Variety (1983). Obscure low budget indie from the early eighties, one critic described it as a feminist "Vertigo", Hitchcock would surely have been baffled by the comparison. Young woman takes a job selling tickets in a porn theatre on Times Square, this brings out the voyeur in her. Director Bette Gordon's film is shot in the dirty, gritty fashion reminiscent of that era, an ugly beauty that gets under your skin. Unfortunately the rest of the film falters, the pacing is suspect and the storyline doesn't always make sense. C
Sugar Daddy (2020). Darren, an aspiring singer/songwriter takes a job as a professional dater (accompanying men to events for companionship, no sex though) to pay the bills. One of the brightest Canadian films I've come across in many a year, hyper cool filmmaking that has the courage of its convictions, how much would you sacrifice in pursuit of your dreams. Kelly McCormack is rather magnificent as the lead character, making you empathize with a woman who in all honesty is pretty much unlikeable, a rare feat in itself. A-
