Fading Gigolo (2013)

Fioravante decides to become a professional Don Juan as a way of making money to help his cash-strapped friend, Murray. With Murray acting as his "manager", the duo quickly finds themselves caught up in the crosscurrents of love and money.

Director:

John Turturro

Writer:

John Turturro

Stars:

John Turturro, Woody Allen, Sharon Stone

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Turturro	...	Fioravante
Woody Allen	...	Murray
Vanessa Paradis	...	Avigal
Liev Schreiber	...	Dovi
Sharon Stone	...	Dr. Parker
Sofía Vergara	...	Selima
Abe Altman	...	First Rabbi
Michael Badalucco	...	Burly Driver
Bob Balaban	...	Sol
M'Barka Ben Taleb	...	Mimou
Teddy Bergman	...	Yossi
Max Casella	...	Guy at Counter
Loan Chabanol	...	Loan
Isaiah Clifton	...	Cyrus
Jade Dixon	...	Cee Cee

Storyline

Murray, the bankrupt owner of a bookstore, is forced to close his family business. His dermatologist, Dr. Parker, dreams of having a threesome and would pay a thousand dollars to have one with her friend Selima. Murray then proposes to his friend Fioravante that they start a male prostitution business, with Murray acting as the pimp. However, when Fioravante meets a Hasidic Jewish woman, Avigal, who is the widow of a rabbi, they fall in love with each other. But a Jewish neighborhood patrolman, Dovi, is in love with Avigal too, and might make life difficult for Fioravante and Murray.

---

Plot Keywords:

gigolo | male escort | book shop owner | nyc | 2010s | 

---

Taglines:

The oldest profession just got older.

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexual content, language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish Ladino Hebrew Italian Portuguese Latin

Release Date:

9 April 2014 (France)

Also Known As:

Fading Gigolo

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$180,801, 20 April 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,763,973, 13 July 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

Antidote Films (I),Covert Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several scenes were filmed at The Lexington Candy Shoppe, a vintage luncheonette in Manhattan. Towards the end second generation owner John Phillis can be seen giving a lesson on the making of his signature chocolate egg cream. The Luncheonette was also used as a filming location for 1975's 3 Days of The Condor and exterior shots were used for 2007's The Nanny Diaries.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Murray: My grandfather started the shop. My father had it. And now - I - have to - close it. This is the end of an era, my friend. Let me tell ya, now a days only rare people buy rare books.
Fioravante: We'll get back on our feet.

---

Connections

References Casablanca (1942)

---

Soundtracks

La Violetera
Music composed by José Padilla
Lyrics by Eduardo Montesinos
Published by Casa Museo Jose Padilla / SGAE Madrid
Performed by Dalida
Courtesy of Barclay France
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

John Turturro knows how to make a good Woody Allen movie

John Turturro steps behind the camera, casting himself as a male prostitute and Woody Allen as his pimp. "Fading Gigolo" also looks at the mores of New York's Hasidic community (some of which sound like ideas from the Taliban). Allen's character is his usual self, while Turturro's clients - played by Sharon Stone and Sofía Vergara - remind one of Mrs. Robinson in "The Graduate".

The main thing that I took from this movie is that Woody Allen does best when he simply tries to be funny. His movies got boring when he started focusing on neurotic rich people (don't even get me started on the god-awful "Everyone Says I Love You"). Although "Fading Gigolo" depicts such people, it's more of a satirical portrayal. Also, Allen does well in movies directed by other people: there's this one plus "What's New, Pussycat?", "Casino Royale", "The Front" and "Company Man". You'll like this one.

I'd like to see Woody Allen make a horror flick. He would play a nebbish fleeing zombies (likely played by scream queens Adrienne Barbeau, Linnea Quigley, Jamie Lee Curtis, etc), and telling people that the zombies aren't as scary as producers who think that commercials qualify as art.