Delayed Reaction: The Escort

Premise: A reporter and an escort he’s doing a story on become friends and maybe more.

 

There’s no disguising why I watched this movie. It’s called The Escort, isn’t rated, and stars Lyndsy Fonseca. You do the math. At the same time, it’s the kind of movie I went into expecting to be wrong about. It’s got a comedy movie cast after all. Fonseca has spent most of her career in comedy spheres. Tommy Dewey, Bruce Campbell, and Dan Bakkedahl have supporting roles. This is no more a bait-and-switch than Pretty Woman.

 

Really, this is a RomCom that cleans up some risqué topics to the point of almost being family friendly. Michael Doneger plays a sex addict reporter looking for a story that will get him a job. Lyndsy Fonseca is an escort with a Stanford degree. Both claim they are fine with their lives as they are yet each ends up looking for a way to settle down. The movie is a disappointment in that it walks back all of its characters taboos, however it’s pretty clear what kind of movie this is 10 minutes in. From the opening even, it’s clear that this isn’t interested in a serious contemplation of the grey area of sex work. Same with Doneger’s sex addiction, which a more nuanced movie could explore more interestingly. I don’t say all this to drag the movie either.

Overall, I liked the movie in the way that I like a lot of harmless RomComs. The cast is affable enough. It’s well paced (aka short). It’s calorie-free viewing. It is a shame that nothing stands out as better than the rest though. I was hoping there’d be great chemistry between the leads, a supporting performance that pops, or writing that was too clever for the actors delivering the dialogue. Instead, it’s a level-set movie that’s exactly as good as it needs to be.

 

I will say, it’s weird that this movie has no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. I know the movie is small, but no reviews at all in the age of infinite digital content seems insane to me. I wonder why it has nothing. There was no theatrical release I can find. Can’t find any festivals either. Was there no one pushing this movie when it was released? Not even an assistant of the producer’s to cold-call critics? This is a professionally made, competent film. I could name a dozen other of a similar quality. How did this one fall through the cracks so completely? 

 

Verdict: Weakly Don’t Recommend