Note that it is NOT the Steven Soderbergh film of the same name. If only my local video store had been so helpful as to point this out. Anyway, since the rental was already paid, I watched it. It is done as a pseudo-documentary, with a camera crew following around a downward spiralling, sex-addicted landscaping contractor (no, really) who lives in a motel room thanks to being kicked out by his girlfriend and who is going broke paying for sex with a teenage prostitute he is obsessing over. The hooker won't appear on camera, and so her scenes and speeches are re-created by an actress on a rather cheap looking soundstage, standing in for the motel room. The constant shifting back and forth between 'reality' and re-creation makes for a somewhat disorienting experience in which it is difficult for the audience to settle voyeuristically into the usual Cops-style reality TV experience, and this is obviously the point. The audience does not get voyeuristic titillation, it gets an education in male attitudes about sex, women and women who sell sex. The viewpoint is clearly feminist, with the men emerging as users and losers, not to mention the financial victims of their own needs, while the women come off as more stable and sensible. The documentary style is a good filming choice, as it hides the low budget while maintaining the illusion of reality and immediacy. That said, there are better ways to spend 90 minutes.
Review of Girlfriend Experience
