The Girlfriend Experience (2009)

A drama set in the days leading up to the 2008 Presidential election, and centered on a high-end Manhattan call girl meeting the challenges of her boyfriend, her clients, and her work.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers:

David Levien, Brian Koppelman

Stars:

Sasha Grey, Chris Santos, Philip Eytan

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sasha Grey	...	Chelsea / Christine
Chris Santos	...	Chris
Philip Eytan	...	Phillip
Colby Trane	...	Waiter (as T. Colby Trane)
Peter Zizzo	...	Zizzo
Ron Stein	...	Vegas Buddy #1
Marshall Gilman	...	Vegas Buddy #2
Michael Roberts	...	Vegas Buddy #3
Vincent Dellacera	...	Chelsea's Driver
Jim Kempner	...	Art Gallery Owner
David Levien	...	David
Mark Jacobson	...	Interviewer
Alan Milstein	...	Pete
Sukhdev Singh	...	Chris & Chelsea's Super
Ted Jessup	...	Chatty 'John'

Storyline

Chelsea (Sasha Grey) is a high-priced $2,000-an-hour call girl in Manhattan, offering a 'girlfriend experience': she'll dress with the client in mind, go to dinner and a movie, listen attentively to talk about work and finances, and she'll provide sex. It's October, 2008: a presidential election nears and the economy is in free fall. She has a boyfriend, Chris (Chris Santos), who's a personal trainer. We are shown five non-consecutive days in Chelsea's life. She's working on her Web page, talking to image consultants, and being interviewed by a reporter. She asks clients when their birthdays are and uses that for an astrological prediction. She's drawn to a new client, a writer from L.A. Should she break her rules for him? What if it risks her relationship with Chris? Should she invest in gold?

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Plot Keywords:

presidential election | female nudity | reference to barack obama | call girl | las vegas nevada | 

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Taglines:

See it with someone you ****

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

8 July 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

GfE

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$204,112, 24 May 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$695,417, 30 August 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Magnolia Pictures, 2929 Productions, Extension 765

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steven Soderbergh first heard about Sasha Grey when he read an article in Los Angeles magazine about her.

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Quotes

Chelsea: [voice-over] I met with Phillipe on October 5th and 6th. I wore a Michael Kors dress and shoes with La Perla lingerie underneath, and diamond stud earrings. We met at 7:30 PM at the hotel, and had a drink downstairs. He liked my dress but didn't go into detail why, and didn't mention anything else about my appearance. We ate dinner at Blue Hill. Phillipe didn't ask for a menu and had the chef serve us a five-course meal, a different wine with each course. We went to the 9:40 PM showing of 'Man ...

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Crazy Credits

After the end credits, there's a brief scene of Chelsea washing a client's hair as he sits in a bathtub and talks about John McCain.

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Connections

Referenced in Supernatural: We Need to Talk About Kevin (2012)

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Soundtracks

Bad Timing
Written and Produced by David Holmes
Courtesy of Universal Songs of Polygram International Inc.

User Reviews

Interesting slice-of-life but light on CHARACTER!

While it comes across a bit flat, it will certainly be an eye opener for those who are unaware of the daily business of an escort. Would have liked to have seen more in-depth analysis of Sasha Grey's character's history/background. Who is she? Where did she come from? What was her upbringing like? The movie ignores these details which are usually important for a character study.

I know that this film is getting some heat from Hooker communities as well for it's misrepresentation of certain "Johns"... (http://www.naughtyreviews.com/forum/hobbyist-hangout/girlfriend- experience-and-escort-review)