MBunge This film is disappointingly good. Not because I would hoping it would suck and it didn't, but because it is fundamentally flawed in a way that all the positive things movie cannot overcome. This is a funny, sensitive story with fine performances and careful direction. It's also a tale that is structurally centered on one character while its emotional focus is almost entirely on another. The plot is all about a 17 year old kid who seeks out the 1980s porn star he's fantasized about for years. However, that harshly aged porn star is the only one writer/director Keith Bearden really cares about. It is her life and her struggle that are at the heart of this film, even though she's only a supporting character and the movie revolves around the mostly hapless teen. At the end of Meet Monica Velour, the viewer knows far more about the ex-porn star than the teen and understands her better than him. That's like knowing more about Fredo than Michael at the end of The Godfather II or more about Han than Luke at the end of Star Wars.Let me try and put it this way. The teenager's obsession with the porn star is the most important thing in his life. Yet, the audience is provided with not one scintilla of explanation for why he's obsessed with this particular figure from X rated history or how he even discovered her. This motion picture is set in 2010, which means the kid was born in 1993. The porn star ended her career the better part of a decade before the kid was born and the better part of two decades before he entered puberty. How did he find out she ever existed? And what is it about her that commands his pre-adolescent brand of adoration? I'll admit the former is primarily a pesky little plot detail that others might not care about. The latter is at the core of who this kid is, how he got to be that way and why he does the things he does. No matter how otherwise well written or performed the role, and both are nicely accomplished here, this is a character with a gaping void where his humanity should be. He's a puppet through which Bearden and actor Dustin Ingram show off their considerable talents, but that's all.In addition to Ingram, Kim Cattrall as the ex-porn star and Brian Dennehy as the teenager's grandpa are quite enjoyable to watch and their characters do have a bit of historical and personal depth to them. Even the smaller parts like Daniel Yelsky as a neighbor boy, Jee Young Han as the girl the main character should be lusting over, Keith David as the wise man who enters the teen's life and Sam McMurray as the ex-porn star's ex-husband feel like living human beings. There's not a question is my mind that you could leave almost everything else the same and if you concentrated the story on Cattrall's character and cast Ingram in a supporting role, this would have been a vastly better and more entertaining film.If Keith Bearden had only directed someone else's script, I'd be very interested in seeing more work from him. He does that good a job telling this story. That's he's the one who came up with this out-of-whack screenplay, however, gives me pause. I'd still be interested but I'd want to know what other people thought of it before investing my time and money. If you're a fan of any of the actors here, you might like Meet Monica Velour. Even though there's a lot of skill and talent evident in this production, I can't say anything better about it than that.

thebigbang991 Looked at as a whole, Meet Monica Velour is missing some key elements that would make audience members walk away saying, "Wow." The cinematography reminds me of riding in the car with my 85 year old grandfather when I was a kid...it feels like you're not even moving. The director seems to have been too much of a rule-follower, as if he was following class notes in numerical order. However, the cast was wisely chosen and the poor technical issues of the film can be overlooked because of the commitment of the actors. It's possible to get lost in a story, to forget about the poor technical issues, if the story is well told - that's what happened in Meet Monica Velour. In particular, Kim Cattrall is so convincing in this lead role, so enveloped in this character, that one might begin to wonder if and why Hollywood shut her out so early. This film proves that they could have had another Meryl Streep on their hands, and they let her go. I'm certain the producers of Meet Monica Velour are thankful that they did.

katrinetro I really enjoyed this movie. It's got lots of heart, a rare thing today without getting schmalzy, good laughs and smart and to the point writing. Without doubt the best part is Kim Cattrall's performance. She's never been this good, or even close. She totally looses herself in Monica Velour. It's a Streep quality job. There's an Oscar buzz already on some blogs and shockingly, I think they're right. But apart from that, I'd say this movie is one of the most real movies I've seen. The characters are taken off the street, their dreams and realities are like the ones we all share. It makes me think - why aren't there more movies like this out there, movies that make us sit back and look at our own lives and say hey, I don't need to lose twenty pounds or be a superstar, I can just be me.

MovieHooker Although some of my colleagues were a bit shocked by the subject matter I was extremely satisfied with this dark comedy film with feeling. It was truthful yet entertaining (mostly due to the Cast & heartfelt writing). Dustin being a newcomer allowed me to believe this was a real boy struggling with the issues of growing up under his slightly unusual circumstances. Kim Cattrall was wonderful and her chemistry with Dustin was unbelievable! I would love to know if she and he were long time friends and she had something to do with choosing him as Tobe. Brian Dennehy was strong yet short lived in this film. I believe there could've been an entire movie in itself based on POP-POP and TOBE'S relationship and home life. (Maybe an HBO Series). Ha! I'm very excited that Kim has shed the "Sex In The City" suit for a more "real" dark character and with a new star on its way in the form of Dustin Ingram, this movie will be a long lived tribute to his start (although he has plenty of younger Disney & Nickelodeon credits). I highly recommend going and seeing it in April 2011 when ANCHOR BAY is supposed to release it nation wide! And don't let the taboo of the word "Porn Star" keep you from enjoying a delightful movie about young love and maturing in a current world of motherless and fatherless households with our children being raised by the media. Please support this work of art written and directed by Kieth Bearden.