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7:00 PM Sundance
A French Gigolo (2008 FRA): Well, of course he’s bloody French - do gigolos come in any other variety? Released in its native Gaul with the somewhat blunter (if less descriptive) title Cliente, A French Gigolo is an inconsequential bit of fluff about construction worker Marco (Eric Caravaca) who moonlights as - you guessed it - a hunk for hire. One of his customers is elegant businesswoman Judith (Nathalie Baye), who finds more than she bargained for with her (otherwise happily) married piece of beefcake. Triangular complications with Marco’s wife Fanny (Isabelle Carré) ensue. Films don’t come much more French than this one, so don your stripy shirt and beret, grab a baguette, and settle down for an evening of sexy fun. Amusez-vous!

10:00 PM HBO Signature
Malta con Huevo (2007 CHL): It’s been a while since a new Spanish-language film has appeared on HBO Signature, so I’m delighted to note the American television debut of this Chilean comedy. I haven’t seen Malta con Huevo yet, but plot synopses suggest it’s a South American take on Groundhog Day, with the title referring to a revolting sounding drink consisting of Guinness and eggs. I think I’d rather drink Sunny-D and rum, yum yum…

Wednesday 11/17/10

3:15 pm Encore Mystery
Iceman (1984 USA): I remember really hating this film when it came out, but (shotgun blasts to the head aside) time heals all wounds, and I’m ready to give Iceman another chance. Directed by Aussie expat Fred Schepisi, the film stars Hong Kong actor John Lone as the titular character, a caveman whose well-preserved body is thawed out after the passage of 40,000 years by scientists Timothy Hutton and Lindsay Crouse. Naturally enough, he finds the cross-millenia transition a difficult one to make - traffic is a lot worse than it had been, and that hippity-hoppity music the kids dig is awful - and things get even dicier when some of Hutton and Crouse’s colleagues decide they’d like to dissect the discovery. Ouch. Is this the simple-minded Forrest Gump cheese-fest I remember, or is it the thought-provoking classic Roger Ebert saw? It’s definitely time for a re-assessment.

11:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
It (1927 USA): Not to be confused with 1958’s sci-fi classic It! The Terror From Beyond Space or 1967’s sci-fi non-classic It!, this It is the film that gave silent screen queen Clara Bow her immortal nickname, The It Girl. Imagine if film actresses still got their nicknames this way: Nicole Kidman would be known forever as The BMX Bandits B*h, whilst the nomenclature Firehouse Floozie seems somehow appropriate for Julia Roberts. (Note to sensitive readers: I do not actually endorse the use of demeaning sexist terms such as b***h and floozie.) As for Clara, she’s utterly charming (and quite alluring) as Betty Lou Spence, a salesgirl with her sights set on the bedroom of boardroom boss Cyrus Waltham (Antonio Moreno). The cinematic embodiment of both the Roaring '20s and The Jazz Age, It also includes an early performance by Gary Cooper, here seen briefly as a newspaper reporter.

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