The Client List
| The Client List | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Written by | Suzanne Martin |
| Directed by | Eric Laneuville |
| Starring | Jennifer Love Hewitt Cybill Shepherd Teddy Sears Lynda Boyd Chelah Horsdal Sonja Bennett |
| Theme music composer | Richard Marvin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Ted Bauman Howard Braunstein Jennifer Love Hewitt Michael Jaffe Dannielle Thomas |
| Editor | Lisa Robison |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Lifetime Network |
| Release | July 19, 2010 |
The Client List is a 2010 television film that premiered on the Lifetime Network on July 19, 2010, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and directed by Eric Laneuville. A fictionalized dramatization of a 2004 prostitution scandal[1][2] in Odessa, Texas, the film follows Sam Horton, a mother of three who becomes a prostitute to make ends meet.[3]
Plot
Samantha Horton (Jennifer Love Hewitt) - a former Texas beauty queen and mother of three kids - struggles with financial difficulties and the threat of foreclosure on her home, after she loses her job and her former Texas football star husband loses his construction job due to a nagging knee injury. Sam desperately starts looking for a job and when she applies for one at a massage parlor, she discovers the masseuses who work there are actually prostitutes serving prominent members of society.
At first, Sam refuses the job offer, but after one night when she is unable to pay for gas, she realizes how badly her family needs money. Seeing that she has no other options left, Sam reluctantly accepts the position. Lying to her mother (Cybill Shepherd) and her friends about the real nature of her job, Sam starts bringing in a lot of money and hiding it in her freezer. In addition to the abundant money, Sam soon becomes the most popular masseuse among the clients.
The police raid the massage parlour after a tip off. Her husband leaves her after he sees the bust on TV. Sam gets help from a lawyer friend. She is tried and gets 30 days in jail after spilling a list of 69 prominent clients in the small town. She was in jail for a few weeks and got paroled. When she went back home, the client's wives came to her house. Samantha was scared they were going to lynch her, but they didn't and asked for sex advice.
After she gets out she gets a job as a waitress, went to Narcotics Anonymous meetings and went back to college. She also reconciles with her husband.
Cast
- Jennifer Love Hewitt as Samantha Dale Horton
- Teddy Sears as Rex Horton
- Sonja Bennett as Dee
- Lynda Boyd as Jackie
- Chelah Horsdal as Doreen
- Heather Doerksen as Tanya
- Kacey Rohl as Emma
- Kandyse McClure as Laura
- Cybill Shepherd as Cassie
Reception
The Client List drew in an audience of 3.9 million viewers and was the highest rated program for the evening amongst female viewers between the ages of 18 and 49.[4] Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker considered it a typical Lifetime film that "offer[ed] cheap thrills … while offering moral uplift." Calling it "malarkey," he felt that Hewitt was able to sell the film to the audiences due to her "talent for communicating sincerity and charm."[5]
Awards and nominations
The film received a Golden Globe nomination for Jennifer Love Hewitt in the category "Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television," but lost to Claire Danes starring as Temple Grandin in the film of the same name.[6]
Release
The film was released on DVD in January, 2011 in North America. No release has been confirmed for other regions.
Television series
On August 10, 2011, it was announced that Lifetime has ordered production of The Client List television series based on the film. Hewitt reprised the lead role and also serves as executive producer. The series, however, is a re-imagining of the film (with Hewitt's character having a different name from the film), and is not a direct continuation of the film's storyline. The series premiered on April 8, 2012.[7] On November 1, 2013, Lifetime cancelled the series after two seasons, the final episode of series aired on June 16, 2013.[8][9]
References
- ^ Vine, Katy (January 2005). "She Had Brains, a Body, and the Ability To Make Men Love Her". Texas Monthly. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
- ^ Lee, David J. (June 28, 2004), 61 arrested in Healing Touch case, Odessa American, retrieved 2014-02-22
{{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Pantera, Gabrielle (July 19, 2010). "Tonight on Lifetime: The Client List". Hollywood Today. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
- ^ Levine, Stuart (July 20, 2010). "'Client List' fares well for Lifetime". Variety. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (July 19, 2010). "'The Client List' review: Jennifer Love Hewitt shook her money-maker". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
- ^ "'The King's Speech,' 'Glee' Lead Golden Globe Pack With Most Nominations". Fox News. December 14, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (August 10, 2011). "Jennifer Love Hewitt to Star in and Executive Produce New Lifetime Series 'The Client List'". Tv by the Numbers. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Ng, Philiana (November 1, 2013). "Lifetime Cancels 'The Client List'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 1, 2013). "Lifetime's 'The Client List' Cancelled After Two Seasons". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
External links
- Official website
- The Client List at IMDb
- "Jennifer Love Hewitt: TV, Prostitution, Bad Economy". The Baltimore Sun. July 19, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
- "The Client List: Hewitt Parties With More Than Five". Huffington Post. July 14, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2010.