Elektra Luxx

Sebastian Gutierrez's dialogue oriented 'Elektra Luxx' is somewhat better than his next film 'Girl Walks Into A Bar', at least in terms of writing, especially where dialogue is concerned. It's wittier, fresher and funnier and fits well with the situations. 'Elektra Luxx' also has a film-noire style feel to it. The story of the title character juxtaposes with two others: one about Luxx's 'diehard' and desperate fanboy blogger Bert who's trying to move on with life post Luxx's film career (she quit) and another involving Luxx's former costar Holly. I thought the latter story, though well acted in by Adrianne Palicki and Emannuelle Chriqui, barely contributed to the film and perhaps it should have been left out as it only slows down the pace. The overall pacing is also uneven. At times the lighting feels excessive. The score is well utilized and pleasant to the ears. Carla Gugino is terrific in the title role and she is well-supported by Adrianne Palicki, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kathleen Quinlan and Marley Shelton. There's also an interesting cameo by one of the finest actresses.

To sum it up, 'Elektra Luxx' is refreshing. It has a novel premise and Gutierrez steers away from clichés. Some good editing was required to tighten it up a little.

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

Elektra Luxx tries to blend comedy, drama, and satire into a quirky story, but it never fully commits to any of them. The premise-following a retired adult film star navigating a new life-has potential, but the execution feels uneven. Some moments shine with clever dialogue and offbeat humor, but the film often meanders without a clear direction.

Carla Gugino is the highlight here, bringing charm and depth to the title role. She does her best with the material, but the script doesn't always give her much to work with. The supporting cast adds some amusing moments, but the overall story lacks a strong narrative drive, making it feel disjointed.

While there are flashes of wit and interesting character moments, Elektra Luxx ultimately falls short of being truly memorable. It's an okay watch if you're in the mood for something light and offbeat, but don't expect anything groundbreaking.

Carla Gugino is great, but the movie itself doesn't fully deliver on its promise.

Elektra Luxx is the slightly improved sequel to Women in Trouble. If you enjoyed that movie at all, then this one will also probably be worth your time. 

A lot of the failed attempts at humor where left out this time around, and the story focus also lies more heavily on the characters of Elektra (Carla Gugino), Holly Rocket (Adrianne Palicki), Bambi (Emmanuelle Chriqui), and Bert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). The story lines of those characters in the first movie are continued right where they left off, and they're also joined by a few new faces like Timothy Olyphant, Malin Akerman and Lucy Punch. 

Elektra Luxx is also a much tamer movie than Women in Trouble, despite the fact that most of its characters are still porn stars. Besides a few curse words, this could have been a PG-13 film. 

As I said before, check this out if you're interested in the continued lives of the characters from Women in Trouble (the doors are left wide open at the end of this movie for a third entry in the series). Otherwise, there's not a whole lot of reasons to go out of your way to see this.