When Will I Be Loved

I've never been a big fan of James Toback's macho ego-trips, but this latest effort made me re-evaluate my position. True to form, it opens with a young woman (Neve Campbell) masturbating in the shower under the pretence of "exploring sexuality" and offers her a boyfriend (Fred Weller) who's a conscienceless but pathetic hustler who will do anything in the name of self-aggrandisement. But for once in the director's oeuvre, the men don't have a moral escape hatch that justifies their behaviour — once Weller surreptitiously pimps Campbell to Italian media mogul Dominic Chianese, the film becomes an essay in the evasions of men trying to justify their search for gratification. Chianese's elegant bull about his allegedly complimentary pursuit of Campbell speaks volumes about male vanity and selfishness, making Campbell's revenge on the two deluded suitors seem supremely apropos. While it regrettably doesn't do away with male fantasy altogether, as Weller's Central Park foursome with three ladies painfully attests, it's still that rare example of a director coming to terms with his own limitations. Sadly, he's his old self in the three extras, which includes, so help me, "scene sexplorations" in which Toback and Campbell discuss the logistics of various sex scenes; the director does his best to intellectualise his desire to get laid, while Campbell heroically manages to retain her composure. An interview featurette follows in which Toback blathers on about how he hates the artificiality of most sex scenes, while Campbell gets the startling question, "How did you feel about playing a Black Widow?" Capping things off is a supremely self-deceived Toback commentary where the director manages to minimise everything that's good about the movie in favour of the elements that are most like an undergraduate on the make. (Alliance Atlantis)