30 Second Bottom Line: A frustrated, horny, and also wealthy young businessman convinces a reluctant part time stripper to go out of town for an erotic weekend.

Story Line: Richard (Peter Sarsgaard) made over $1M last year and is not yet 30 years old. While things are going well on the job, such is not the case in his personal life. His father recently died of prostate cancer; his girlfriend left him two years ago and he's not had sex with a woman since then. He's also concerned about the health of his sister's child who has had multiple eye surgeries.

Richard meets Florence (Molly Parker) in a restaurant, and in the course of their small talk, he learns that her avocation is drummer, but she makes ends meet as a stripper in a gentleman's club. He goes to the club where she works and becomes a customer at the going rate of $60 for two lap dances. Later Richard convinces Florence to go to Las Vegas with him for a three-night weekend of big time partying, but no sexual intercourse. She decides to go, because she can use the $10,000 he offers.

Since Florence is not a prostitute, she says yes only when he agrees to four rules. First, there will be no kissing on the mouth; second, there will be no penetration of sex organs; third, their sexual games will be conducted between 10 PM and 2 AM; and fourth, he pays her the cash up front.

Tell Me More About It: This film is promoted as being sensual and appealing to sexual fantasies, like Eyes Wide Shut, except that it's easier to understand, and therefore, more enjoyable for the masses. Setting that level of expectation made me think I'd be closer to seeing a non X-rated version of Deep Throat, with a touch of class and sophistication (to the extent that is possible). Such was not the case and I was somewhat disappointed.

The MPAA board gave this an NC-17 rating and the studio decided to release it Not Rated. To be fair, NC-17 should not be equated with X, but rather "for adults only." While it's not for those17 and under, Center of the World skirts the real issues of what adults do in their sexual relationships. There are plenty of breast shots, but you see that on TV's HBO, so that's no big deal. There are full nudity shots of Parker from the side as she sits on the floor. And there is sexual intercourse that could be classified as coitus interruptus, as well as the real thing, in a variety of positions. Those things, along with the language and references to sex between two females, with and without a man in the party, kick this up from an R rating.

You don't have to be a whore to go on a long weekend to party and have sex. If you like someone and they can put $10,000 in your pocket, the party is on. Rules are made to be broken and more often than not, you break them…be it unconsciously or with deliberate intention.

Often when you find yourself in the moment you do what your head, heart or body tells you to do now...later you deal with the consequences. Florence is a woman, who by the mere distinction of being a drummer and a stripper, follows some rules, but not others.

As Florence and Richard flirt with breaking the rules for the weekend, the choice is to deal with the emotions after the fact, rather than how you feel as the rules are being broken.

At one point Florence's friend Jerri (Carla Gugino) comes to the hotel suite where Florence and Richard are staying, after her boyfriend beats her up. He took back the $2,000 he gave her because she could not have an orgasm. Jerri's description of their sexual and emotional relationship to one another is quite erotic. When Richard offers to replace the money, Florence thinks the reason Jerri is ready for a menage a trois, is because she wants to repay him; when in fact, it's simply an expression of friendship. If there was a lost opportunity in the film to kick it up a notch, this was it. Man…this film had the right set up and it could have gone into intense passion, which is not necessarily related to love, at the moment. But, perhaps that might have kicked the film into a definite NC-17 rating.

If only Jerri had been the woman Richard was spending the weekend with, her savvy would have turned the steamy sex to red-hot. And to think Gugino is the angelic mom in Spy Kids. That's why it's called acting.

Florence: Molly Parker	Richard: Peter Sarsgaard
Jerri: Carla Gugino	Director: Wayne Wang

Molly Parker: Sunshine	Peter Sarsgaard: Boys Don't Cry
Carla Gugino: Spy Kids	Wayne Wang: Anywhere But Here