Man's Job

Reviewed at the 2008 Palm Springs International Film Festival

(2007, 85 min) Apparently "man's job" is to fuck everything up. Juha (Tommi Korpela) is a recently laid-off father who stumbles into a male escort job, despite being quite plain-looking. As he does his tricks, he hides it from his family, until the lies come tumbling down in heavy-handed fashion. His best friend Olli (Jani Volanen) is a taxi driver with a drinking problem, and Olli reluctantly becomes Juha's pimp. Olli is also the father of Juha's son, and still has feelings for the chronically depressed Katja (Maria Heiskanen).

All of this is conveyed in a relentlessly heavy tone, portending to have deep insight into its characters and humanity and general. But there's nothing universal here; everything is confined to a ridiculous set-up that wouldn't even pass the "Three's Company" believability test. Never mind the idea that someone as plain looking as Juha can make big money servicing female clients exclusively.

There are moments that hint at a better movie, including the outrageous situation of being paid to bathe with an obviously underaged girl with Down's Syndrome. It's enough to make you wish this film had gone farther. Instead we get the typical consequences of lying... confessions, suicide attempts; you know, fun stuff. The movie ends with a series of smug smirks by the protagonist... how apropos.

– David Gorgos

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