I was surprised to see this movie follow so closely the beats and phrases of American Gigolo in so many ways. SPOILER ALERT --- For Instance, the nice guy protagonist - feeling guilty about his profession, decides he has reached a moral high ground in his life and wants to change. As if by accident, he meets the woman capable of making him a changed man - in this case, it was an ex-wife. They rekindle their passions, only to find complications. Those complications, coupled with a homicide investigation (involving a client) makes life a living hell for our protagonist. In the end, both Gere and Defoe share that obligatory jail scene with their "loved one" claiming that they are "saved" by their love. Although the basic plot lines are similar, the movies are different in many ways. SLEEPER seemed to be less fleshed out in characterization. We never completely scratched the surface of the characters. All seemed to have more "submerged" beneath the surface than visible to the audience (which was frustrating) because we basically LIKE these people, even if they are Drug Dealers. Sarandon is superb in this movie - makes you wish she did more like this. But all in all, it mirrored American Gigolo so closely that by the time the final scene played out, I was laughing out loud at the obvious similarities to Gigolo. Not an homage - but a rip off, apparently.
Review of Light Sleeper
