Sasha Grey Takes Second Mainstream Role In I Melt With You

I'm not really sure that what we saw from Sasha Grey in Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience was good acting, exactly, but the porn star made for an interesting screen presence, and I've been kind of curious ever since to see what kind of mainstream film she might make next (those interested in her other film career know where to find that). Now that she's made her pick, I'm a little more perplexed-- she seems to have chosen a role in a film not all that likely to take advantage of her acting skills, but to objectify her in the same way a porn might.

The film in question is I Melt With You, a drama about middle-aged adult men facing the emptiness of their lives during a summer reunion (no, it's not a shot-for-shot remake of Grown Ups). According to THR Grey's role will be "Raven," apparently "a free spirit who helps one of the men realize that nirvana can only be achieved by death." Uh, sure. The central character are played by Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe and Jeremy Piven, with Zander Eckhouse, Abhi Sinha and Arielle Kebbel rounding out the cast. Eckhouse plays Grey's character's boyfriend, which means she might have a little more character depth than just "hot girl who shows up to make the guys happy," but I'm still confused as to how exactly she'll fit into this Big Chill-seeming story.

Production starts next month with Mark Pellington directing, and given the low-budget nature we have no real idea when we'll see the finished product. Grey's name is a draw, though, not just for fans of her porn work, but for people like me curious if this cipher can actually pull off dual careers in both mainstream and adult film.