The Client List

It's strong point is also its weak point. For an hour and a half film, it checks all the right boxes, a half decent plot, a somewhat decent ending, nothing really sticks out like a sore thumb. However, with the little time it has, some parts of the film felt too rushed, without enough time to really soak in the emotions of the characters, what they might have been going through and all.

Hewitt's character Sam makes passing nods to her "Christian Beliefs" whilst justifying her behavior as the only think she can do to help her family. Apparently in today's America helping your family means buying them stuff. Sam's love for her children barely extends beyond buying stuff for them which is probably where America is going wrong in the first place. Hewitt's performance center's around her unusual skills at satisfying her clients which apparently is the only thing her client's wives want to know in a later scene. Her husbands behavior is just as bizarre when he discovers what it is his wife is actually doing at her "Day Job". When did men start crying instead of doing what is more natural? The characters around Sam are just not that believable and even less so when Sam's mother says "it is partly my fault". When did a mother ever say that? The final punishment for Sam;s behavior and her redemption are both as ridiculous as the almost Disneyesque "Only for Mature viewers" plot line. if this is the 80's someone should pinch me so I can wake up. This has to have been written by someone who does not have a sex life.

Samantha Horton (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Rex (Teddy Sears) are struggling facing foreclosure. Former beauty queen Samantha uses everything in her arsenal to keep afloat. Rex is a former star running back who can't even keep his construction job with his bum knee. Then she gets a job at a massage parlor in the next town, but she soon finds out that she could earn more if she does more.

It's a Lifetime movie of the week. It's not that I have any moral objection to the characters or the story. I just find it very boring. I guess some may find the subject matter titillating or controversial. It's not much of either. It just seems that the struggle for Samantha is mostly one of image. Maybe a short scene in the beginning showing the couple at the top of the world would be very helpful.

Actually a good movie, especially if you like Jennifer Love Hewitt. It kept me entertained and I didn't find any parts to be boring. Drama, action, excitement, heartbreak, humor, this movie has it all! All actors and actresses play memorable roles. A plausible story, based on a real life incident. Hewitt does a great job playing the lead character, displaying all types of emotion, and of course looking as beautiful as ever! Being a male I was expecting this to be a depressing "chick-flick" tear jerker, especially since it's on Lifetime, but instead I found myself entertained through out the whole movie! Here's hoping Jennifer Love Hewitt continues to put out projects such as this. Highly recommended!

Client List, The (2010)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Incredibly silly drama from Lifetime about a Texas mother of three (Jennifer Love Hewitt) who finds herself about to lose her house after she's laid off and her husband is injured on the job and can't find work. She goes to work in a massage parlor but soon learns that the best way to get tips is through prostitution. When it comes to any made-for-TV flick you just know there are going to be certain amounts of melodrama but this film here must think its viewers are some of the dumbest people in the world. There are so many problems with this film's screenplay but the final twenty-minutes are rather insulting. Again, some might say I'm a man and this movie wasn't meant for me but I honestly don't see who could watch this ending and feel good about anything they've seen. I'm not going to ruin anything but this film is so full of sugar that the entire thing seems like a bad school play without a single thing going for it. I think one of the biggest problems with Hewitt who just isn't believable in the role. Not only does her Texas accent go in and out throughout the film but there wasn't a single second where I believed she was a mother of three. She didn't look like someone from a small Texas town and the screenplay doesn't do her any favors by having her shout she's too pretty to be poor. With dialogue like that it's impossible to feel sorry for her or her situation and it doesn't get any better when the screenplay tries to make her out to be some sort of victim in a world of bad men. Hewitt does come off well in the more sexual side of the role but the drama falls flat on its face and really kills anything the film is going for. Cybill Shepherd plays her mother and pretty much just sits around throwing out bad one-liners. I'm not sure if it was because this was made for the Lifetime Network but it seems that even in the most dramatic moments there's enough time to throw out penis jokes. I'm really not sure what could have saved this movie but a little bit of honesty probably would have gone a long way. The husband's reaction, the poor ending and how they try to turn the event into some new sensation just never works and in the end there's really not much this film has going for it. I'm also not quite sure what the filmmakers were trying to say in the reasons the character did what she did as there are thousands of people in the same situations and they're not inviting in hundreds of men.