Loved it!! Must see movie!

One of my favorite movies. What red blooded American boy wouldn't want to work at an escort service and live in pasadena?

I found this film intriguing, even though the critics thought it wasn't "compelling or plausible" it certainly kept my interest, and I liked the ending.

Literate film with great performances drags during the second half.

This drama has a solid plot, but suffers from pacing just a bit too slow. Mick Jagger is charismatic and believable as Luther Fox, but Andy Garcia has more difficulty as the lead, especially when compared to Jagger.

I watched this movie with low expectations (having never heard of it), and finished satisfied. A unique film, I enjoyed the performance of Andy Garcia. It was a nice change to see a singer like Mick Jagger on the screen playing the role with talent.

Good story, poor execution. The movie starts off as a comedy-drama and holds up quite well in the first half or so. Unfortunately, it changes direction and starts falling apart in the second half. Some acting was quite good, but the characters needed more development, especially the wife who was merely a sketch despite being a key character. There were also some glaring holes in the plot that I found distracting. It's a shame this movie falls flat, I could only attribute it to poor script and sloppy directing.

A real little gem. Draws you in and generates lots of engaging post viewing dialogue if you're fortunate enough to watch it with people who enjoy character driven films.

Totally plausible and more than compelling enough. This is a movie for grown-ups with interesting characters that takes sex seriously and doesn't play it for cheap laughs like in every other movie. This was one of the best movies released in 2002.

Watching Jagger struggle to look and sound natural on film is always painful, at least here he is in good company. The plot is so slow and dull and every scene is dingy in the hopes of delivering a noir feel totally beyond the capabilities of the production. It wants to speak to the human condition and the twists of life but in such routine ways as to be utterly bland.

A very good movie, well scripted and acted. Has a surprisingly good, if not original, performance by Mick Jagger which surprised us.

Prominent cast, good story, but still somewhat boring.

comment: An adulterous film requiring some restraint as there is the 'menage a trio' types out there. If you can see to the top of the 'leg' on the front cover you find and interesting analogy there of mine. is the jeloussy Andrea Alcott`s (Olivia Williams) if the relationship is not her empowerment snare anymore without the fickle nature of sex, unwittingly irrelevant between blokes. (natural course of events in a monogamous relationship. summary: A struggling novelist hits what he thinks is rock bottom in his career/mid-life crisis. An alternative arises not out of compassionate jealousy (or the 'set up my husband company/agencies' out there) but out of stupidity comes a choice. This story unravel the nature of getting what you want using a love/sex/collegue relationship compromising monogamy.

