If there's ever a question if you can get a star-studded cast to appear in a cheap slapdash project solely on the basis of letting them have some fun, you only have to point to Sebastian Gutierrez, who's done it not once, but twice now. As writer/director, he did it in his debut film Women in Trouble, which boasts the likes of Josh Brolin and Simon Baker in addition to the impressive female cast that includes the talented Sarah Clarke and Connie Britton. Women in Trouble nosedived both critically and commercially, yet here is the sequel, opening in theaters today, with a cast no less inspiring.
It claims to be only about Elektra Luxx, as one would infer from the title, but the film strangely takes the occasional detour to returning beauties Adrianne Palicki and Emmanuelle Chriqui on vacation, a subplot that barely ties into the main story and doesn't even have the excuse of it being an anthology. It does beef up the role of Carla Gugino, though.
In the first film, Gugino's Elektra Luxx was just one of an ensemble in an intertwining anthology film about women living in Los Angeles. Here, the film focuses on her quitting the adult film industry because of her pregnancy, making a living teaching a learning annex of sorts to housewives on "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star." That is, until Marley Shelton's flight attendant character from the first film shows up and drops a valuable item belonging to her dead rock star baby daddy. Hijinks ensue, but not so much that it turns this thing into a farce. That would have too much potential to be fleetingly enjoyable. No, Elektra Luxx has revelations and religious epiphanies—showing ambitions of being a Pedro Almodovar film, with neither the exuberance nor the robust cinematography to pull it off.
Clarke, Baker and Brolin don't return, but new in their place are equally recognized names like Malin Akerman, Justin Kirk and Timothy Olyphant, who are in it for a couple of scenes tops, sporting all the tell-tale signs of a quick favor. Kirk's job is to basically stand there while Olyphant piecemeals his standard effortless charm.
The one who seems to be really into being here most is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who has much more to do this time. Energetic as always, he reprises his role as Bert Rodriguez, a basement dwelling porn blogger who, between mourning Elektra Luxx's exit from the industry of his passion, gets yelled at by his mom upstairs and worries about his hot sister pursuing a career in amateur porn.
That, sadly, is the very limit of the film's situational comedy. It was amusing to see Gordon-Levitt appear briefly in Women in Trouble doling out porn reviews in a ridiculously off-mark Spanish accent, but when turned into an actual character with so much screen time, it's apparent just how shallow the conception is. He's basically a one-note gag given more material than he deserves, which results in painfully long and unfunny segments of him reviewing tired porn parodies (one has Elektra Luxx as an Orgasmo-style superhero) in the vein of an on-air commentator, naming obscene adult film titles as if he's dropping references to literary masterworks.
Sadness may overtake you as you watch just how hard and earnest Gordon-Levitt tries to make the character work. The "grown man acting like an authority figure, only to be suddenly interrupted by the scolding of his live-in mother" shtick is an old, old joke. Instead of playing that for laughs, Gordon-Levitt goes the other way and sells the frustration; which to his credit, saves Rodriguez from being a totally unwatchable caricature. The same can be said about Gugino. What challenge or exhilaration she experiences from playing Elektra is a conundrum for the ages, but she throws herself into the role and exhibits free reign on how she plays her—cartoon in one scene and tragic figure in another—so much so that it almost, almost warrants a film.
Seemingly destined for lazy late night cable viewing, t's doubtful that Elektra Luxx will win too many fans, let alone acclaim, but Gutierrez is already planning a third installment in the Elektra Luxx trilogy called Women in Ecstasy, with Gugino, Gordon-Levitt, Chriqui and Palicki all set to return. This is why you should treat your cast well and allow them the freedom to go all out: even if they all have big things happening for them, they'll make time to help you out with your diversions.
"Elektra Luxx" opens March 11, 2011 and is rated R. Comedy, Drama. Written and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez. Starring Adrianne Palicki, Carla Gugino, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Justin Kirk, Malin Akerman, Timothy Olyphant.
