I have a theory regarding the 2010 film Elektra Luxx, specifically a theory as to how it exists and why so many big-name stars agreed to be in it. Years ago, Elektra Luxx writer/director Sebastian Gutierrez must have walked in on a huge Hollywood drug and sex orgy. In exchange for his silence, they agreed to be in his movies. How else would the screenwriter of the American horror remake The Eye end up with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Carla Gugino, and Timothy Olyphant in leading roles? (I am still baffled by Julianne Moore's cameo as the Virgin Mary.) Elektra Luxx is a mess both as a movie and as an interesting story. At points, Gutierrez reminds me of a lesser Kevin Smith without the interesting characters or snappy dialogue.
Elektra Luxx picks up where Gutierrez's previous film Women in Trouble left off. Elektra Luxx (Carla Gugino), world-famous porn star, has given up her porn career since finding out that she is pregnant with her dead boyfriend's baby. She is trying to cash in on her notoriety by teaching a sexuality class at the local community center, though she isn't making much money at it, and she is falling for private investigator (and charming stranger) Dellwood Butterworth (Timothy Olyphant). At the same time, Bert Rodriguez (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the host of an online porn fan website, is mourning the loss of Elektra Luxx and trying to sleep with Trixie (Malin Akerman), a local check-out girl who is considering a career in online porn. Also, another young porn star Bambi (Emmanuelle Chriqui) takes a business trip with her hot lesbian buddy Holly (Adrianne Palicki) hoping to score a business deal by sleeping with the right people.
With all the sex and Timothy Olyphant and hot lesbians, you would think that Elektra Luxx would at least have a trashy charm to it and that it would be somewhat watchable. Unfortunately, this is neither trashy fun nor remotely watchable. The plot is non-existent which isn't always a problem with quirky indie films so long as the characters are well-written or the filmmaking style is visually intriguing. All of these elements are missing. I don't think Gutierrez knows what to do with a camera besides keeping the character who is talking in the shot, and his characters spout drivel like, “Doctors are like mimes...but they talk,” or “...a voice my clip recognizes instantly.” In a particularly terrible scene, a man is trying to convince a woman to sleep with him, and he quotes the verse in the Bible about how Jesus is the gate and all those who enter through the gate will be saved. He follows up this line with, “Let me enter you...and be saved.” This is offensive both to religious groups and to intelligent audiences alike. Thinking about it still makes my skin crawl.
I have to emphasize that the actors in Elektra Luxx seem to be doing the best they can with the material they are given, but they can't save it. This movie started with a rotten script and an incompetent director, and the best actors in the world can't change that. In the end, you can only put so many sprinkles on a turd. Luckily, all of these actors will walk away from Elektra Luxx and move onto bigger and better projects, but I can't say the same for the film's writer and director. Gutierrez had a chance that many lesser-known filmmakers would kill for, getting this incredible cast, and he squandered it. Very few filmmakers can make 100 minutes of porn stars, private investigators and hot lesbians boring, so congratulations to Gutierrez for creating something this extraordinarily bad.
DVD Bonus Features
The DVD release is pretty sparse on special features. There are a couple of deleted scenes, and when you think about it, these are the scenes so bad that they couldn't even make the cut in Elektra Luxx. Ouch. Stay away from Elektra Luxx on DVD.
"Elektra Luxx" is on sale June 21, 2011 and is rated R. Comedy, Drama, Indie, Romance. Written and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez. Starring Adrianne Palicki, Carla Gugino, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Julianne Moore, Malin Akerman, Timothy Olyphant.
