(OUTscene America RE-view): Cattrall shows no glamour—and shows it well--in ‘Meet Monica’!

By Ryan Burr

OUTscene Staff

The life of Samantha Jones (played by Kim Cattrall) in the Sex and the City series and movies is one of indulgent sex and a pricey lifestyle. In “Meet Monica Velour,” releases this week on DVD, Cattrall reveals the sad life of someone who used sex just to pay the bills, and after decades have passed, she is in low demand.

She is challenged to jumpstart her life, shedding the “has-been” existence and rebuilding her family life. The catalyst? A dorky, lanky 17-year-old (Napoleon Dynamite-look-alike) whose bedroom is enshrined with pictures and images of Monica during her heyday.

Tobe, the teen, is afforded an opportunity to see Monica in a “comeback” show in some Podunk Indiana town. He makes the trek from Washington—where he is living a dead-end life with his drunken grandfather. Indeed, she is a washed up porn star, and the modern crowds don’t hold back in leveling their disapproval and jeers. Tobe sees the same beauty captured on his bedroom walls. He takes a punch, even, when he snaps back at some hecklers. This chain of events leads him to finally meeting Monica in an ambulance. And the adventure begins, including Cattrall’s spot-on Midwestern, trailer-park voice during their dialogue.

They learn plenty from each other, and writer-director Keith Bearden adds a healthy dose of humor to the story. Besides some one-liners, kudos to the hilarious scene in which Tobe crashes a prep scene in a sleazy motel where Cattrall is about to let some Mexican guys in stereotypical Mexican party garb have their way with her on camera, for a presumably meager amount of money. Tobe is decked out in the skimpiest thong, totally believable as one of the porn participants.

It’s hard to imagine anything about this scene being heart-warming, but Tobe is there to intervene, to ensure his Monica escapes something he doesn’t want to see her doing. He hands her a note saying, “I called the police. Leave now.”

Tobe also attempts to improve the relationship Monica has with her young daughter, in the custody of a vile ex-husband.

It’s fairly easy to accept this inter-generational relationship, since there is only minimal sexual involvement. Though they are both misfits and both benefit from each other’s company, Monica often is never thrilled when Tobe is around, a very realistic portrayal of how someone would react to a semi-crazed fan entering her personal life—and trying to stay in her personal life.

Though Tobe’s dream for he and Monica to start a new life together in Oregon isn’t entirely fulfilled, some of that dream comes true later, as hinted by an Oregon postcard Tobe sees in a photo book at the film’s end.