The Client List

I went into this just looking to kill a couple of hours, but really it isn't bad for what it is. Yes, some of the Texas traits are stretched ("hotter than a fur coat in Marfa"), but not as much as most Texas movies and some of the people and scenery actually felt familiar. (I'm from Texas.)

I found the main character to be believable. She was not portrayed as a victim or as a demon, but as someone who made a bad decision in difficult times and then continued that bad decision due to her own flaws. Watching her when she feels guilt seems very real to me. Her mother was also a fully developed character and her friends and some of the other characters had some moving scenes. I thought it was well acted and well paced. Two of the last scenes were hard to believe and were quick reminders that this was a TV movie.

Client List, The (2010)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Incredibly silly drama from Lifetime about a Texas mother of three (Jennifer Love Hewitt) who finds herself about to lose her house after she's laid off and her husband is injured on the job and can't find work. She goes to work in a massage parlor but soon learns that the best way to get tips is through prostitution. When it comes to any made-for-TV flick you just know there are going to be certain amounts of melodrama but this film here must think its viewers are some of the dumbest people in the world. There are so many problems with this film's screenplay but the final twenty-minutes are rather insulting. Again, some might say I'm a man and this movie wasn't meant for me but I honestly don't see who could watch this ending and feel good about anything they've seen. I'm not going to ruin anything but this film is so full of sugar that the entire thing seems like a bad school play without a single thing going for it. I think one of the biggest problems with Hewitt who just isn't believable in the role. Not only does her Texas accent go in and out throughout the film but there wasn't a single second where I believed she was a mother of three. She didn't look like someone from a small Texas town and the screenplay doesn't do her any favors by having her shout she's too pretty to be poor. With dialogue like that it's impossible to feel sorry for her or her situation and it doesn't get any better when the screenplay tries to make her out to be some sort of victim in a world of bad men. Hewitt does come off well in the more sexual side of the role but the drama falls flat on its face and really kills anything the film is going for. Cybill Shepherd plays her mother and pretty much just sits around throwing out bad one-liners. I'm not sure if it was because this was made for the Lifetime Network but it seems that even in the most dramatic moments there's enough time to throw out penis jokes. I'm really not sure what could have saved this movie but a little bit of honesty probably would have gone a long way. The husband's reaction, the poor ending and how they try to turn the event into some new sensation just never works and in the end there's really not much this film has going for it. I'm also not quite sure what the filmmakers were trying to say in the reasons the character did what she did as there are thousands of people in the same situations and they're not inviting in hundreds of men.

I'd definitely rate this movie as mediocre all around. I've seen stories like this all the time. So&So starts off doing something morally wrong for money to get out of debt or to buy something they desperately want, then by the time they're out of debt or have everything they wanted and are at a good stopping point, they're addicted to the money until the they hit a wall, like police arriving to arrest them. Stories like this are a dime a dozen, even Pepper Ann had a similar episode to this, involving using her friend as a slave to cut lawns for her, so she can use the money to buy roller-skates. I think even The Weekenders did an episode similar to this, involving selling cheaply made, yet over-priced slushys to people without a food serving license. It's a very old plot, whether this movie was based off a true story or not. As for the acting, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Cybil Shepard do their best, but the script is pretty bad. Also, this movie is TV-14 on Lifetime, so yeah, a lot of innuendo but nothing too bad.

I must say that I found this movie highly amusing and entertaining. Americans are bound to criticise it but the concept of the story strikes at the heart of family life and when the chips are down and you are broke, a woman will do anything to feed her children and keep the family home. That is what Samantha does in the story line and full credit to her. the film is good in my opinion because it treats the subject in a light hearted way (a bit like Stepford Wives if you can imagine) and is an eye opener for us all, there is no bad language and actually no sex either, given the nature of the film. It is not a compelling film and of course it is a wee bit predictable but it should be seen and enjoyed.

This past summer I must say it was a pleasure to view this Lifetime original movie starring sweetheart and the cute Jennifer Love Hewitt. Over the years many movies have been made about prostitution and escorts this was a watch for the fact that it had Jennifer Love Hewitt in the role of a working girl which was a little uncommon since she takes mostly sweetheart and nice roles.

Anyway this film captures the current times of the recession well as many are struggling with these economic times. It's story was based on actual events it occurs in a small Texas town Jennifer Love Hewitt is Samantha Horton a young woman who's married with small children. And you guessed it tough times have come her husband is laid off and the mortgage payment and making ends meet each month becomes harder and harder. Eventually it's foreclosure time.

Then one day Samantha sees an ad advertising for work as a massage therapist, Samantha arrives at the establishment only to soon learn that these group of girls do a little more than massages. This is a private house of sex call it a massage parlor, in call service or a house of escorts it's pleasure for money. Samantha becomes a top notch girl earning plenty of money to save their house and she pays the bills and spends a lot on material things.

Yet as with pleasure their is a price to pay as soon guilt and shame is felt by Samantha it starts to break down her family life and her body takes a tired toll. Even though some of the finest and most well to do Texas men are clients eventually the playhouse of passion and erotic lust is busted and Samantha's days as a sex worker are over. Really this was a life wakeup call as Samantha had to take a fall from the lifestyle to rediscover family, love, and faith.

Really good TV movie that proves sex sells and that many live secret lifestyles and it shows many will go to desperate measures to make ends meet. Jennifer Love Hewitt is a delight to watch the scenes of her in sexy lingerie especially seeing her in a black bra was an eye candy treat and it was nice to see an appearance from Cybill Shepherd as Love Hewitt's mom. "The Client List" is one TV movie to watch.