A close-up shows the florist Fioravante (John Turturro) carefully stroking the flowers before he arranges them in bouquets. It seems like he has closed the chapter on his erotic ambitions, if he ever had any at all. Today the bachelor lives a calm and occasionally lonely life. His friend Murray (Woody Allen) is a struggling bookseller looking for another way to make money. His dermatologist, Dr. Parker (Sharon Stone), is looking for a man to take part in a ménage à trois with her and her friend. Murray thinks Fioravante could be just the guy they need. Fioravante protests by saying, “But I’m not a beautiful man.” But his initial reservations give way and he decides to go for it. With unforeseen success he exudes a relaxed, confident and slightly secretive aura and proves to be a master in the art of seduction and enchantment.
He understands that people need attention and care, not unlike the flowers in his greenhouse. Of course it is only a question of time before the cool yet tender distance he shows his sex partners becomes undone. Ultimately it is Avigal (Vanessa Paradis) who tempts him. In a sea of attractive women a Hasidic Jewish widow is the only woman he has eyes for. At this point the film develops from a frivolous story about a male prostitute to an amusing interplay between love and libido.
John Turturro (THE BIG LEBOWSKI, MONK, TRANSFORMERS) not only stars in the film, he directed and wrote the screenplay. With the help of his supporting characters Turturro explores various facets of human sexuality. FADING GIGOLO is above all a filmic homage from one friend to another. The autumn New York backdrop, the music score, the precise script and the film’s charm, Allen helped with the script, recalls the early work of the old master himself.

Timo Löhndorf