''Go Go Tales'' is an independent 2007 film by
Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara (born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker, known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use of neo-noir imagery and gritty urban settings. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best kn ...
. Ferrara based the film on ''
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
''The Killing of a Chinese Bookie'' is a 1976 American neo-noir crime film written and directed by John Cassavetes and starring Ben Gazzara. A rough and gritty film, this is the second of their three collaborations, following ''Husbands'' and pre ...
'', directed by
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and direc ...
.
It stars
Willem Dafoe
Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for four Academy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, t ...
as a
strip club owner and co-stars
Bob Hoskins,
Asia Argento
Asia Argento (; born Aria Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento; 20 September 1975) is an Italian actress and filmmaker. The daughter of filmmaker Dario Argento, she has had roles in several of her father's features and achieved mainstream success with ...
and
Matthew Modine
Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker, who rose to prominence through his role as U.S. Marine Private/Sergeant J.T. "Joker" Davis in ''Full Metal Jacket''. His other film roles include the title character ...
. Ferrara had the cast improvise much of their lines.
He described the film as his "first intentional comedy".
Plot
Ray Ruby, who manages Ray Ruby’s Paradise, is worried about fewer tourists visiting the establishment so he decides to hold a lottery to bring them in. Ray is running out of money but people expect to be paid, including the pole dancers. A landlady by the name of Lillian plans on using the spot for a
Bed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is an American chain of domestic merchandise retail stores. The chain operates many stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
Bed Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971. It is counted among the Fortune 5 ...
location if she does not receive rent money.
Desperate for money to keep the establishment open, Ray tries to find the winning ticket of his own lottery. His brother Johnnie helps keep the strip club open. The film shows the lives of people who depend on the strip club and what the lack of money does to them.
Cast
*
Willem Dafoe
Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for four Academy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, t ...
- Ray Ruby
*
Bob Hoskins - The Baron
*
Matthew Modine
Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker, who rose to prominence through his role as U.S. Marine Private/Sergeant J.T. "Joker" Davis in ''Full Metal Jacket''. His other film roles include the title character ...
- Johnie Ruby
*
Asia Argento
Asia Argento (; born Aria Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento; 20 September 1975) is an Italian actress and filmmaker. The daughter of filmmaker Dario Argento, she has had roles in several of her father's features and achieved mainstream success with ...
- Monroe
*
Riccardo Scamarcio
Riccardo Dario Scamarcio (; born 13 November 1979) is an Italian actor and film producer.
Life and career
Scamarcio was born in Trani, Apulia, the son of Irene Petrafesa, a painter, and Emilio Scamarcio.
He went to train as an actor at the Sc ...
- Doctor Steven
*
Sylvia Miles
Sylvia Miles (née Scheinwald; September 9, 1924 – June 12, 2019) was an American actress. She was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performances in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969) and '' Farewell, My Lovel ...
- Lilian Murray
*
Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice (26 May 1923 – 16 October 2017) was a British actor famed for his portrayal of the antiquarian John Aubrey in the record-breaking solo play '' Brief Lives''.
Abroad, he won a Tony Award for his performance in the 2000 Broadway r ...
- Jay
*
Joseph Cortese
Joseph Cortese (born February 22, 1948) is an American actor who had major roles in films such as ''Windows'' (1980), '' Evilspeak'' (1981) and ''Monsignor'' (1982).
Early life
Cortese was born on February 22, 1948 in Paterson, New Jersey. He ...
- Danny Cash (as Joe Cortese)
*
Burt Young
Gerald Tommaso DeLouise (born April 30, 1940), known professionally as Burt Young, is an American actor, author and painter. He played Rocky Balboa's brother-in-law and best friend Paulie Pennino in the '' Rocky'' film series. He was nominated f ...
- Murray
*
Stefania Rocca - Debby
*
Bianca Balti
Bianca Balti (; born 19 March 1984) is an Italian model.
