Elektra Luxx - Lezioni di sesso

Bert Rodriguez (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a fast-talking self-styled porn commentator reporting on 90s porn star Elektra Luxx (Carla Gugino) from his mother's basement. She is famous for a porn with herself as twins but she actually has a twin in prison for real. She is pregnant and out of the business. She's teaching sex class in the community center. Cora (Marley Shelton) admits killing her baby daddy Nick while having sex with him. Cora gives her songs written by Nick about her. In return, Cora wants her to seduce her fiancée Ben (Justin Kirk) to even the score. She tries to accommodate but he wrongly mistakes robber Dellwood Butterworth (Timothy Olyphant) for him. Holly Rocket (Adrianne Palicki) is a former porn partner who is in love with her best friend Bambi Lindberg (Emmanuelle Chriqui).

This is the sequel to 'Women in Trouble'. It tries to be campy with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It tries to be an irreverent take on porn. I'm willing to go with this weirdness for another Sebastian Gutierrez episode. However it becomes rambling messy story. It has no flow. Its quirkiness is not actually funny. The first movie has a certain charm which this one seems to struggle to maintain. I still like Adrianne Palicki and Emmanuelle Chriqui together. Carla Gugino starts out fine but goes downhill. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is too broad and I grow to hate his part of the movie.

This film is about the life of a porn star who quits the entertainment industry because she got pregnant.

"Elektra Luxx" is not really a comedy, but a quirky semi-serious drama. There are three vaguely connected subplots, one about the life of Elektra Luxx, another about a blogger and the third about two female friends of Elektra. While the main subplot of Elektra's life is interesting, the latter two subplots seem to add little to the main story. They seem disconnected and seem to function as fillers. Or, they are just reasons to put some soft porn in.

I find "Elektra Luxx" not so engaging or captivating as it potentially could be. What surprises me the most is the number of big names in the film, such as Joseph Gordon Levitt, Malin Akerman and even a long cameo by Julianne Moore.

"What kind of person are you?" Retiring pregnant porn star Elektra Luxx (Gugino) fills her days by teaching a sexology class. After being approached by a stranger with a tie to her dead ex-boyfriend her day starts to get weird. If you have seen the previews to this then you think you know what the movie is about. You would be wrong. From what I saw I expected a very funny comedy. While this movie does have it's funny moments, at its core it actually a very moving story. A woman who is trying to figure out where her life is is the one everyone seems to go to for advice, help or anything she can provide. Being that the movie is about a porn star there are a few pretty raunchy scenes and dialog, but no where near what you would have expected. There is a shot a a male and female butt and that is the extent of the nudity. The acting and characters are very entertaining that it makes you want to watch and see everyone get what they want. This is not at all what I expected, it was better. Overall a very touching, and somewhat funny story about finding out and being comfortable with who you are. I give it a B+.

Would I watch it again? - I think I actually would.

*Also try - Finding Bliss

Gugino is lovely (not so lovely with a blonde wig) and can act. Gutierrez is a bright guy and can write smart, insightful, and occasionally funny lines. But in this "story" of a former major porn star who's pregnant and giving "how to have sex" courses their talents are wasted. There isn't really much of a story just pieces as an excuse for Gutierrez's musings. Gugino is placed in a couple of unlikely scenarios. A ridiculous and ridiculously articulate porn industry vlogger obsesses about Elektra and is nervous to meet her. Two friends travel to Mexico and meets some guys but one of them has a secret. What does all of this have to do with anything? It doesn't. What's the point? There isn't one.

A shame that big budget movies won't even try to offer something intelligent. And when intelligent folks want to say something it has to be in the context of a movie like Elektra Luxx.

This movie, several steps up from "Women In Trouble" in terms of consistency, further evolves the weird, wonderful and sexy world of the title character. Carla Gugino is so winning as this confused but sometimes wise former lady of porn that it makes you wonder what movies would be like if she got more leading parts. Returning from the first one are the awesome duo of Adrienne Palicki and Emmanuelle Chriqui, who are maybe the most moving part of the story. Joseph Gordon Levitt is hilarious in it too and Malin Akerman, who I wasn't all that keen on from "Watchmen", actually proves she's a very good actress. Sex-positive and lesbian-positive without being preachy or sappy, this is a smart, weird comedy with a ton of personality and GREAT DIALOGUE.