GREEK PETE

Greek Pete, explores the world of rent boys. But this is not the standard fictionalized, tricked-out "look at this crazy sexual subculture" take. Greek Pete, a somewhat unsatisfying mix of documentary and improvisation by guys in the life, profiles Peter Pittaros, a 24-year-old Greek-Cypriot working in London as an escort. Pete's goal is as simple as it is shallow: "I just want to make as much money as possible," a mantra he repeats to numbing effect throughout the film. The boys themselves do most of the talking here. Director Andrew Haigh studied Pete and his pals for a year, and they "play" themselves in interviews and improvised dramatic sequences. Thus we see them describing in cutting detail their introduction to escorting and their worst tricks, celebrating holidays, and in Pete's case engaging in hardcore sex with clients and friends. Pete and the gang represent a modern-version of the beleaguered sex worker of the past; these guys, particularly Pete, seem not just okay with their lives but enthusiastic, without all that pesky guilt. Greek Pete has the ring of reality, and if egomaniacal Pete himself goes on ad nauseam about the importance of amassing and safeguarding wealth and "fings," his sultry body and tireless capacity for sex may offer compensation for some viewers.