AMERICAN GIGOLO

by Timothy Harris ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1979

For John Travolta's sake, let's hope that Paul Schrader's screenplay for J.T. reads better than the quickie hack ""novelization"" that Harris has lifted from it. In semi-tough-guy narration--an inferior imitation of William Holden in Sunset Boulevard--Julian Cole, the ""Beverly Hills Casanova,"" tells us how he's a paid gigolo, servicing Hollywood ladies for a fee. (Since he has satyriasis--the inability to have orgasms easily--he's an especially longwinded lover.) Aside from the close encounters (which give him the feeling of being ""cherished""), only two things happen to Julian here: he falls in love with a mysterious lady in a bar who turns out to be married to a big politico; and he's framed for the murder of a woman whom he'd provided with anal sex and a little sadism (her husband liked to watch). By the end, of course, there's a bloody-fight finale and True Love showing Julian the error of his ways. This scenario might work just fine in an atmosphere-rich film, but none of the empty, slick Hollywood atmosphere is conveyed here. And it doesn't help that Julian, who's supposed to be an incredibly cultured, multilingual gigolo (with an analyst, even), obviously knows more than author Harris, who has Julian say, for instance, ""I put on a Verdi requiem""--as if there were more than one. The only thing this probably has over the forthcoming celluloid is an X rating. Wait for the movie.

Pub Date: March 1, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1979

Categories: FICTION