Screenwriter Lisa Melamed's astute examination of the psychology of low self esteem elevates this made-for-cable drama – a pilot that never went to series -- above the prurient appeal of its setting: A Reno brothel.
Widowed Mary Larkin (Amy Madigan) works as a middle manager in a legal whorehouse. Stuck in the same financial boat as the sex workers, Mary maintains a detached but compassionate attitude toward Shayna (Jennifer Aspen), Kim (Jessica Collins), Taylor (Samantha Ferris), Emily (Bonnie Root) and Ricki Lee (Paige Moss). Shayna is tired of the energy required to keep her fiance believing that she’s a stewardess. Taylor foots most of the bills for her young daughter, Chelsea (Brittney Wilson), while her hypocritical ex-husband makes her feel bad about her work. Kim is secretly in love with Emily, who's being pursued – unsuccessfully – by the establishment’s sympathetic bartender, nicknamed the Other David (Ty Olsson). Newcomer Velvet (Nicki Micheaux), a one-shot TV actress, blows in from L.A. hoping to find refuge from her violent "manager." With the exception of the self-centered Ricki Lee, all the woman rely on their solidarity to weather their personal crises: Shayna’s fiance loses his job; Velvet’s pimp shows up and tries to beat her into returning; Taylor endures innuendoes from the mothers of Chelsea’s classmates. Only cynical Emily, who abandoned her dream of becoming a lounge singer when she entered the life, seems able to catch a break: After keeping a gay customer’s secret, he repays her with an audition at a casino show.
The movie's strength is its cast: The actresses both look lovely in their Frederick's of Hollywood get ups and breathe genuine life into the clichés of movies about working girls. leave a comment --Robert Pardi
