Why the Girlfriend Experience Will Always Be With Us

July 17, 2022,

They have always been with us and they always will be.

No speculation.

Just as human beings need food for sustenance, the human race, primarily male, will always seek out courtesans.

In the modern celluloid word, what perhaps revived our thinking about this often unseen and private realm was the film Vivre sa vie or My Life To Live.

My Life to Live is a 1962 French New Wave drama film directed by Jean-Luc Godard.

Here is the storyline.

Nana Kleinfrankenheim (Anna Karina) is a beautiful Parisian in her early twenties. She leaves her husband Paul and her infant son, hoping to become an actress.

The couple meet in a café and play pinball one last time before deciding to end their marriage.

She works in a record store, helping customers find music based on their tastes. After leaving her husband, she is not able to make much money on her own and is worried she will not be able to afford rent.

She’s right. It has become a huge problem.

She asks several coworkers if they can spare her 2,000 francs, but all refuse.

Nana’s financial life is spiraling out of control. Downward, fast.

One day she walks down a street noticing a woman prostituting herself. A man asks Nana if he can join her, assuming she is also a prostitute, she says yes and they enter a hotel. Inside the room Nana asks him for 4,000 francs. He gives her 5,000 and says she can keep the change.

So it begins.

The now legendary film, currently on HBO Max, was shot over the course of four weeks for $40,000.

Regarding this captivating film, the also legendary team at rogerebert.com surmises, “The film has no extra gestures. It regards with a level, interested gaze. The camera by its discipline discourages us from interpreting Nana’s life in a melodramatic way.”

As we move up the timeline, the subject was not mute.

It was Klute.

Klute is a 1971 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed and produced by Alan J. Pakula, written by Andy and Dave Lewis, and starring Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, and Roy Scheider.

The film follows a high-priced call girl who assists a detective in solving a missing persons case.

It is the first installment of what has informally come to be known as Pakula’s “paranoia trilogy”. The other two films are The Parallax View (1974) and All the President’s Men (1976).

Conspiracy theories abound.

Klute was theatrically released in the United States on June 25, 1971, by Warner Bros, to critical and commercial success.

Reviewers praised the film’s direction, screenplay and most notably Ms. Fonda’s performance, while the film grossed over $12 million against a $2.5 million budget.

It received two nominations; Best Original Screenplay, and Jane Fonda winning Best Actress.

What struck us about this timeless film was the dialogue. Jane Fonda really brought to life what was inside the head of a high priced courtesan in ways we have never understood before.

The challenge the film would have, if it were made later, with the same people, is that both Donald Sutherland and Jane Fonda would become too famous, where the power of their high profiles would over shadow their characters.

Klute was early enough in their careers where, they had the exceptional talent, but their rise to stardom was in the early stages.

Perfect timing.

If high profile personas could be a potential problem, producer extraordinaire Steven Soderbergh solved that problem by casting talented but, in terms of a wide audience, lesser known actresses to brilliantly carry the role forward in the Girlfriend Experience franchise.

The Girlfriend Experience Movie is a 2009 American slice of life drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring ex-pornographic actress Sasha Grey.

It was shot in New York City, and a rough cut was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2009. The film is also notable because it was produced for $1.3 million and was shot with a relatively inexpensive Red One camera.

Here is the storyline.

In the days leading up to the 2008 presidential election, a high-end Manhattan escort meets the challenges of her boyfriend, her clients, and her work.

Chelsea (real name Christine) specializes in offering girlfriend experiences. She finds that lately her clients are spending less and less on her services, and are troubled by the financial crisis, a topic they raise frequently in her company.

Bad move.

Don’t talk about your money problems with your favorite courtesan.

The whole idea is to play in a fantasy realm where both of you indulge. Yes, her too.

Don’t remind her that she is working and turn into a cry baby about your financial woes and you will ruin the fantasy. The escapism. Your hotel room, which is designed for privacy and fantasies, will have its hologram algorithm crash around you.

Christine was her name.

Another Christine carried it forward in an incredible way.

Riley Keough is an American actress and filmmaker.

fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetititor.com grapplingstars.com, Starz press photo credit

Born in Santa Monica, California, to musicians Lisa Marie Presley and Danny Keough, she is a granddaughter of actress Priscilla Presley and singer Elvis Presley.

Ms. Keough was raised primarily by her father in Hawaii and Los Angeles, and additionally spent time residing with her mother in California and Tennessee.

At age 15, she began modeling, including appearances at fashion shows for Dolce & Gabbana and Christian Dior, as well as appearing on the cover of Vogue.

In the Girlfriend Experience, Series One, she was the perfect Christine.

Indulge?

Yes, beautiful girls deserve to be pampered and indulged.

We are first introduced to Christine by her girlfriend who is already “in the life” and convinces Christine it is something she should try.

To get started, they have a customer’s credit card and order the most expensive champagne and bottle of wine, totaling $1,500.

Apparently it goes well with Roasted Chicken and French Fries (she is young after all).

Why are mature, well-established and financially successful men willing to spend so much money on these girls? It is not just about sex because they could go to legal corporate establishments, like those in Nevada and get that.

They want more than that.

In this series, Christine’s relationship with a wealthy mature gentleman who confides in her about his life and invites her to relax on his yacht with him goes beyond money. His family is only interested in his money. Christine appears to be more interested in him.

He really appreciates that.

They have wonderful times together.

He dies soon afterwards.

He writes Christine into his will.

As we have discussed in our circle, so many responsible men go through life, taking great care of their family but are married to women who are not remotely interested in taking care of them.

Being outraged, offended and corrective is their priority.

The husband’s needs, especially sexual ones, are to be relegated to the inside of a small box of what is considered normal, designated and defined by their wife.

His behavior, in all phases, must meet her stamp of approval or she will divorce him.

He is obedient because he doesn’t want to lose his family or standing in his often affluent community.

The alimony is dreadful too.

So, outwardly he gives the appearance of being happy, but inwardly he is not.

He has needs, including deeply emotional ones that no one cares to satisfy. Mostly his family members are only interested in what he can do for them.

Financially.

Going to a therapist is not the answer because along with those needs, he seeks intimacy. He doesn’t want to be judged but before he dies, his wants to live a life he actually wants.

With a young beautiful woman.

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One last time.

Men’s desires for the Girlfriend Experience will never go away.

Skilled courtesans have been with us since the beginning of time and always will be.

For some men, as their ending is near, they appear to understand and take of their real needs in a way no one else is remotely interested in doing.

Be wise. While you still can.

It is imperative to make good memories. You have the money. You can’t take it into the grave.

We have attended many funerals over time but we’ve never seen a Brinks Truck parked next to the grave.

As many men have found out, once you are a permanent resident inside of an Assisted Living Facility, all of your material possessions are gone.

You don’t even have all of your mind.

But, on those extensive times before death, when the memories saunter in, and you are in a crowded room, and yet all alone, you will be appreciatively dreaming of Christine.