Writer-director Richard Pagano, making his debut (adapting his play) uses an ensemble cast and a quasi-Fellini, semi-Jim Jarmusch mise-en-scene (rich B&W cinematography, silent-film title cards, Marcello Mastroianni—among other pop culture references) to offer what appears to be one night among sex workers and clientele of a modern bordello.
The middle-aged madame, Grace (Lea Thompson), desperate for a baby, has just lost her preferred sperm donor. The intended impregnator skipped out to visit Cleveland instead. Yes, a Cleveland joke.
One of the pretty working girls, Amber (Beth Skipp) is brainy and does crosswords and calculus problems during lovemaking. One of the better dialogues has a burly, type-A john trying, fumblingly, to convince her they have a spark together. Another client is an aged comedian (Damien Leake) who wants a discount in return for uttering his catchphrases. Another is a nervous first-timer (Paul Swetland) cheating on his wife. His sex worker startles him with a survey and news that she is doing a research project on which her husband is a chief scientist. Whether this is meant to be taken literally is anybody's guess.
Another reality-bending gimmick: stage-illusion inserts with Jack (Albie Selznick, a real-life entertainer at the famed Magic Castle), a jaded magician who, as the loose narrative progresses, grows more hostile. He has a domestic spat with his female assistant. For half of the movie, it seems like this is a surreal meta-narrative or metaphor. But then Jack visits Grace's for a drink during intermission, and we realize he's a flesh-and-blood fellow just performing in the same neighborhood. Does he hold the key to this whole nutty relationship stuff?
One's patience with Ten Tricks is probably about equal to enthusiasm for weird little off-off-Broadway experimental theater skits. Certainly, as an actor exercise the movie is ... something. Buyers should know that nudity and sex are givens, but do not happen in graphic, marathon quantities. This title may intrigue extremely liberal-minded mainstream/indie entertainment library shelves, but otherwise, Ten Tricks is optional.