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archives 2008 » feb. 6th  
  Capsules | Eye Candy | Repertory | Review
The Six Pack | TV | Movie Showtimes| TV Listings

Pleasure for Sale

by Craig D. Lindsey





Mon., 11pm. Sundance Channel Take HBO’s softcore Cathouse, suck out all the fun and frivolity, throw in a bunch of traumatic sexual baggage and you have Pleasure for Sale, the six-part documentary series on the Sundance Channel. Directed and executive produced by the same men behind HBO’s other risque reality show Taxicab Confessions, Pleasure sets its sights on the Chicken Ranch, the most miserable little whorehouse in Nevada. The first episode ropes you in with titillating possibilities, as it begins with two lingerie-clad ladies-of-the-evening on a bed, giggling and goofing around, reminiscing about memorable orgasms they’ve faked. But by the end of the episode, those same working girls are in a heated conversation that has one in tears and the other barely concealing her contempt for the crybaby. And things get more painful and pitiful from there. Unlike Cathouse, Pleasure features prostitutes who seem like they can barely stand having sex, especially considering many of them have had scarring experiences that would make you think they’d never want to touch a penis again. And yet they spend the duration of the series defending their occupation, declaring that they’re providing a service that keeps men happy and keeps them from collecting unemployment. Needless to say, all this dysfunctional drama will prohibit many viewers from voyeuristically getting their rocks off. (You’ll probably be more inclined to take a long, purifying shower after each installment.) However, as the episodes progress, you’ll remain intrigued by the girls’ attempts to stay respectable (and sane) in a society that still sees prostitutes as nothing but opportunistic sluts. By the sixth episode, most of these gals come to realize what the audience figured out episodes ago: You can’t go on hooking forever. Pleasure for Sale certainly goes all out in convincing you that whores are people too. But after this, I wouldn’t be surprised if some viewers still ran back to the bosoms of Isabella Soprano, Air Force Amy and the rest of those fun-loving hos back at the Bunny Ranch.

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