www.cinematical.com – Sasha Grey’s performance in Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience isn’t anything spectacular, but for her first go-around in a film not in the adult entertainment industry, it’s quite impressive. Apparently director Mark Pellington thought so too because Grey has been cast in his next film, the low-budget drama I Melt With You.
The script, penned by Pellington and Glen Porter, focuses on three college buddies played by Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe and Jeremy Piven. They get together every year for a summer reunion, but this year is different. This year the guys are feeling a little empty inside. According to THR, that’s when they decide to “resurrect a pact they vowed to live, die and kill by.” Grey comes in as Raven, “a free spirit who helps one of the men realize that nirvana can only be achieved by death.” Huge’s Zander Eckhouse also joined the cast as Raven’s writer boyfriend as well as Abhi Sinha as a med student and The Uninvited’s Arielle Kebbel as a hostess.
The plot details are a little too vague to see what Pellington is really getting at with this whole pact concept, but it’s easy to get the feeling that this drama might come with a serious dark side. At least we do know we have a quality leading trio to take us through the material.
But what guy will care about them when this movie will provide Grey with some more time in front of the lens? Well, I’m not a guy, however, I’m still pretty intrigued with Grey getting involved – for different reasons, of course. Like I said, she was good in The Girlfriend Experience, but not great. Either the part didn’t require much in terms of showcasing emotions or that was just Grey’s way of expressing feelings, but whatever she did manage to pull off worked. Should I Melt With You require a little more from her, perhaps we could actually see an adult film star make a successful transition into more mainstream material.
Based on The Girlfriend Experience alone, it might not seem Grey’s capable of giving anymore, but if you check out some of the interviews she did when promoting the film, it’s quite evident she does have some personality in there. Then again, if you’re familiar with her non-Soderbergh work, you probably know much more about her than any interview can show.
Do you think Grey has what it takes to take Hollywood by storm, or will she have to settle for tiny “festival-ish” movies and Entourage?