Meet Monica Velour review

            There are a lot of different directions that Meet Monica Velour could have gone in. It could have been satirical, raunchy, melodramatic or romantic, but instead filmmaker Keith Bearden wisely goes for quirky while sweet and sentimental. This is skillfully accomplished, making the scenario seem much more natural than it is.

            The film follows awkward teenager Tobe (Dustin Ingram), who resembles a more self aware Napoleon Dynamite type. Ridiculed by most of his peers and unable to muster the courage to speak to a new crush, Tobe sets off on a solo road trip to meet his favorite 1980s porn star, Monica Velour. While most might be disappointed to find that their favorite sex symbol of days past have aged, Tobe somehow sees past the changes and still admires her in a way the former porn star needs.

            49-year-old Monica Velour (Kim Cattrall) is a single mom with ex issues and money trouble, but all that Tobe sees is the woman he has spent his entire adolescence fantasizing about. Despite meager means, Tobe naively and kindly offers all that he can to help the aging porn star, even though everyone else seems to have turned their back on her. Their friendship, quirky and unexpected as it is, remains the heart of the film.