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(s) English
Production
Producer(s) Ted Bauman
Howard Braunstein
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Michael Jaffe
Dannielle Thomas
Editor(s) Lisa Robison
Running time 97 minutes
Release
Original network Lifetime Network
Original release July 19, 2010 (2010-07-19)

The Client List is a television film that premiered on the Lifetime Network on July 19, 2010. It starred Jennifer Love Hewitt and was directed by Eric Laneuville. The film is a fictionalized dramatization of a 2004 prostitution scandal[1][2] in Odessa, Texas. It follows Sam Horton, a mother of three who becomes a prostitute to meet her financial obligations.[3]

Plot

The Hortons are facing a financial crisis after both Samantha (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and her husband Rex (Teddy Sears) lose their jobs. The family of five are potentially awaiting foreclosure of their home. Rex Horton, a former football star, sustained a knee injury that caused him to lose his job in construction and makes him unfit to work. In a last-ditch attempt to save the family home, Samantha takes a job at a massage parlor but soon learns that these are no regular 'massages'. Prominent members of society form the so-called "client list" that Samantha initially refuses to cater to, however, when she sees the paycheques she has a change of heart. While her earnings increase, she hides the true nature of her job from her friends and family; including her mother Cassie Montgomery (Cybill Shepherd). Soon after she becomes the most popular masseuse among the clients, she is arrested by the DA (District Attorney) for prostitution. Samantha cooperates and helps the DA to form the 'client list' in order to receive a shorter sentence. When Samantha is released from jail, she tries to turn her life around but is confronted by the clients’ wives who want sex advice from her. The story abruptly ends when Samantha returns to college and takes a seemingly normal job as a waitress.

Cast

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]

Home media

The film was released on DVD in January 2011 in North America.

Television series

On August 10, 2011, it was announced that Lifetime had ordered production of The Client List television series based on the film. Hewitt acted as the lead role and also served as an executive producer. The series however, was a re-imagination of the film (with Hewitt's character having a different name from the film), and was not a direct continuation of the film's story line. The series premiered on April 8, 2012.[7] On November 1, 2013, Lifetime cancelled the series after two seasons; the final episode of the series aired on June 16, 2013.[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ Vine, Katy (January 2005). "She Had Brains, a Body, and the Ability To Make Men Love Her". Texas Monthly. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  2. ↑ Lee, David J. (June 28, 2004), 61 arrested in Healing Touch case, Odessa American, retrieved 2014-02-22
  3. ↑ Pantera, Gabrielle (July 19, 2010). "Tonight on Lifetime: The Client List". Hollywood Today. Archived from the original on July 22, 2010. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  4. ↑ Levine, Stuart (July 20, 2010). "'Client List' fares well for Lifetime". Variety. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
  5. ↑ Tucker, Ken (July 19, 2010). "'The Client List' review: Jennifer Love Hewitt shook her money-maker". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
  6. ↑ "'The King's Speech,' 'Glee' Lead Golden Globe Pack With Most Nominations". Fox News. December 14, 2010.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ Ng, Philiana (November 1, 2013). "Lifetime Cancels 'The Client List'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (November 1, 2013). "Lifetime's 'The Client List' Cancelled After Two Seasons". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  • Official website
  • The Client List on 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.
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