Career
Balti was first booked for the cover of ''L'Officiel'', shot by Alexi Lubomirski. Her first notable advertisement campaign came for Dolce & Gabbana. She has appeared on the covers ...
- Adrian
*
Shanyn Leigh - Dolle
*
Lou Doillon
Lou Doillon (born 4 September 1982) is a French-English singer, actress and model.
Personal life
Doillon is the daughter of French writer/director Jacques Doillon and English actress/singer Jane Birkin. She has six brothers and sisters: K ...
- Lola
*
Frankie Cee - Luigi
*
Anita Pallenberg
Anita Pallenberg (6 April 1942 – 13 June 2017) was a German-Italian actress, artist, and model. A style icon and "It Girl" of the 1960s and 1970s, Pallenberg was credited as the muse of the Rolling Stones: she was the romantic partner of the ...
- Sin
*
Andy Luotto
André Paul "Andy" Luotto (born 30 July 1950) is an American actor, comedian, musician, chef, and restaurateur. He has resided in Italy since the mid-1970s, where he is a prolific television personality, and is the owner and operator of the Lá re ...
- Stanley
*
Romina Power
Romina Francesca Power (born October 2, 1951) is an American actress and singer born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of Hollywood matinée idol Tyrone Power and actress Linda Christian. With then-husband Albano Carrisi, she fo ...
- Yolanda Vega
*
Julie McNiven
Julie McNiven (born October 11, 1980) is an American actress and singer. McNiven was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, and got her start in local community theatre productions. She is best known for her recurring roles in ''Mad Men'' (2007–2009 ...
- Madison
Production
The part of Ray Ruby was offered to
Christopher Walken and
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
.
When the film came out, Asia Argento said she regretted she did it because everyone was only talking about the infamous dog-kissing scene. But both director Abel Ferrara and actress Stefania Rocca confirmed that it was Asia herself who wanted to do that scene.
Release
It was screened out of competition at the
2007 Cannes Film Festival
The 60th Cannes Film Festival ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. The President of the Jury was British director Stephen Frears. Twenty two films from twelve countries were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The awards were announced on 26 May. '' 4 ...
.
It has been seen only at selected film festivals, including the
Montréal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...
where it competed for the "Grand prix des Amériques". Despite being filmed by an American director, the film rights were never bought in the United States. Its only other United States airing besides the Cannes Film Festival and New York Film Festival was at the Anthology Film Archives, as part of a program titled "Abel Ferrara in the 21st Century".
The film was released on DVD in Australia.
The film was also screened in May 2019 as part of a 27-film Abel Ferrara retrospective at New York's
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
.
Reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 68%, based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 5.80/10. On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
score of 61 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Ed Gonzalez, writing for ''
Slant Magazine'', praised the acting and the music. Robert Koehler, of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', said that "Ferrara is in a wonderfully loose and comedic mood after the complex spiritual dramatics of 'Mary.'"
A review by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' said, "A lovely drift of a movie, “Go Go Tales” commands your attention even as it lulls you along. Conspicuously inspired by
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and direc ...
’s ''
Killing of a Chinese Bookie'' among other touchstones, it is a sincere and inspired meditation on art and creation, but in a loose, funny key".
Simon Miraudo, of Quickflix, said that "all anyone wanted to talk about was the sequence in which
Asia Argento
Asia Argento (; born Aria Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento; 20 September 1975) is an Italian actress and filmmaker. The daughter of filmmaker Dario Argento, she has had roles in several of her father's features and achieved mainstream success with ...
’s exotic dancer tongue-kissed a dog onstage".
It is a Critics' Pick of ''The New York Times''.
''
Cahiers du Cinéma'' placed Go Go Tales 7th in its list of top 10 films of 2012.
References
External links
*
*
{{Abel Ferrara
2007 films
English-language Italian films
2007 comedy films
Films directed by Abel Ferrara
American independent films
Italian independent films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films