Dustin Ingram plays a goofy teen Tobe, who is enamored of 80s porn star Monica Velour (real name Linda, played by Cattrall) and collects her memorabilia and videos. His fantasy is less about sex and more about romance, so when he hears she will be in Indiana for a strip show at the same time he has a buyer there for his hot dog van, he thinks the stars are aligned and drives there to meet her. Of course reality hits him (although he seems a little dense and needs to be told time and again) when he finds out she has real life problems--she's an aging divorcee trying to find a decent job and fighting her ex for custody of her daughter.
Tobe also has a crush on a schoolmate but his fantasy is waylaying his connection to a more real relationship to the girl, Amanda (Jee Young Han). His parents are dead/gone so he lives with his crotchety grandfather (Brian Dennehy). The buyer of his van, a sculptor of Americana art objects, also gives him some life advice, trying to steer him away from his fantasy dreams.
Strangely enough, Monica/Linda takes to Tobe and begins to confide in him of her life troubles, as he is not looking at her as other men do, i.e. solely as a sex object. Although Tobe sees her harsh life, it takes a long time for him to get the idea that she has no interest in him "in that way." He does end up helping Linda turn her life toward a more happier path and returns home to a normal life of a teenager with his grandfather and Amanda.
I think it was a good story and acting/writing. Hearing of the premise beforehand, I expected a lot of lowbrow jokes, but the film is more about the two characters relating and he becoming her confidante as she deals with divorce and aging, and letting him down on his fantasy of forming a romantic relationship with her. Ingram seemed perfect as a nerdy teenager but added the naive earnestness the character needed. Cattrall played against type as the aging porn queen and I think a good job. Dennehy was a bit of comic relief but I think needed to be a bit more of the wise grandfather type (he doesn't speak much in this part). I guess that role was supplied by Keith David as the Americana artist, Claude; he was a good supporting character.
While you can tell it was low budget it looked like everything was well plotted and the scenery of America and small town was right and not too kitschy. This was written and directed by Keith Bearden.
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