Cafe Society

(recommended)

Originally broadcast on Showtime, Raymond De Felitta's film dives into the red-lampshaded world of the 1950s New York nightclub scene, where men were men and dames were dames. Based on the true story of a prostitution scandal that changed that glamorous milieu forever, the film stars Frank Whaley as millionaire playboy Mickey Jelke, whose troubles begin when he meets Patricia Ward (Lara Flynn Boyle) and Jack Kale (Peter Gallagher) on the same night. Pat introduces herself as "Pat Ward, Newport," but is actually a Jewish girl from the Lower East Side; Jack Kale, who becomes Mickey's trusted friend, is an undercover police officer sent to crack open the seedy world of cafe society. Mickey is set for disaster when his parents cut off his trust fund. Hard up for money, he convinces Pat to become a prostitute, turning all her earnings over to him so that they can get married, or so he tells her. Jack brings word of this arrangement to his superiors, the police swoop in, and Mickey finds himself turned into a symbol of decadence. Arraigned on inflated charges and dubbed a "vice lord" in the press, Mickey takes the fall for an entire subculture. Unlike other period pieces set in this era, Cafe Society takes its cues more from '50s life than '50s movies. The nightclubs have a seedy, desperate look which by '90s standards is almost charming. Still, Cafe Society takes care to show that not everything was so benign; the style turns abruptly dark at the movie's center, where Pat turns her first trick and Mickey finds out about her past. Cafe Society employs several montages to good compressive effect, which makes it even more disappointing that the last section, which recounts Mickey's trial, drags on so long. But despite its unsatisfying ending, Cafe Society has much to recommend it, from the dark-hued tones of Michael Mayers' cinematography to John Spencer's oily performance as a press agent who doubles as a pimp. Sit back, listen to the dialogue zing, and you'll find Cafe Society creates an atmosphere well worth wallowing in.

— Sam Adams

(Roxy)