BUY FROM AMAZON: CLICK HERE!
STUDIO: Screen Media Films
MSRP: $24.98
RATED: R
RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Deleted Scenes
- Teaser Trailers
- Spanish Subtitles
The Pitch
From the writer of Gothika and Snakes On A Plane comes this dvd cover.
Wait, there’s a movie inside?
The Humans
Written and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez
Starring: Carla Gugino, Connie Britton, Marley Shelton, Adrianne Palicki, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Simon Baker, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
The Nutshell
Women In Trouble follows a day in the life of ten or so women in the Los
Angeles area. The various plot threads put our characters through
trials and tribulations both joyful and heartbreaking, and their LIVES
ARE CHANGED FOREVER.
The Lowdown
Looking at that cover, you might be thinking
this will be a titillating, raunchy comedy about various women getting
into shenanigans that involve Joseph Gordon-Levitt. This is false. In
actuality you get several intersecting stories about women in crises;
plights such as an unexpected pregnancy, an adulterous husband, a “your
mom is really your aunt” confessional, and a rock star that dies in an
airplane bathroom while going down on an engaged stewardess. Not as much
fun as you may have thought (okay, that one in the plane was kind of
funny.)
Women In Trouble strikes an odd balance between heartfelt and
completely fucking ridiculous. The movie starts on the set of Elektra
Luxx’s (Carla Gugino’s) latest porn movie. Don’t get too riled, unless
you have a thing for nuns. From their it follows Luxx and her costar
Holly Rocket (Adrianne Palicki) on their seperate ways as they get into
various predicaments with other women with their own problems. Some of
the episodes are quite good, such as a therapist’s struggle with her
husband’s infidelity, or Gugino and Conni Britton getting stuck in an
elevator. Again, not what you think, they tell each other their life
stories. In their underwear. What? It was really hot in that elevator.
What I’m trying to say is, these stories kept my interest because I
cared about the characters. Honestly.
On the other hand, there’s Holly Rocket. I think it’s fair to give
this character special mention since she’s such a cartoon. A young porn
star and textbook dumb blond, Holly gets into the most trouble of anyone
in the film, and the strangest. She has a psychological problem with
going down on a woman. This is resolved by a confessional scene where
she recounts the traumatic childhood experience that makes her feel sick
whenever she eats pussy. I don’t really want to give it away, but it
involves her beloved golden retriever. Yes indeed. It’s pretty fucked
up, and I would give the film credit for this shocking hilarity, except I
don’t think they were playing it for laughs. Clearly, this movie was
not meant for me.
While these vignettes can be engaging or amusing, the whole
enterprise never really comes together. I couldn’t find any thematic
link between the scenes besides a vague “You’re Gonna Make It After All”
sentiment. It felt more like a series of webisodes then a feature film,
and looked like it too. Sebastian Gutierrez’s directing style is made for
television. The cast does a good job. I can watch Carla Gugino in just
about anything, and she brings her A-game. Sarah Clarke deserves special
mention as the therapist with an adulterous husband. Josh Brolin shows
up as the doomed rock star on the plane (and surprised me with his
British accent). Also, my compliments to Isabella Gutierrez on her first
film role. As
far as cliched, wiser-then-thou child characters go, I’ve seen far
worse. She did good.
And then there’s Joseph Gordo-Levitt, whom you see on the cover
and in the opening credits, face and all. Here’s the bad news. If you’re
expecting to see him in the movie, you need to watch through the end of
the credits. That’s right. He’s on the goddamn DVD cover and his only
appearance is in a 5 minute “bonus” scene after the credits. The good
news is that the scene is hilarious. Gordon-Levitt plays an overeager
porn blogger/enthusiast interviewing Gugino and Palicki on the set of
their current production. This scene is the best part of the movie and
worth every preceding minute of mediocrity.
Women In Trouble is
more of a time-waster then anything else, despite it’s funny moments.
It’s acceptable cable entertainment when you’re trying to pass out or
sober up, but don’t bother driving to a blockbuster. It’s not worth the
trouble. Ba-ZING!
The Package
The box lists Spanish Subtitles as a bonus feature, which I find
exceedingly amusing. The other features are trailers and deleted scenes.
The trailer is a cute little number with the female cast in a swimming
pool stripping from their dresses revealing black lingerie. It’s kind of
sexy but tries WAY too hard to get men in the seats. There’s a bit of
Carla Gugino and Adrianne Palicki, in character as Elektra Luxx and
Holly Rocket, where they tell you again and again that Women In Trouble
is NOT A CHICK FLICK (spolier: it is). The deleted scenes are all
extended, tedious monologues from various bit characters telling their
troubles to Sarah Clarke’s therapist. Could’ve done better.
