Starlet
A sweet bond
By Michael O'Sullivan
By Michael O'Sullivan
The story of
the friendship between a San Fernando Valley porn actress (Dree Hemingway) and
an elderly widow (Besedka Johnson) is certainly unlikely -- in movies, is there
any other kind? But the relationship also has a sweetness that’s spontaneous,
unforced and a tiny bit tough, belying the story’s milieu of mechanical sex,
drugs and melodramatic, if hollow, emotional connection.
The
relationship is the best thing about the film, which otherwise feels hopelessly
sad and tawdry.
The second
best thing is the dog whose name lends the film its somewhat ironic title. The
chihuahua Starlet (played, according to the credits, by a dog named Boonee) is
a natural ham. He -- and yes, it’s a he, despite the girlie name -- lights up
the screen whenever he’s on, even though he’s asleep much of the time.
The two leads
have a relaxed rapport, too. Playing the curmudgeonly Sadie, Johnson -- who was
discovered while exercising at a YMCA -- doesn’t “act” so much as just be. And
Hemingway (the daughter of actress Mariel Hemingway) brings an easy charm to
Jane, a lost soul who strikes up a relationship with the old woman after
purchasing a thermos from her at a yard sale and finding it stuffed with about
$10,000 in cash.
Of course,
Jane doesn’t return the money. But driven by curiosity, and perhaps a little
guilt, she begins chauffeuring Sadie to the bingo parlor, the grocery store and
the cemetery, where Sadie leaves flowers at the grave of her late husband, a
successful gambler.
There’s no
back story to be unspooled. Mostly, Jane and Sadie simply hang out, waiting for
the older woman’s mistrust of her new friend to thaw. It’s pleasant to watch,
if uneventful.
Somewhat more
eventful is Jane’s professional and home life, which revolves around
mini-psychodramas and career meltdowns involving her mildly sleazy
adult-film-producer boss, Arash (Karren Karagulian), and Jane’s
aspiring-porn-star/druggie roommates, Melissa (Stella Maeve) and Mikey (James
Ransone).
Mikey’s idea
of home improvement is to install a stripper pole and floor-to-ceiling mirrors
in the living room of their depressingly art-free group house. Arash’s notion
of mentoring is to offer Jane the chance to get her small (i.e. perfectly
normal-size) breasts “fixed” by a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon.
I know, ew.
All this is
meant, presumably, to contrast with the genuine nature of Jane and Sadie’s
friendship. And that it does, even as it also threatens to suffocate that
genuineness.
There’s a
beautiful thing growing inside of “Starlet,” but you may have to hold your nose
to appreciate it.
Contains
pervasive crude language, nudity, sexual situations and drug use.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/starlet,1236537/critic-review.html?wpisrc=nl_movies
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