2020 kept a lot of us locked up at home, without the option to go out and do things like going to dinner, seeing a movie, hanging out with friends, and so on. This type of lifestyle, while intriguing to the introverts of the world, can get depressing over time. So, nothing seems more depressing to me than streaming a film at home, because I can’t go to the theater safely, about a guy who lives a claustrophobic life, stuck up in his apartment for most of the film. I’m not saying I’m not a fan of depressing media. Hell, Death Cab for Cutie is one of my favorite bands of all time. I was up for watching this film, but I certainly hoped it would be more than watching some dude jack off on screen. Sadly, it wasn’t much more than that.
PVT Chat offers us a look into the life of Jack. Jack somehow lives in a two-bedroom apartment in New York City, without a job. You read that right. If that is unbelievable to you, then the rest of the film might be equally hard to believe. Jack spends his days doing two things: playing virtual blackjack online and spending whatever winnings he happens to get on cam girls and red-light district masseuses. We watch this daily routine over and over and over again until Jack begins to fascinate on one particular dominatrix Cam Girl named “Scarlet,” played by Julia Fox of Uncut Gems. Jack feeds lies about his life to Scarlet to impress her and pays her increasingly more and more money to get the “real side” of her to come out. When Jack happens to see Scarlet in a convenience store and realizes the dominatrix who makes him orgasm almost every day actually lives in the same city, his obsession with her turns to a stalker level.
Whether or not you support it, sex work is one of the biggest industries in the world. While prostitution isn’t “legal” in most of America, strippers, cam girls/guys, sugar babies, sex callers, and porn models and actors are all part of a booming business in this country. Websites like “Onlyfans” provide a webcam-based personal sex service designed specifically for whatever the customer is into. Now, this work can be a side job for some and a six-figure a year career for others. While it’s condemned in churches across the nation, it exists primarily because there is a demand for it.
When I served in the military over in Korea, there was a square mile outside of our base that was built and flooded with shops and bars specifically to meet the needs of the Americans on that base. Half of those bars/shops were owned by the Korean Mafia, and half were owned by the Russian Mafia. Some bars were just bars, with pool tables, darts, tvs, and whatever. Other bars were referred to as “juicy bars.” These establishments had “juicy girls” working around the clock. These girls were sex-trafficked from other countries with the promise of making money for their family as dancers and singers. In reality, they wore bikinis at a bar, danced on stage when their turn came up, and would sit next customers to drink a shot of fruit juice for $10. At night, when Americans weren’t allowed outside the base, these bars were turned into brothels for the locals. Those girls would not be released back to their families until they had earned their bar $20,000 or more. Despite this obvious and horrendous arrangement, I saw military men spend large chunks of their paychecks on their “juicy girlfriends” every weekend.
Now why do I bring this up? I wanted to make it clear that there is a difference between consensual and non-consensual sex work. Non-consensual sex work can involve sex-trafficking, underage participants, and a number of other scenarios where the workers are not there of their own free will. Consensual sex work, on the other hand, involves men and women who are out there trying to make a buck like everyone else. Many of these individuals are very good at their job, enjoy their work, and make a lot of money doing it. They aren’t bad people simply because they are filling a demand. I could go on and on about the hypocrisy of illegalizing prostitution when so many other forms of sex work are legal, but that’s not what this is about.
After watching the trailer for PVT Chat, I went into the film with the assumption that it would talk about how sex workers across the country have to deal with obsessive and sometimes dangerous stalkers on a daily basis. Celebrities in all industries have to constantly worry about their fans invading their private lives. When Jack finds out that Scarlet lives in his city, his shy/supportive personality turns into this dark, obsessive, pretentious character who feels like he owns this girl now. He starts to demand things of her, he starts to invade her privacy more and more, and because he’s paid her money in the past, he doesn’t feel like he’s doing anything wrong. So, you would think that he would be painted as the villain in this story, with Scarlet as the victim. Instead, without getting into spoilers, the convoluted plot adds some twists to ultimately paint Scarlet as the victimizer.
