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JANUARY | PAGE 12 | 2015 P H O T O G R A P H Y M A X B U R K H A L T E R . A R T D I R E C T I O N M I C H E L L E A V I Ñ A . H A I R A N D M A K E U P T O N Y A R I N E R . A LOOK AT THE SAUCY ROM-COM M O R A L I T Y TA L E T H AT M A R K S H O U S TO N D I R E C T O R / P R O D U C E R / W R I T E R / A C T O R RICHARD FINGER 'S FEATURE-LENGTH FILM DEBUT. CATHERINE D. ANSPON DISHES WITH THE CAST OF HOUSTON CHARACTERS. SCREEN L ate this spring, I walked in 15 minutes late to a private screening at River Oaks Theatre. The cinematic night marked the debut of Houstonian Richard Finger's first film, cheekily titled Sex, Marriage and Infidelity. Perhaps I was expecting an indie effort or a credible short. My jaw dropped when Finger himself appeared on the big screen as lead character Charles in a very compromising hotel scene with his secretary, the crimson-lipped Johanna, whose moaning was louder than Meg Ryan's famous faux orgasm in the deli from When Harry Met Sally. I glanced around and glimpsed in the dark a slew of Houston socials and the philanthropically inclined, all eyes riveted to the action — including, natch, Finger himself. During the Q&A that followed, we learned that he'd served as executive producer, director, writer and male lead. Wife Martha Finger provided set design and made a memorable cameo during the dinner-party scene, while Phoebe and Bobby Tudor's eldest daughter, Caroline Tudor, stars as one of the two female leads. Roughly an hour and 30 minutes later, the credits rolled to brisk applause, and I wondered at Finger's fearless prowess in making such a film. Although it could have been tightened up more in the editing room, Sex, Marriage and Infidelity — set in New York but filmed largely in Houston with a sprinkling of Manhattan footage — signaled a remarkable debut, a witty, idiosyncratic cinematic cocktail clearly inspired by Woody Allen, with a terrific ensemble of more than two dozen characters and around 80 credited roles. The story revolves around a quartet of couples, led by Charles and Emily. He is cheating with his secretary; wife Emily, a high-level executive who owns her own firm, gets even by sleeping with an employee, Oliver (played by former Bachelor Charlie O'Connell), a commitment-phobe who semi-reluctantly agrees to a romp in bed even though he's crazy about his accomplished attorney girlfriend, Janie (Caroline Tudor). Other spicy appearances include Shannon Tweed (aka Mrs. Gene Simmons, who plays a wronged wife dispensing sage advice during a drinking ladies' luncheon) and her real-life daughter, Sophie Simmons (cast as a comely young wife shocking an unsympathetic husband when she investigates the lesbian lifestyle); and Austin-based actress Jenny Gravenstein (as the narrator and moral authority, Ellen). Gravenstein steals the show during the dinner drama, which was filmed in the Fingers' Houston living room, beautifully designed in both real and cinematic life by Martha Finger. Also delicious to watch is British actor Gary Raymond, whose screen presence conjures Sean Connery, as Charles' boss who's sympathetic about sexual peccadillos; he tells his CEO, "Charles, my boy … Everyone has their own proclivities in this area." Additional dicey roles go to Latin American soap star Neal Kodinsky (who plays Scarlotti, the oily personal injury attorney for wronged Johanna) and Houston-based electrical engineer Prateek Karkal (as a zealous hotel worker who interrupts Charles and Johanna's tryst). The screen sizzles most when Finger utilizes hometown locations such as the cosseted Hotel Granduca; the Fingers' own sophisticated casa; the lobby of One Park Place, a building owned by his uncle, Marvy Finger, with a Joe Mancuso painting in the background; and, above all, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. At the latter, Rembrandt's Portrait of a Young Woman (1633) metaphorically frames the action between Charles and his real-life daughter, Ava Finger, aptly cast on-screen as daughter Katie, who gives her dad a verbal lashing for his straying ways. Such are the guilty pleasures provided by Sex, Marriage and Infidelity, which Finger is currently shopping on the festival circuit. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, here's some exclusive film chat with four who played big roles, in front of and behind the camera. RICHARD FINGER Executive Producer, Director, Writer, Male Lead INSPIRATION. I don't know exactly when I had the original idea, although I think in the back of my mind, I had always wanted to make a movie. It took about four or five months to write the story. Progress came in bursts: Write a little, and then nothing for a STEAM Richard Finger at home