series of low-cut summer dresses, and yes, also cute lingerie sets while she works at her "massage parlor".

Another refreshing aspect of this movie is the way it doesn't glamorize prostitution. Richard Gere is not one of Jennifer's clients. She services middle-aged, unattractive married men, and she hates every aspect of her job except the cash salary. There's nothing worse than Hollywood encouraging impressionable young girls to make the wrong choices, and this movie shows that Jennifer's last resort is a bad one. This is a cautionary tale, not a charming how-to guide of how to become Mrs. Wall Street. I would definitely recommend this movie to watch with a bunch of your girlfriends or sisters. It's fun, smart, and girly without being unrealistic.

Actually a good movie, especially if you like Jennifer Love Hewitt. It kept me entertained and I didn't find any parts to be boring. Drama, action, excitement, heartbreak, humor, this movie has it all! All actors and actresses play memorable roles. A plausible story, based on a real life incident. Hewitt does a great job playing the lead character, displaying all types of emotion, and of course looking as beautiful as ever! Being a male I was expecting this to be a depressing "chick-flick" tear jerker, especially since it's on Lifetime, but instead I found myself entertained through out the whole movie! Here's hoping Jennifer Love Hewitt continues to put out projects such as this. Highly recommended!

I must say that I found this movie highly amusing and entertaining. Americans are bound to criticise it but the concept of the story strikes at the heart of family life and when the chips are down and you are broke, a woman will do anything to feed her children and keep the family home. That is what Samantha does in the story line and full credit to her. the film is good in my opinion because it treats the subject in a light hearted way (a bit like Stepford Wives if you can imagine) and is an eye opener for us all, there is no bad language and actually no sex either, given the nature of the film. It is not a compelling film and of course it is a wee bit predictable but it should be seen and enjoyed.

I went into this just looking to kill a couple of hours, but really it isn't bad for what it is. Yes, some of the Texas traits are stretched ("hotter than a fur coat in Marfa"), but not as much as most Texas movies and some of the people and scenery actually felt familiar. (I'm from Texas.)

I found the main character to be believable. She was not portrayed as a victim or as a demon, but as someone who made a bad decision in difficult times and then continued that bad decision due to her own flaws. Watching her when she feels guilt seems very real to me. Her mother was also a fully developed character and her friends and some of the other characters had some moving scenes. I thought it was well acted and well paced. Two of the last scenes were hard to believe and were quick reminders that this was a TV movie.

Hewitt's character Sam makes passing nods to her "Christian Beliefs" whilst justifying her behavior as the only think she can do to help her family. Apparently in today's America helping your family means buying them stuff. Sam's love for her children barely extends beyond buying stuff for them which is probably where America is going wrong in the first place. Hewitt's performance center's around her unusual skills at satisfying her clients which apparently is the only thing her client's wives want to know in a later scene. Her husbands behavior is just as bizarre when he discovers what it is his wife is actually doing at her "Day Job". When did men start crying instead of doing what is more natural? The characters around Sam are just not that believable and even less so when Sam's mother says "it is partly my fault". When did a mother ever say that? The final punishment for Sam;s behavior and her redemption are both as ridiculous as the almost Disneyesque "Only for Mature viewers" plot line. if this is the 80's someone should pinch me so I can wake up. This has to have been written by someone who does not have a sex life.