This, in simple words, really pissed me off. After sitting through three-fourths of the film watching Jack in multiple grotesque, up close masturbation scenes, and then witnessing him terrorize a cam girl while committing several crimes in the process, I couldn’t believe the gall of this film to make the victim, Scarlet, out to be the ultimate villain. Sure, the “plot” explains it, but the film sacrifices its last shred of credibility in the process. Stalker fans are a real problem for so many people in this world. For the film to justify this man’s actions, it essentially said that the millions of people in the sex industry basically “deserve” whatever crimes are committed against them.
Julia Fox was a highlight of Uncut Gems alongside Adam Sandler. Sure, she was the former Playboy model cast as the sex symbol in the film, but she did have some scenes that showed acting promise. Her big film debut reminded me of Margot Robbie’s debut in “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Robbie was there to be the nude sex symbol, but she’s left the nudity behind to pursue a stunning acting career that doesn’t necessarily rely on showing her skin. Julia Fox, the former porn model, was brought on to this film to be the porn cam girl. They show a lot of nudity with her. While they do give her some screen time to shine, the majority of the film centers around her stalker.
To my knowledge, PVT Chat remains unrated due to the nudity and uncut masturbation scenes throughout. I don’t write this review as a prude who can’t handle sex scenes. I don’t have a problem with that when it centers on a compelling story like Michael Fassbender’s sex addict tale in 2011’s Shame. In that movie, the viewer was trapped in uncomfortable scenes throughout the film, but the message and the drama of the film were relevant and intriguing. The tagline for PVT Chat reads “A romance about freedom, fantasy, death, friendship.” The film is nothing of the sort. Instead, it provides a lot of nudity and masturbation for shock value, a sliver of plot, and a mind-bendingly insulting 3rd act that paints sex workers as potential villains out to ruin your life.
Many people happily support sex workers today in different ways. Oftentimes, different media will paint these men and women as sad loners with nothing better to do than waste their money on porn. Just like you might pay hundreds of dollars to sit on the far end of a football stadium to squint to see the faint outline of your favorite singer perform on a stage several hundred feet away from you, many people gladly support their favorite sex workers. You buy an album, they buy a video clip. You give a music video a like, they give a performer a tip. It really isn’t that different. This film, however, came off like it was written by a toxic man who was angry for spending money on digital porn and felt like he was owed something. PVT Chat was disgustingly hard to watch before it became insolent, and I can’t unrecommend it more.
RORSCHACH RATING:
Mental Health Moment: I’m not here to tell you that you should be ashamed for being passionate about something. Everyone has things in their life that makes them happy. As long as your happiness isn’t at the expense of others, then all power to you. As someone who worked in the service industry for part of my life, I know the value in treating the customer right. It is good for business, and it can result in great tips. Every server has stories, however, of pretentious customers who want to act like gods of the restaurant. They treat servers like subclass beings, and they do it because they feel like they are entitled to do so. The customer is NOT always right, especially not when they are acting like a pompous ass.
So, what’s the message. Whether it’s the barista at your favorite coffee shop, or the cam girl on your favorite porn site, just because you’re handing them money for a service doesn’t mean you have the right to be disrespectful. Treat others, especially those whose job is to make you feel happy, with kindness and respect. Of course there are bad servers out there, but the majority aren’t and they shouldn’t have to deal with asshole customers simply because of the nature of their job. Be better to others, that’s all I ask. The brain actually releases endorphins when you do something nice for someone else, or treat them well. So, in a funny way, treating someone well can be a selfish act that benefits you at the mental level. Think on that, and have a good one.
If you or someone you know is reading this right now and struggling with suicide, depression, addiction, or self-harm - please reach out. Comment, message, or tweet at us. Go to victimsandvillains.net/hope for more resources. Call the suicide lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Text "HELP" to 741-741. There is hope & you DO have so much value and worth!
Victims and Villains is written (and produced) by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey and others, and edited by Cam Smith. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. PVT Chat is property of Dark Star Pictures. We do not own nor claim any rights.
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