Tricked: The Documentary

It's about time that someone—here a Las Vegas vice cop—noted that the cherished phrase "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" is an open invitation to sex crimes. In marked contrast to some other documentaries on the subject of prostitution and pimping (such as American Pimp [VL-9/00] and Meet the Fokkens [VL-7/13]), the tone of filmmakers John-Keith Wasson and Jane Wells' Tricked is uncompromisingly negative and depressing. Tricked argues that prostitutes are brutalized, violated, and ultimately cult-brainwashed into supporting their pimps and not cooperating with police. Ex-hookers, lawmen, and therapists in Nevada, Boston, Denver, and Chicago offer pointed comments, with one officer bemoaning the fact that department budget cuts have resulted in making human trafficking a low priority. Viewers are warned to dismiss popular images of the pimps' comical flamboyance and the self-justification of the male predators—here, a dapper Ph.D defends his routine as a john, while pimp Robert Money says that his ladies hold their heads high and proud, not like the submissive chattel shown off at an annual pimp convention (!) in Chicago. One officer warns that if legalized prostitution gains a foothold (as is advocated in the recent American Courtesans [VL-9/13]), anyone's daughter could be swept up in modern-day sex slavery. Sure to spur discussion, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)