good actors , but bad team

A Shadow Puppet Play, Not a Story Curiously, the thing which bothers me most about this flat little work is that they make such a fuss about Pasadena and then get vast amounts of the geography all wrong. For one, no one in Pasadena who really loves to read would ever bother with a Barnes & Noble. They probably have book signings there, but the place in Pasadena for that is Vroman's, on Colorado Boulevard. I saw Sue Grafton, Madeleine L'Engle, and Anne Rice there. My mother saw Walter Cronkite, Ken Burns, Jimmy Carter, and many others. (Including Sue Grafton and Anne Rice!) Honestly, I don't even know where a Barnes & Noble is in Pasadena. There was a bookstore of some sort in the mall, but I understand the mall isn't there anymore. Maybe there's one nearer Old Town, which does get a brief appearance. However, most of the really distinctive buildings shown are in Los Angeles, so what's the point of making Pasadena a Thing? That fine actor, Andy Garcia, plays Byron Tiller, one of those guys who had one book sell and felt he could quit his job and make a living at writing. Except his one book ends up in the remainder bin, of course. His wife is working at a record store while he writes his next book, which the publisher won't even accept because who reads that crap? One day, he meets Luther Fox (Mick Jagger). Luther runs Elysian Fields, a high-end male escort service for bored and wealthy wives. Byron tells his wife, Dena (Juliana Margulies), that he is meeting with the Book of the Month Club to consider making his book, which he has not told her hasn't sold, a selection. Instead, he is meeting with Andrea Alcott (Olivia Williams), wife of Tobias (James Coburn), who has won three Pulitzers and whom Byron studied in college. Tobias Alcott is sanguine about his wife's affair and in fact asks Byron to read his new book, hoping for an honest opinion. And honestly, it's terrible. But Byron has this idea . . . . The thing is, all these people feel like paper dolls. Andrea is described at least twice as having the face of an angel, and that appears to be what she's for. She's there to be pretty and provide a link between Byron and Tobias. She's also there because it's important that Byron be treated as a whore, which in fact he is. Dena is there to be the Good Woman Betrayed. The first night Byron spends with the Alcotts, I'm not even sure what story they told Dena. He was just sitting at their breakfast table the next morning. By the time Dena has had enough, he's spending pretty much all his time with them and none at home. There is also Nigel (Michael Des Barres), there to be a mirror in which Byron does not want to see himself. And, you know, man-whore Mick Jagger sleeping with inexplicable Anjelica Huston. I think she's supposed to be there to add depth to his character, or maybe to make the life Byron loses seem so much better. It doesn't work for me. I do think it was filmed well, honestly, which just made it all the more disappointing. I can't ever live there again, but Pasadena does have some charming places in part left over from the colonial days. Of course, a lot of the things shown here were actually Los Angeles proper, but they still do film it to good effect. Los Angeles is the dream, but Los Angeles is also the land of loneliness. It's really big. Spread out. Even just Pasadena keeps on going. Los Angeles is full of places we go through. My mom's house is miles from my old high school, and while I know approximately what's between them, a lot of the neighbourhoods are places to go through on the bus. And, yes, Los Angeles is a town of secrets, but it's because there are so many places to hide them. Byron (and ye Gods, there's a bit of a pretentious name) uses a phone in front of the old Tower Records building, many miles from home. Ambassador Auditorium isn't very far from Old Town--just a couple of blocks. But there's still a sense of distance which the filming helps explore. Once again, we have hit one of those movies with a wasted cast. Fortunately, it wasn't James Coburn's final movie, though I haven't seen the movie which actually was. But for all my teasing (which is based on a one-off reference on KROQ in the early '90s), Andy Garcia actually is a fine actor. Juliana Margulies hasn't done a huge amount worth watching, but she's not a bad actress. Mick Jagger . . . well, is Mick Jagger. Olivia Williams is beautiful and charming. And honestly, I think you could do a really great movie out of the feeling of isolation these people have. There's also an interesting movie in the idea that writers are, in the end, selling themselves no less than the "escorts" Byron ends up becoming. However, Pasadena is just a stage, and the people in it are merely shadows. The writing parts of it don't ring true. Somehow, the two men working together produce the Greatest Work of All Time--even though it sounds a great deal like the one Byron's publisher rejects at the beginning.

Great cast, good film!

A struggling author reluctantly accepts work as an escort to married women. One of his clients is the wife of an extremely successful, but very ill, novelist and he becomes very involved with them both, as he loses hold of his own marriage. There is lots to think about here; what were the various characters' motivations; was it all inevitable? I didn't see the twists in the story (although there are clues) and found that one particular storyline which had seemed unlikely made perfect sense when it finished. It's a pity about the ending, but it doesn't spoil an otherwise good film.

(2001 Director: George HIckenlooper) I am not sure if it was the combination of the actors and actresses portraying the characters in this movie that made such an impression on me or if it was the storyline. Somehow there was a freshness about the subject matter--though far from original--but perhaps somehow handled more sensitively. James Coburn was phenomenally masterful as an extremely well-known author & Julianne Marguilies (ER, The Good WIfe) played her supporting role as TIller's wife believably with a touch perhaps of innocence, or even niavete. Growth hurts! There is a saying that might perhaps be one of the themes of this interesting passionate character study: "Never love a woman who loves you unconditionally." I think is how it goes?! However, I won't spoil the surprise. My fellow movie viewers' reviews are "on spot" except for the commentary I read about Andy Garcia. Andy Garcia has the face of a beloved puppy dog and your dearest friend or long lost love to my mind and watching him perform in this believable role where he "performs" to survive, we all were given a glimpse at what integrity means. Okay, yeah I'm older than I look (especially in this photo!) Let me share a personal experience? Both my brother and sister (Geminis) could never stand to remain in the room (or theater) when watching a violent, or otherwise horrifically uncormfortable movie. Tiller loved his wife and had just as much passion for his writing. He became numb. Garcia is a man full of raw power, charisma, even vigor but with the face of a hound dog (except even more lovely)...those eyes. He can speak volumes without one word.

This film is meticulously crafted piece of art. It is an intelligent, profound and very poignant film that deals with failure, betrayal and ultimately love. The casting is perfect, but the most understated performance is by the great Mick Jagger. His elocution and narration is exquisite, and his acting is perfectly nuanced. Jagger has incredible qualities. Michael Des Barres, a person whom I have actually met, does well in the film. I highly recommend it. You won't see anythng explode, just gently implode only to find a kind of redemption.

A very good movie, well scripted and acted. Has a surprisingly good, if not original, performance by Mick Jagger which surprised us.