SXSW Review Elektra Luxx
Director: Sebastian Gutierrez World Premiere Spotlight Premieres 104 minutes
Synopsis Pregnant porn star Electra Luxx (Carla Gugino) is trying to make a living teaching sex classes to housewives. But her life is thrown into disarray when a flight attendant (Marley Shelton) with ties to Electra's past approaches her for a favor. Chaos ensues as fiancees, private investigators, a twin sister and even the Virgin Mary force her to face up to an unexpected series of decisions and revelations.
Director Bio Sebastian Gutierrez was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. His feature credits include, as screenwriter: THE BIG BOUNCE (starring Morgan Freeman and Owen Wilson), GOTHIKA (starring Halle Berry), SNAKES ON A PLANE (starring Samuel Jackson) and THE EYE (starring Jessica Alba). As a director: JUDAS KISS, HBOs SHE CREATURE, RISE and last years SXSW world premiere WOMEN IN TROUBLE.
WHO'S IT FOR? This seems to be a niche film giving those who crave soap-opera storylines with sex and porn being a backdrop.
OVERALL
There were troubles. Plenty of troubles. Some of it wasn't even in the film, but actually what took place at the Paramount Theater screening during SXSW. First off, I had never seen or even heard of the first film in this series ... Women in Trouble. That alone is a surprise considering how many movies I actually sit through each year. While sex and porn are talked about, you're not going to be seeing a lot of tits and ass. Gugino is a strong, sexual lead and the best thing this film has going for it. After that, it's just a surprise with all the familiar faces you will see. Timothy Olyphant, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Malin Akerman, Adrianne Palicki, Justin Kirk all show up, but none of them pack a real punch. Gordon-Levitt does breathe some life into the film, but he's literally stuck in a basement. As for Akerman, well, I can't even say. About one hour and ten minutes into the movie, it stopped. Akerman's character hadn't even appeared on screen yet. Something happened to the projector. Gutierrez and eventually the rest of the cast took the stage and entertained the crowd. In fact, that was the best part of the night. But they couldn't fix it, and that's where everyone's experience ended. What's worst, I have no desire to find out what happens in the remaining half hour. So, my final score is only for what I saw.
FINAL SCORE: 4/10