Amante a Domicílio

Woody Allen only acts in the picture but the John Turturro directed and stared film feels like the movie Allen never made.

The title Fading Gigolo is perfect as it reflects Turturro who plays the gigolo, a man who could use a little more cash in his pocket so with the help of his friend played by Allen, he becomes an escort to some high class women looking for love and affection.

Personally I think Mr. Tutturro cast himself as the gigolo just so he can show off how good he looks for his age. Of course he's got nothing on Sharon Stone who was so sexy in this film.

And of course I can never leave out Sofia Vergara, who plays a sexy vixen who openly embraces the idea of the gigolo

Though I find Woody Allen charming, I'm glad that his was a John Turturro film. The Director and star adds his known quiet strength to the movie that I have seen in other films.

John Turturro did a good job both as a director and as an actor: I appreciated both his touching and amusing attitude towards the subject and his heartfelt interpretation as Fioravante. When the umpteenth love story seems to arise in a New York apartment, the delicacy of sentiments wraps every situation, with a touching and somehow magic vision of loneliness which releases a very heartwarming sensation. His character is magnetic to women, and indeed he can appeal the female public, he has that courtesy, that delicacy, that simplicity which attracts women, he looks like a man of ancient times, he is capable of looking into a woman's eye, to listen to them, to understand and appraise them without too many words, but simply standing by them. And in the end, nothing really happens, simply because nothing is needed to happen, according to a delicate and almost prudish attitude towards love which never abandons the picture till the end. Allen as a women-recruiter is funny and obsessive as only Allen can be, and the comedy on the whole owns much to him when some comic and ironic style makes us smile, and when the charm of walking along New York streets makes one look forward to being there.

Here is a film that is pleasantly unique and special. A film that is a bit different, probably my own misunderstanding, than advertised from the trailers. It's not a bad thing, the trailers brought me to the film, and the film kept my curiosity for the entire length. I liked it quite a bit unsurprising to you dear reader, as you've already seen my rating. The film was written & directed by it's main star, John Turturro, and what a grand achievement it is. Also starring in supporting roles and fantastic to say the least; Sharon Stone, Sofia Vergara, Liev Schreiber, Vanessa Paradis, and New York's own, film legend Woody Allen. I found while watching this film, and though the characters played by Turturro & Allen were enjoyable to watch, I was fascinated mostly with Paradis' character and her story. I'm not Jewish myself, so I'm very naive to the culture and their religious practices, and found it a interesting insight to a, I'm sure, small portion of what it may be like to be of Jewish faith. Though, and I said I was naive to the culture, it may not be entirely true. With that said, I found a film that surprised me positively and thus was quite better than I expected.

John Turturro proofed that he can handle a light comedy as an actor as well as a director. It is easy to see how he got Woody Allen to appear in his film because the story could be by Woody Allen himself and the figure Allen plays sounds as familiar as it can be. Even the Jewish neighborhood fits very well.

The movie starts out with no waste of time as a Woody Allen-style comedy without overdoing it. Allen coaxes Turturro, who works in a flower shop to become a hired lover for rich middle aged ladies. They share the money he gets and Allen spends it for the black! family he lives with. This partnership works out pretty fast and quite successful. But then the story does a sudden turn into deeper emotions when Allen connects him with the widow Avigal who is a devoted Jewess who after two years still mourns her dead husband...

Although many scenes begin as a comedy some end on a very touching note. John Turturro knows when it is best to let the audience guess what will come next. Although a bit of a fairy tale story he never completely leaves the bounds of reality, especially in the end of the film. I left the theater with a smile. (seen at the Viennale - Vienna International Film Festival)

This has all the hallmarks of a Woody Allen metropolitan comedy (with Woody Allen in a lead role) - and John Turturro has written and directed it very much in the style of, say, ANNIE HALL. It's a character-driven morality play about love and sex in the city, with the feel of an upscale repertory company. And it's got Sharon Stone, still just as foxy as when she played Catherine Tramell in BASIC INSTINCT; the notion that a middle-aged man would get paid $1,000 to climb between her sheets is deliciously improbable (and very appealing to this middle-aged viewer).

As we start another summer of CGI-heavy 3D blockbusters, FADING GIGOLO is a welcome return to They-don't-make-movies-like-that-any-more. Luckily, they still do. Great acting, a crisp sophisticated script, smooth direction, a terrific score and a bevy of gorgeous women: 90 minutes of unalloyed joy. Cinema at its best.