In the Company of Women begins with a sixty-something guy hiring a male gigolo – not for sexual favors – but to be his wing man for a night on the town. The older guy’s long marriage has ended, and he thinks he needs some tips about prowling for women. This is a classic Boys Behaving Badly set-up, but In the Company of Women morphs into an unexpectedly sweet tribute to enduring love.
Along the way, there are plenty of War of the Sexes and Odd Couple laughs. There’s a very funny set of dating “rules”, and lines like “How do you expect to be yourself around women without alcohol?”.
Writer Shoji Silver stars as the cocksure and incredibly glib younger man. He is exceedingly handsome and perhaps even more cynical. As the younger man verbally jousts, the older man’s (Paul Eenhoorn) sincerity and depth come through. Eenhoorn is perfect as a guy who is earnest, but also very perceptive (he recognizes how the younger man’s emotions are sparked by the mere mention of his father). If you don’t remember Eenhoorn from the geezer road trip comedy Land Ho!, make sure you see that delight.
Director Khalil Silver (Shoji’s brother) masterfully changes the tome of the movie without a bump. The young guy starts out giving the advice on dating, but then he receives the advice from the older man on life. I saw In the Company of Women at its Cinequest 2015 world premiere, and women audience members, in particular, seemed to love it.