We're not so good with TVs, so you're on your own if you want to find the film on PPV. But we did manage to track down the film on Amazon VOD. For $9.99 (for a three day rental), it seems like a pretty good deal to us (but then again, we live in New York, where seeing a film in the theater costs $12.50 plus your firstborn child).

· "The Girlfriend Experience" on VOD (amazon.com)

Much has been, and will be, made of this movie, largely due to the fact that Sasha Grey is, yes, a pornstar—and, more importantly, a pornstar who a) has the leading role in a movie, and b) is in a movie that isn't a horror, comedy, or a horror/comedy. But since we've spilled enough ink discussing the importance of this film, and what it all means, we'll spare you the analysis and just tell you what we thought of the film.

First off: for those of you harboring fears that Sasha Grey can't act, and won't be able to carry the film—fear not. Though we wouldn't necessarily say that Sasha deserves an Academy Award (or that she should—ha!—quit her day job), she plays the part of Chelsea—a coolheaded, withdrawn callgirl—with skill and aplomb, bringing her complicated, sometimes confused, character to life with a real grace. We're not sure if this is a testament to Sasha's potential as an actress, or if she was simply well cast in this role, but either way, she's a strong, compelling part of the film.

We were also impressed by the film's treatment of the world of the high class escort. It's a hard topic to approach with a balanced view—filmmakers often run the risk of appearing to glorify the industry, or to paint it as a world of shattered, abused women who are trapped in a job they can't escape. "The Girlfriend Experience" does neither: Chelsea is portrayed as a smart young woman who entered the industry for specific reasons (for financial independence and freedom from her parents), makes a good living doing work she largely enjoys, and is a smart businesswoman (scenes of her keeping track of the details of her appointments, working on her website and promotion, and discussing investment opportunities all round out the film). But at the same time, it's clear that she has to battle some negative aspects of her career: dips in business during the economic downturn, loyal clients who cease booking her, the balance between her clients and her live-in boyfriend, and, of course, the threat of a bad review damaging her reputation.

But "The Girlfriend Experience" succeeds largely because it is not simply a movie about a call girl, or a tale of the escorting business: while Chelsea's career is clearly a central part of the film, it is, far more, a film about the fears and insecurities brought to life by the economic downturn, and how they manage to throw things off balance and set us on an unlikely, unexpected, path. And that, above all, may be the most refreshing thing about the film: that it manages to treat Chelsea as an actual person, and not as a repository for our feelings about sex work.

For those of you lucky enough to have secured tickets to this week's screening at the Tribeca Film Festival, feel free to check back in to this post and let us know your feelings on the film. For the rest of you—"The Girlfriend Experience" debuts May 22. Mark your calendars, and make sure not to miss it.

The flim is set for wide release on May 22, but there will be an advanced screening followed by a panel discussion with Sasha Grey (omg omg omg!!) on April 30th, at Brandeis University in Boston. Follow the link for more information on that.

Roadtrip to Boston, anyone?

Of course, we'd be hard pressed to say that we get Sasha ourselves: she's a pretty unique person—and not just because she's a pornstar with a brain (we know quite a few of those, actually). But we suspect that any attempt to categorize her into any tried and true story lines will ultimately fail: if there's one thing we're fairly certain of, it's that Sasha is anything but ordinary.

The reigning theory seems to be that Sasha is attempting to parlay her porno stardom into a more mainstream (and therefore "legit") kind of fame—hence the music videos, the indie film projects, and, of course, the Soderbergh film—and that, perhaps, this was her plan all along. After all, didn't she draw comparisons to Jenna Jameson very early in her career—Jenna Jameson, the crossover star who now clings so desperately to her mainstream identity, rejecting her porno past with every opportunity?

Except we have a hard time imagining a girl with hopes of mainstream stardom launching her career with titles like "Slut Puppies 2" and "Fuck Slaves." You don't do the kind of porn that Sasha does because you want to be a Hollywood star: you do it because you want to make porn, because you don't care what having "Slam It! In A Slut!" on your resume does to your credibility.

So then, what are we to make of Sasha's mainstream stardom? Is it an accidental by product of her porno fame? Probably not: she seems far too smart to "accidentally" wind up in a Soderbergh film. If anything, we suspect that Sasha is attempting to remake the notion of what a mainstream star is, and does—much the way she's remade any notions of what an 18-year-old pornstar looks and sounds like.

We can't even pretend that we know what Sasha's grand plan is, or if she even has one. But if the Soderbergh film is a success, it seems that there are a few likely outcomes. Sasha could very well go the way of Jenna Jameson, abandoning her porn roots for a shot at mainstream fame; though whether she'd ever break out of the sex worker pigeonhole and move beyond roles as a stripper, prostitute, or other sexy girl is difficult to tell. On the other hand, it's also possible that Sasha could rise to fame in the mainstream cinema while continuing to work as an adult star—perhaps completely remaking our notions of what it means to have crossover appeal.

It's probably not that hard to guess which outcome we're hoping for. How it all turns out, of course—well, only time will tell.

· Steven Soderbergh Looks To Porn Star Sasha Grey For ‘The Girlfriend Experience’ (moviesblog.mtv.com)
· Soderbergh casts porn star as lead in The Girlfriend Experience (guardian.co.uk)
· Porn star cast in Soderbergh film (variety.com)
· Thumbnail from nsgalleries.com via Ask Jolene