The Center of the World

A couple checks into a hotel suite in Las Vegas. Flashbacks show that he's a computer whiz on the verge of becoming a dot-com millionaire. She's a lap dancer at a club. He's depressed, withdrawing from work, missing meetings with investors. He wants a connection, so he offers her $10,000 to spend three nights with him in Vegas. She accepts with conditions: four hours per night of erotic play, and no penetration. During the days in Vegas, they get to know each other, have fun, and meet a friend of hers, casino dealer Jerri. After the first night, things get complicated. When the three days are over, the stripper makes it clear that she is only there for the money and that the man she spends the time with is just a client. Upset that his feelings aren't reciprocated, he rapes her; she makes no attempt to stop him. She then masturbates for him, achieving orgasm, saying "you want to see real? I'll show you real." The next day he returns home heartbroken. The movie ends with his return to the strip club to see the woman he fell in love with again. She greets him fondly but interacts with him the way she had when they first met: as a stripper and a client ordering a lap dance. Because the movie is shown in non sequential order, it is up to the viewer to decide when the interaction at the strip club occurred. One could believe it happened before their time together in Las Vegas, implying that their relationship ended after three days, or one could believe that the interaction at the strip club occurred after their three days in Las Vegas, implying that they rekindled their relationship and started anew. ==Cast==

• Peter Sarsgaard as Richard Longman • Molly Parker as Florence • Mel Gorham as Roxanne • Shane Edelman as Porter • Karry Brown as Lap dancer • Alisha Klass as Pandora stripper • Lisa Newlan as Porn site woman • Jason Calacanis as Pete • Travis Miljan as Dog owner • Jerry Sherman as Old man • Carla Gugino as Jerri • Pat Morita as Taxi driver • Balthazar Getty as Brian Pivano • Robert Lefkowitz as Motel manager • John Lombardo as Gondolier == Production ==

Development In January 2000, Wayne Wang announced plans to direct The Center of the World for Artisan Entertainment. Wang said he "wanted to make a really erotic film about sex and love, that could be like ‘The Last Tango in Paris’ for a younger generation. I wanted to do a movie about this young generation of guys who are dealing with the Internet, software and day-trading; this whole new world out there where they’re making shitloads of money fast, and not knowing what their lives are about yet besides that money and easy pleasures." Wang drew inspiration from Nan Goldin's photography when envisioning the look of the film. Internet executive Jason Calacanis appeared in and acted as an advisor for the film. ==Reception==

Release The Center of the World was given a limited release in the U.S. on April 20, 2001. It was released without a rating from the MPAA as the filmmakers did not want to edit the film's graphic scenes of nudity and sexuality, which includes both female and male full frontal nudity. Censorship controversy A Cincinnati theater owner attracted media attention after allegedly ordering a member of his staff to edit a five-second scene from the film a day before its release. According to Cincinnati CityBeat, Esquire Theater owner Gary Goldman instructed his theater manager and projectionist to cut the scene in which a female stripper (portrayed by adult film actress Alisha Klass) inserts a lollipop into her vagina. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has an average weighted score of 44 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Critics compared The Center of the World to films like Last Tango in Paris and 9½ Weeks. He wrote, "If you understand who the characters are and what they're supposed to represent, the performances are right on the money. Flo is not supposed to be a sexy tart, and Richard is not supposed to be a lustful client. They're sides of the same coin and very much alike." ==Notes==