One Hour Fantasy Girl

"One Hour Fantasy Girl": Portrait of a life less ordinary. A review by: Casey Ryan – The Cutting Room Floor.

"One Hour Fantasy Girl" is based on a true story. It tells the tale of a young woman named Becky Lewis (played by Kelly Ann Tursi) who works as a dominatrix to support herself while dreaming of a successful career in the glamorous world of real estate. Writer/director Edgar Michael Bravo paints a portrait of a life that is at once haunting, harrowing, and painfully vivid.

Still plagued by memories of her abusive alcoholic mother, Becky is ardently devoted to her goal despite the many obstacles that lay in her path. Her website, where she refers to herself as "Brandi", advertises that she will fulfill any fantasy so long as it does not involve sex or kissing. As the film plays out, we're witness to several examples of just how far some of her clients are willing to push this particular envelope. Veteran character actor Jon Morgan Woodward turned in a memorable and blood curdling performance as one of Brandi's regulars named Roger that was arguably the film's strongest.

Bravo's greatest strength, however was character development. All of the players clearly have their own agendas but Bravo isn't about to let his audience off easy. Using the skill of a surgeon, he keeps their motives carefully hidden – strategically revealing key bits of information at select points in the film.

The underlying theme behind "One Hour Fantasy Girl" is a struggle for normality in the face of a set of life circumstances that is anything but. To that end, Kelly Ann Tursi does a phenomenal job of bringing this dichotomy to life on screen. In conclusion, I'm starkly reminded of the most telling line of the film - uttered in an opening scene by Becky's manager (played by Paul D. Nguyen).

"We create the world we want to live in."

I was provided a screener of "One Hour Fantasy Girl" for my unbiased opinion.

The film is about a young woman's journey to earn enough money to buy a piece of property. How does she do this? By being a "fantasy girl."

Becky Lewis (played by Kelly Ann Tursi) sells her services for an hour at a time, and will do almost anything so long as it doesn't involve sex or kissing, and she is never fully nude. The movie follows her, her male partner/manager, and three men who request her services on a regular basis. There is also a side story with a mysterious older woman in a diner who offers Becky a place to sleep – for a price.

The film explores a multitude of themes that revolve around the fantasies of the three men – from a seemingly benign relationship to one that is increasingly perverse in nature. Becky makes no judgment on what she is asked to do. She just sticks to her principals of what she WON'T do, and collects her money.

Sexual deviance and how it translates to the human psyche is a mystery, and "One Hour Fantasy Girl" highlights this fact poignantly. Power in real life does not equate to power in one's fantasies. The scenes with actor, Jon Morgan Woodward, show this power struggle up until the climax of the film.

The exchange of money is at the core of the plot, and the surprise ending magnifies this point even further.

I enjoyed this thought-provoking movie. As it was based on a true story, I question what any of us would do to make our dreams come true. One person's definition of "normal" is another's "deviant," and who are we to judge what others do to survive?

"One Hour Fantasy Girl" was a good movie, but had some flaws (in my opinion.) One of the strengths of the movie was the lead actress. She was very engaging, engrossed in the role, and held my attention throughout the entire movie. She had a vulnerability about her in her performance, but in a way that wasn't overwhelmed with hysterics. The story itself was very good, and had interesting elements that showcased the hardships of an occupation where one is vulnerable to people who manipulate and take advantage of others.

However, during the first half hour, the film was hard for me to follow, and I wasn't too sure what was going on. I wasn't sure what the purpose of the transitional scenes were, and how they moved the story forward. I also didn't understand the significance of certain characters and how they were important to the main character, or why she came to trust certain characters and not others.

Overall, I thought it was a good film with a potentially rich story and a great lead actress.

Don't even consider watching this Movie! Unless… you enjoy brilliant cinematography…strong characters…and a captivating story. If you're bored with the comic book hero storyline and need a little spice…then I have a movie for you.

The real surprise - it's an indie film… …that takes you through a coming-of-age drama based on a true story. You'll get lost in the characters and discover a new world as the director, Edgar Michael Bravo, tells an original story about an age old profession. This unique film does not use nudity to lure you in. However, One Hour Fantasy Girl is raw, unpredictable and engrossing. The actors bring deep authentic emotion to the screen as you follow the journey of the main character Becky Lewis, actor Kelly-Ann Tursi, a 20 year old fantasy girl who makes a living by fulfilling men's fantasies.

Becky and her business partner, musical artist Chi Trang, actor Paul D. Nguyen, will walk a fine line between business and social taboos. Becky saw her choice to work as a fantasy girl as a temporary fix to save money for her dream of owning real estate. Eventually, she is forced to test the limits between customer and client confidentiality that will take you on a journey of unforeseen twists.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film from start to finish. The Producer John Paul Rice and Director Edgar Bravo created a top-notch film in every aspect! The actors were brilliant! I'll have to give this one a 10 in 2010! Betsy Malone aka 3rd Dog Script

Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything just to obtain it? If so, how far would you go? These are the questions that you may be asking yourself after viewing No Restrictions Entertainments latest film; One Hour Fantasy Girl.

One Hour Fantasy Girl, which is based on a true story, tells the tale of Becky Lewis (Kelly-Ann Tursi). Becky, a 20 year old who is struggling to make a living in downtown L.A., aspires to make it in the real estate business, but because of her financial woes, she is unable to. As a result, she decides to become a "fantasy girl"; a dominatrix of sorts who will do anything you want (except for kissing or sex) for an hour. During her time as a "fantasy girl", Becky meets some shady individuals, an odd real estate agent named Sal (John Buckley Gordon… probably the best character in the movie) and a guy who appears to be her saving grace… but is he really too good to be true? To be honest with you, I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of this movie… mainly because I don't see too many independent films that impress me much… but, this film was actually, quite surprisingly, well done. The film has some solid direction, some decent acting and, for the most part, is decently written.

The film's director, Edgar Michael Bravo, puts together a wonderful looking film that is dark and complex, yet, somehow, he manages to make the film look beautiful and simplistic. Bravo's only blemish comes from the writing. I said before that the writing was, for the most part, decent. I used "for the most part" because there are two characters that have their own thing going on that is kind of relevant to the story, but not necessarily needed. To make matters worse, Bravo throws in a twist. The good thing about the twist is that you don't see it coming… which is a good thing since most twists these days you see coming a mile away… but the bad thing about the twist is that it's very random and you're left sitting there going, "Huh?".

The acting is pretty much hit or miss. The two acting highlights of the film come from Kelly-Ann Tursi and John Buckley Gordon. Tursi is the heart and soul of this movie… if it wasn't for her the viewer wouldn't be emotionally attached to anyone in the film and probably wouldn't give a damn about it. Her performance single handedly saves this movie. As for John Buckley Gordon, he provides some comedic elements to the film that bring a breath of fresh air to the film by briefly brightening the mood of the story for a few moments. The rest of the cast, however, is pretty poor. I don't want to say that their bad actors or anything like that, it's just that I found their acting in this film to be rather bland and emotionless… there are even moments when these actors appear to be rushing through the dialogue and, because of this, it kind of kills the pacing of the film.

No Restrictions Entertainments' One Hour Fantasy Girl has its weak moments, but, overall, turns out being a pleasant surprise.