Last year at the South by Southwest Film Festival, one of the more memorable films I had the pleasure of seeing was the Sebastian Gutierrez comedy ELEKTRA LUXX, starring the absolutely stunning Carla Gugino as a former porn star who has abandoned the career that made her famous to become a sexual educator… oh, and she’s pregnant. The supporting cast is packed with familiar faces, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt (in a scene-stealing performance), Marley Shelton (PLANET TERROR), Timothy Olyphant (JUSTIFIED), Adrianne Palicki (FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS), Emmanuelle Chriqui (ENTOURAGE), and Malin Akerman (WATCHMEN). This film is a follow-up to 2009’s WOMEN IN TROUBLE, also by Gutierrez, and also starring most of the same principle cast members. Now I never saw WOMEN IN TROUBLE, but despite that, I had no problem enjoying ELEKTRA LUXX quite a bit. It’s a strange but funny film, quirky in its storytelling and inspired in its execution. While definitely not for everyone, those who enjoy adult comedies, or have a fondness for the good old fashioned sex comedies of the 1980’s will undoubtedly find several moments of enjoyment in the film. Check out the trailer below, and tell us your thoughts in the comments. Also, if you never saw it, take a look at our ELEKTRA LUXX red carpet coverage from SXSW 2010, featuring Gugino, Akerman, and Chriqui… looking amazing.
Synopsis: Recently retired from the adult film industry, superstar Elektra Luxx (Carla Gugino) is pregnant with the child of late rock star Nick Chapel. She is trying to make ends meet by teaching a community college sex education class aimed at housewives when a figure from her past, flight attendant Cora (Marley Shelton), approaches her with a proposition. In exchange for the (stolen) lyrics to Nick Chapel’s last record, all of which is about Elektra, Cora needs Elektra to seduce her fiancee. Elektra reluctantly agrees to do this favor, setting in motion a series of hilarious events which will see her come face to face with detectives, sex bloggers, emotionally unstable neighbors and the Virgin Mary herself as she wrestles with the prospect of motherhood and tries to become a person of substance.
ELEKTRA LUXX opens March 11, 2011