The world’s oldest profession has fascinated for millenia. Prostitution’s portrayal on screen is a recent phenomenon in comparison, framing the act of paying for sex in whatever way is most convenient to a particular film. Whether you’re after a hooker with a heart of gold, idolised subject – or hapless victim – Hollywood has you covered with its categorisations of call girl.
One of the many screen depictions is Steven Soderbergh’s lo-fi 2009 pic The Girlfriend Experience, starring former adult film star Sasha Grey. Making only a whisker over a million dollars at the global box office, it may seem a strange film to adapt as a series with the same name, but that’s exactly what NEON subscribers can watch this month. Related only to the film that inspired it by subject matter – new lead Riley Keough (Mad Max: Fury Road) entering and navigating the world of high-end call girls – the TV version surprisingly departs from expectations, not least of all thanks to the corporate thriller that accompanies Keogh’s forays into a line of work that is part titillation, part boredom, but always on the clock.
Does the show get its subject matter right? Who are we to judge…
Instead, let us present half a dozen Hollywood hookers from our favourite films. Hearts of gold? They’ve got ’em in spades, obviously. Warning – frankly ridiculous, frequently misogynist, fairly NSFW content follows… that likely bears zero resemblance to reality, either here or abroad.
1. Patricia Arquette in ‘True Romance’
Tarantino’s first script, brought to life by Tony Scott, follows movie-loving Clarence (Christian Slater) who has the night of his life with a young lady who later turns out to be a prostitute (Arquette). But, like the title True Romance suggests, love conquers all, and the pair fall head over heels for one another while also heading into a world of hurt when they liberate a sizeable stash of cocaine.
2. Jane Fonda in ‘Klute’
Another great paranoid thriller by Alan J. Pakula (All the President’s Men, The Parallax View), Klute boasts the phenomenal pairing of Donald Sutherland and Jane Fonda as detective and call girl respectively. Fonda won the Best Actress Oscar for her nuanced performance, one that sees her take on believable layers of defensiveness and then chip away at her character’s no-nonsense external persona. Seen early on in the film through Sutherland’s eyes as he places her under surveillance to solve a missing person’s case, Fonda is depicted as enjoying her work, but several scenes with her psychiatrist offer a deeper look into her personality, and dislike for the biz.
3. Rebecca De Mornay in ‘Risky Business’
For many, this film’s all about Tom Cruise in his undies – but it’s Rebecca De Mornay that gets him out of them. She plays the second prostitute seen in Risky Business, after tall, black, transvestite Jackie surprisingly turns out not to be to Cruise’s taste (actor Bruce A. Young later turned up in The Color of Money, so Cruise couldn’t have disliked him too much). De Mornay’s Lana turns out to possess supermodel looks, incredible sexual athleticism, and is a no-good, can’t-trust-her thief. Hollywood business as usual then, especially when she turns out to – spoiler – have a heart of gold.
4. Jodie Foster in ‘Taxi Driver’
In Scorsese’s masterpiece Taxi Driver, Jodie Foster is one of many standouts as child sex worker Iris. Thankfully not the object of Travis Bickle’s affections – over to you, Cybill Shepherd – Foster’s wise-beyond-her-years child bears a resemblance to Foster’s off-camera status as one of the most experienced people on set during filming. Thankfully, the similarity ended there, and Foster was sheltered from the film’s most extreme content – though as she recounted to Graham Norton, “Scorsese would say something like ‘unzip his fly’ and just start laughing and not know what to do so he would hand it over to Robert De Niro and then Robert would tell me what to do”.
5. Audrey Hepburn in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’
Strike this entry off, if you’re offended by iconic Holly Golightly being called a sex worker. But think about it… How does she pay her rent? What other reason is there for needing $50 for the powder room? And why is Mickey Rooney delivering one of the most racially offensive performances in cinema history? Sorry – got a bit off-topic there…
Coded references to Golightly’s profession are scattered throughout Breakfast at Tiffany’s, adapted from Truman Capote’s novel. Capote poured a little cold water on whether Golightly is a sex worker, choosing to describe her as an American geisha girl. OK then, Truman, OK. Later, Paramount publicists would note of the film: “The star is Audrey Hepburn, not Tawdry Hepburn.”
Not convinced? Swap in Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman – you probably expected her to show up anyway…
6. Patty Mullen in ‘Frankenhooker’
What’s in a name? When the name of your movie is Frankenhooker, the answer is everything. It should come as little surprise that the subject matter of this film involves assembling pieces of prostitute’s bodies to make a functioning body – in this case, a chance for the film’s mad scientist lead to build a new body for his fiance after she’s chopped to bits in a freak accident. The resulting character is brought to life by former Penthouse pet Mullen in a performance familiar to sicko 90s VHS devotees.
Delayed for release due to difficulties obtaining an R rating, Frankenhooker director Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case, Brain Damage) recalls an MPAA ratings representative calling the production company to say “Congratulations, you’re the first film rated S.” And she said, “S? For sex?” And they said, “No, S for shit.”
This lovely piece of content is sponsored by NEON, the only subscription video on demand service that lets you be as demanding as you like (provided you pay the bill). You can stream The Girlfriend Experience right here, right now on NEON – if you’re not on NZ’s best streaming service already, click here to start a 30 day trial.
