Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The Client List: Reaction


As I posted previously, The Client List premiered tonight. I took a bunch of notes, so I'll post an actual synopsis later. I did want to write down my reactions to the movie while they're still fresh in my mind.


1. Jennifer Love Hewitt is still HOT! As I've said, she's been one of my celebrity crushes for a while now. She's 31 years old now, and still damn hot. Seeing her in a montage wearing a bunch of sexy outfits, is always appreciated. My only complaint is that she seems to be wearing a lot more eye makeup nowadays while I preferred her more natural look back in the day.

2. I find it interesting that when touring the massage parlor, they had some interesting equipment. One room, used for first time clients, had a large one way mirror (like in a police interrogation room). They also mentioned providing free Viagra and condoms, and that the Viagra was one of the reasons that kept them profitable. I've never heard of such things in a massage parlor, probably due to the fact that most would be more concerned with keeping costs down.

3. I was impressed by the motivations the different girls had in joining the parlor. The main character did it to save her family, and then didn't want to give up the easy money. Another girl had run away from home. There was the girl who loves sex, and was happy to be paid for it. There even was the older owner who handled kinky requests. It was kind of nice that they didn't just go for the easy "Girl who's pimped against her will" or "Sex trafficked girl from a foreign country", but actually tried to show some of the grey area reasons why girls fall into the sex industry. It was kind of amusing that the girls had a saying: "It beats the hell out of waitressing"

4. It was interesting to see the presence of alcohol and drugs in the story. The main character uses alcohol before her first session. She later ends up using and depending on cocaine as a pick-me-up after working too much that she was always exhausted. After cleaning up, they do mention that even after quitting she'll continue to have cravings and repercussions due to using.

5. It was kind of interesting to see the main character's opinion of guys. She mentioned that guys seem to just want you to lie to them: telling them that they're hot, or have a big dick. She later gets jewelery from a customer and says "It's beautiful, this is why you're my favorite customer" and he's so excited and happy to hear that. She then seconds later says it with another guy who gave her another piece of fancy jewelery with the same response.

6. The main character got really popular, not just for her looks, but also for remembering all the details that her customers told her, and customizing her service towards each guy. She made cookies for one customer, wore different outfits remembered their cousin's names etc.

7. After the police bust, the jail times mentioned were kind of odd. Supposedly she was being charged for felony promotion of prostitution, and possession of cocaine for 2 years of jail time. The odd thing is that most likely her prostitution charge would have been a misdemeanor since she wasn't the manager, a pimp, a recruiter, a briber/enforcer, no one was underage, etc. The drug charges, I'd suspect would be much more severe, since supposedly average possession charge is 8-10 years.

8. As the title suggests, the providers end up using their client list as a bargaining chip after being arrested. They mentioned that most guys usually use fake names, but the main character confidently stated "not with me". They then out 69 different customers, which then was published by the press and covered as a national news story. I just kind of find it sad that all of these guys trusted these girls, sharing personal details, giving them gifts, only to have that trust betrayed at the drop of a hat.

Overall, it was a Lifetime movie, with cheesy lines, some drama, a crisis, some moral lessons and a happy ending. I applaud them for tackling the subject matter, showing some of the issues, portraying some of the gray areas, and motivations of people in the sex industry. I do wish they portrayed the relationships between customer and provider more

On a side note, I actually found out that there's another Lifetime movie starring Tori Spelling called "Co-ed Call Girl". I'd be curious how that movie turned out.

http://www.mylifetime.com/movies/the-client-list
7a. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_jail_time_for_cocaine_possession
7b. http://www.justanswer.com/questions/zilc-what-is-the-fine-and-jail-sentence-for-soliciting
7c. http://definitions.uslegal.com/p/promoting-prostitution/

1 comment:

  1. Just saw this movie on Lifetime tonight and had a good laugh. It was entertaining, to say the least!

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