The Girlfriend Experience

The Girlfriend Experience is a 2009 American slice of life[2] drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring then-pornographic actress Sasha Grey.[3][4] It was shot in New York City, and a rough cut was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2009.[5] The film was also made available on Amazon Video on Demand as a pre-theatrical rental.[6]

This article is about the film. For the television series, see The Girlfriend Experience (TV series). For the expression, see girlfriend experience.

The Girlfriend Experience
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySteven Soderbergh
Written byBrian Koppelman
David Levien
Produced byGregory Jacobs
Todd Wagner
StarringSasha Grey
Chris Santos
Glenn Kenny
Peter Zizzo
CinematographyPeter Andrews
Edited bySteven Soderbergh
Music byRoss Godfrey
Distributed byMagnolia Pictures
Release dates
  • January 20, 2009 (2009-01-20) (Sundance)
  • May 22, 2009 (2009-05-22) (United States)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.7 million
Box office$1 million[1]

Soderbergh mentioned Michelangelo Antonioni's Red Desert and Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers as influences. The film is also notable because it was produced for $1.3 million and was shot with a relatively inexpensive Red One camera.[7]

Synopsis

In the days leading up to the 2008 presidential election, a high-end Manhattan escort meets the challenges of her boyfriend, her clients, and her work. Chelsea (real name Christine) specializes in offering girlfriend experiences. She finds that lately her clients are spending less and less on her services, and are troubled by the financial crisis, a topic they raise frequently in her company. She is also interviewed by a journalist, who quizzes her about her work and personal life. She goes from client to client performing her services.

Cast
  • Sasha Grey as Christine, alias Chelsea
  • Chris Santos as Chris
  • Emma Lahana as Adrian
  • Philip Eytan as Philip
  • Timothy Davis as Tim
  • Peter Zizzo as Zizzo
  • Glenn Kenny as "The Erotic Connoisseur"
  • Vincent Dellacera as Chelsea's Driver
  • Kimberly Magness as Happy Hour
  • Mark Jacobson as Interviewer
  • Kenneth Myers as Craft Steak Maître d’
  • Michael Sugar as “Sugar”
  • Daniel Algrant as Dan

Reception

As of June 2020, the film has a 67% approval rating on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes based on 139 reviews with an average rating of 6.39/10. The website's critics consensus states: "Steven Soderbergh's latest lo-fi production is strikingly crafted but emotionally vague".[8]

Roger Ebert rated the film four out of four stars, saying "This film is true about human nature. It clearly sees needs and desires. It is not universal, but within its particular focus, it is unrelenting."[9]

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Kyle Smith of the New York Post awarded the film 1 star out of 4, saying "Time for another of Steven Soderbergh's 'experimental,' i.e., half-assed, films."[10] David Edelstein of New York Magazine complained that, "Most of the dialogue is listless, and no matter how much Soderbergh snips and stitches, the movie is a corpse with twitching limbs."[11] Luke Davies, critic for The Monthly, wrote that the film is "disposable and pretentious" and "is shot sombrely and austerely, in a style that might be described as 'vacuous chic'" and concluded that "as a film in which a porn star's presence is a fundamental marketing hook, it is masturbation."[12]

Television series
Main article: The Girlfriend Experience (TV series)

In June 2014, Starz committed to a 13-episode order for a new television series, based on the film, with Soderbergh and Philip Fleishman as executive producers. Lodge Kerrigan and Amy Seimetz co-wrote and directed all 13 episodes. Though the main character uses the same name as Sasha Grey’s character in the film, Grey does not appear in the film.[13] Riley Keough starred as the new lead, described by Soderbergh as "a new character on a new trajectory".[14] Season 2 featured new stories focusing on two different sets of characters.[15] Season 3 was announced in July by Starz.[16] The third season, featuring Julia Goldani Telles in the lead, premiered on May 2, 2021.[17]

References
  1. "The Girlfriend Experience (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
  2. "The Girlfriend Experience (2009)". All Movie. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  3. Sullivan, David (October 14, 2008). "Sasha Grey Stars in Steven Soderbergh Feature". AVN Media Network. Adult Video News. Archived from the original on May 2, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
  4. Sullivan, David (October 15, 2008). "Video: Soderbergh Directs Sasha Grey". AVN Media Network. Adult Video News. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
  5. Weintraub, Steve (January 23, 2009). "The Girlfriend Experience Sundance Review". collider.com. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
  6. "The Girlfriend Experience". Amazon Video On Demand. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
  7. Macaulay, Scott. "Stimulus Package". Filmmaker. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  8. "The Girlfriend Experience (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  9. Ebert, Roger (May 20, 2009). "Chelsea, from five to nine". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media Group. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
  10. Smith, Kyle (May 22, 2009). "Phony Documentary Doesn't Do The Trick". New York Post. NYP Holdings Inc. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
  11. "Steven Soderbergh and Sasha Grey: 'The Girlfriend Experience'". The Week. May 22, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  12. Davies, Luke (September 2009). "Amoral Tale: Steven Soderbergh's "The Girlfriend Experience"". The Monthly. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Schwartz Publishing. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
  13. Littleton, Cynthia (June 23, 2014). "Starz Orders 'Girlfriend Experience' Series from Steven Soderbergh, Philip Fleishman". Variety. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation.
  14. Han, Angie (September 23, 2014). "'Magic Mike' Star Riley Keough Joins 'The Girlfriend Experience' TV Series". /Film.
  15. Gilbert, Sophie (April 2016). "The Girlfriend Experience: Love in a Cold Climate". The Atlantic. Washington DC: Emerson Collective.
  16. "'The Girlfriend Experience' Renewed for Season 3 by Starz – TCA". July 26, 2019.
  17. D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 17, 2021). "'The Girlfriend Experience' Sets Spring Premiere; Director-Writer Anja Marquardt On "Future Facing" Season 3 – SXSW Studio". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
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