Meet Monica Velour

Looked at as a whole, Meet Monica Velour is missing some key elements that would make audience members walk away saying, "Wow." The cinematography reminds me of riding in the car with my 85 year old grandfather when I was a kid...it feels like you're not even moving. The director seems to have been too much of a rule-follower, as if he was following class notes in numerical order. However, the cast was wisely chosen and the poor technical issues of the film can be overlooked because of the commitment of the actors. It's possible to get lost in a story, to forget about the poor technical issues, if the story is well told - that's what happened in Meet Monica Velour. In particular, Kim Cattrall is so convincing in this lead role, so enveloped in this character, that one might begin to wonder if and why Hollywood shut her out so early. This film proves that they could have had another Meryl Streep on their hands, and they let her go. I'm certain the producers of Meet Monica Velour are thankful that they did.

Kim Cattrall flexes her acting muscles in a whole new direction with much success in this surprisingly original film expertly written and directed by Keith Bearden. Dustin Ingram is the ideal combination of nerd and charm as Tobe Holbert, while Brian Dennehy is fun as Tobe's father (aka "Pop Pop"). Keith David provides a breath of fresh air from all the quirkiness as Claude, an amiable and wise character. I saw this at an opening in Chicago which was attended by Dustin Ingram and included a Skyped interview with Keith Bearden post-showing. I was delighted to find that Bearden is just as much of a cool character in real life as the ones he created for the screen, while Ingram maintains a genuine sweetness and vulnerability. Meet Monica Velour is definitely a well spent 98 minutes.

Watched this because I'm a Kim Cattrall fan. She shows she is a versatile and talented actress who can do much more than just Samantha. She can play anything from sophisticated Manhattanite to even trailer trash former porn star. She even lets all the wrinkles show.

Her co-star Ingram is a bit too goofy looking to be watchable. Makes the movie a bit second rate. Could have chosen a more appealing nerd geek type.

Unfortunately the story is more painful than touching.

Overall watch it if you are Kim Cattrall fan, otherwise it isn't a must see.

"Why can't you like normal stuff like everybody else?" Toby is a nerd. He likes things no one else does like 1920's music, but his favorite thing of all is former adult film star Monica Velour (Cattrall). After his Grandfather (Dennehy) insults him one too many times Toby decides to leave, and meets Monica. This is the type of movie that when you watch you like it, but when its over and you look back on it you start to like it more and more. I snickered a few times watching, but when I remember the lines and context I laugh harder. This movie is a surprisingly sweet coming of age tale about a boy on his way up and a woman on her way down. I have a bad habit of, for lack of a better word, over-simplifying a review by comparing it to movies people have heard of. That said...this movie is a cross between "Napolean Dynamite" and "Boogie Nights". If Napolean met the Julianna Moore character from "Boogie Nights" you would have this movie. I will have to say the Kim Cattrall is the perfect choice for this movie and while not being the total opposite of Samantha she is more of a burnt out version of that character. I would love to see at least a Golden Globe nomination for her for this, but I doubt that will happen. Overall, a good movie that will grow on you. I give it a B

Would I watch again? - I think I might

*Also try - Elektra Luxx

I am not one for either reading reviews or writing them. I did however sign up with IMDb just now to recommend this movie and posit that Kim Cattrall should easily have taken home a best actor award of some sort for her work in it. For those who have seen the movie or those who will see it, there is a scene (and you will know which one I mean) toward the end that is absolutely breath-taking. I have not seen something that honest and powerful in a movie in a very very long time. I get a chill just thinking about it now. I think as we get older we forget about the tug we felt inside when we first fell in love. We might even block it on purpose because it is frightening and beautiful and very powerful all at the same time. When I watched this film I knew where that feeling was and that it doesn't ever really go away. In a cinematic sea of pop-romance films, this one digs down much deeper. Kim Cattrall makes you want to be her hero. Her performance is just that special.