Choose Me (1984)

Choose Me (1984), written and directed by Alan Rudolph.

Ex-prostitute Lesley Ann Warren owns a bar, likes men and has plenty of them, but is not happy. Geneviève Bujold is "Dr Love", a radio sex therapist who talks a good game but seems to have little hands-on experience. Keith Carradine has just walked away from a mental hospital where they say he lies about everything. He tells some wild stories but claims he never lies and we eventually see he is telling the truth. All the women really love his offbeat persona.

It's one of those intersecting story line movies. Quirky and semi-comic, I remember thinking this would be a good date film. It's mostly from the women's point of view, with lots of sex and relationship talk. The men have to brawl a bit, but that's what women like. Everyone smokes and drinks and the night life world is invoked with style.

What seemed quirky then is more theatrical now, with the clever plot design and little set speeches. Lighting, set design and some types of editing seemed more relaxed in the 80s. Everything is much more polished and exact now; they have it down to a science, and it's not that everything looks the same, but films do seem to be more "manufactured."

With Patrick Bauchau, Rae Dawn Chong, and John Larroquette.

Cool score by Teddy Pendergrass.