The Benefactor movie review & film summary (2016)

Franny calls Olivia “Poodles,” easily the worst nickname in the history of cinema. Not even Olivier in his prime could make “Poodles” roll off the tongue with conviction nor ease, and Gere is saddled with saying it about 150 times. Far more problematic is Franny’s relationship with Mr. Poodles, which Renzi paints in hilarious “wink-wink-nudge-nudge” homoerotic terms. The only suspense to be had in “The Benefactor” is whether Franny will grab Dr. Luke and sex him up like Color Me Badd. For example, Franny’s morphine addiction is made explicit in a scene where Renzi puts Luke’s boxers-clad crotch and Franny’s face in the same frame. We think Franny’s going to proposition the nearly naked Luke; instead, he asks the doctor to write him an illegal prescription. Later, the two get high on Molly and end up spooning in bed. While Olivia places a frantic call to her husband, Franny’s arm snakes around Luke’s waist. Ominous music plays.

Like every other plot development in “The Benefactor," Franny’s “flirtation” with Luke goes nowhere. But we do eventually glean that Franny is one incredibly inept drug addict. When he runs out of morphine (actually, he pours it out a few scenes prior—what addict would do this?), Franny can’t figure out where to get more. His connection, a doctor under his employ, suddenly grows a conscience after five years of illegal morphine scripts. As Gere overplays his jonesing-for-a-fix freak out, I found myself offering advice to the screen: “Franny, baby, you’re a billionaire! Money can’t buy you love, but it damn sure can get you some illegal morphine!“

This movie is one big, unsatisfying tease. It teases the possibility of something sinister happening, and nothing does. It teases the possibility of a character study about a rich dope fiend racked with guilt, yet doesn’t develop the relationships of the guilty party at all. It teases the possibility of a young married couple’s struggles with student loans and a shotgun marriage, yet the couple is so paper thin they don’t even register as real people. Fanning’s considerable talent is completely wasted and, outside of his one scene of confrontation with Franny, James exists only to look like an uncomfortable sheep ogled by Gere’s wolf.

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