Um Caso Complicado

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.

On March 14th in Austin, TX, I headed into the World Premiere of "Elektra Luxx" at the Paramount Theater and boy was I in for a treat. I was so pumped just being at SXSW but sitting a few seats away from me were Malin Akerman, Carla Gugino, Emma Bell, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and director/writer Sebastian Gutierrez. About an hour into the film, the worst thing that could ever happen to a director happened...the movie screen went blank during the world premiere. Within a few minutes, Sebastian Gutierrez appeared on stage doing a one man show entertaining the audience to the highest level possible. After about 20 mins, the cast came on stage to help fill the time. This is when my brilliant ass decided to ask the most awkward question to ask a filmmaker period, let alone during a chaotic screening. I began to ask "how do you make a sequel to a film that no one saw the original of?" After that sentence came out of my mouth, I actually felt really bad for asking it because I didn't realize how harsh it sounded but luckily for me Sebastian Gutierrez decided to answer it honestly and poke fun at me a bit in the process. The guy is awesome. I have met a ton of directors and celebrities and he ranks up there as the coolest guy I met in showbiz. He just seemed like the kind of guy who really valued his fans and I truly admire the man now. But as the 45 minute mark drew near, Janet Pierson let everyone know we would not be able to see the ending of "Elektra Luxx" tonight as the projector could not be fixed.

About two weeks ago, I was browsing online and came across the Gen Art Film Festival and to my surprise "Elektra Luxx" was playing at the festival. I knew I had to get tickets and surely enough just a few days later I did. So finally on Friday April 9, 2010...I entered the theater took my seat right across from Mr. Gutierrez again and shortly the film began...

"Elektra Luxx" is the sequel to the film, "Women in Trouble." For the most part, this film focuses around the life of "Elektra Luxx (played by the beautiful and very talented Carla Gugino) and her retirement from the porn industry. In the film, Elektra is trying to just live a normal life by teaching a class called "How to have sex like a porn star." Shortly into the film, her past comes back to haunt her as she gets a surprise visit from Cora (Marley Shelton) who has some information about her husband. The film only continues to get more interesting as it goes along.. A lot of laughs and some dramedy filled moments ensue...

"Elektra Luxx" has a cast of some of the most beautiful women in showbiz and surprisingly all of them are great actresses as well. Carla Gugino's lead role as Elektra is not only fun but a very good performance. Her character isn't as simple as you may think and Gugino plays the role with such passion that you just enjoy every moment she is on screen. Marley Shelton plays Cora and is very good even though she has very limited screen time. Emmanuelle Chriqui is always pleasure to watch as Bambi. Her role of playing the all business & no fun girl perfectly offsets her partner in crime Holly Rocket played by Adrianne Palicki. Holly Rocket is is my favorite character in the film as well as the funniest. She seems dumb on the surface but if you actually pay attention to her character, she really isn't and that's what I love about it. Joseph Gordon Levitt is great in the film as Burt Rodriguez. Levitt steals the show every moment he is on screen. Malin Akerman's character Trixie isn't in the film all that much but for what little screen time she has, her character looks like it's going to show some promise in the next film. Overall, everyone does an amazing job even the host of people I haven't listed but these are the main ones.

Sebastian Gutierrez pulled a "Woody Allen" so to speak and directed, wrote, and produced the film. He is truly great at doing all of those things. I guess having done a lot of writing for "Mainstream Hollywood" it is nice to see him create something more independent. After having seen two different Q&A sessions with Sebastian, I would have to say that he is one of my most driven and passionate directors in the biz. He loves film and he loves his cast and it truly shows. One thing I have to mention is that everyone in the cast pointed out was that Sebastian treats everyone like family and that shows. These films "Women in Trouble" and "Elektra Luxx," are his babies and while some may not appreciate them for what they are, I really enjoy the films thus far and can't wait to see the final chapter "Women in Ecstasy" next year. Great Job Sebastian! I applaud you and support your work. I would love to be in or work on one of your films one day.

Bottom Line: "Elektra Luxx" isn't for everyone and with that being said you have to have a good appreciation for fun independent films in order to appreciate the film. Horny guys seeing this film hoping to see a lot of sex will surely be disappointed. This movie is very much a character driven film that tells a lot of interesting stories. There are a lot of laughs to be had but also quite a few heartfelt moments thrown in as well. "Elektra Luxx" is a movie that is definitely geared towards a mature and smart audience. It has a beautiful and talented cast and I highly recommend it.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Elektra Luxx" is a 9/10.

The famous porn star Elektra Luxx (Carla Gugino) has retired from the adult film industry since she is pregnant and now she survives giving sex class to married women. One day, the flight attendant Cora (Marley Shelton) meets Elektra after class and tells that she killed the rock star Nick Chapel, who is the father of her unborn child, and stolen lyrics that he had written about Elektra. Cora offers the lyrics to Elektra provided she seduces her fiancé to compensate the one night stand she had with another man. Elektra is reluctant to accept but she agrees in the end and everything goes wrong.

Elektra also meets her former colleague Holly Rocket (Adrianne Palicki), who has been expelled from the film industry, and she tells that she is traveling to Mexico with her girlfriend Bambi Lindberg (Emmanuelle Chriqui). Holly has serious difficulties in communication but along their journey she discloses a secret to Bambi that will affect their lives.

Meanwhile the blogger Bert Rodriguez (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a great fan of Elektra Luxx and he posts articles about the adult industry. He has a crush on the attendant Trixie (Malin Akerman) has difficulties to tell his feelings for her.

"Elektra Luxx" is a complete mess, with a story that is unfunny for a comedy; too silly for a drama or romance; and too well-behaved for a erotic or soft porn movie. The good cast is wasted in a weird and numb plot and surprisingly there are reviews promoting this terrible flick. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Um Caso Complicado" ("A Complicated Case")

"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

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.