Sonny is a 2002

2002 in film

The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...

 film starring James Franco

James Franco

James Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...

, Harry Dean Stanton

Harry Dean Stanton

Harry Dean Stanton is an American actor, musician, and singer. Stanton's career has spanned over fifty years, which has seen him star in such films as Paris, Texas, Kelly's Heroes, Dillinger, Alien, Repo Man, The Last Temptation of Christ, Wild at Heart, The Green Mile and The Pledge...

, Brenda Blethyn

Brenda Blethyn

Brenda Anne Blethyn, OBE is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. Blethyn has received two Academy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations, two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...

, Mena Suvari

Mena Suvari

Mena Alexandra Suvari is an American actress, fashion designer, and model. Shortly after beginning her career as a model, she appeared in guest roles on 1990's television shows such as Boy Meets World and High Incident...

 and Josie Davis

Josie Davis

Josie Rebecca Davis is an American actress and producer, best known for her role as Sarah Powell in the television sitcom Charles in Charge from 1987 to 1990.-Television work:...

. Director Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...

 has a small cameo role

Cameo appearance

A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...

. Sonny was co-produced by Cage's production company Saturn Films

Saturn Films

-Productions:*Shadow of the Vampire *The Family Man *Gone in 60 Seconds *Sonny *Windtalkers *Adaptation *The Life of David Gale...

.

Plot

James Franco stars as Sonny, the son of Jewel who runs a small brothel. Sonny returns home from the army, staying with his mother while waiting to start the job an army buddy of his promised him. Jewel tries to convince Sonny to come back to working for her as he had before the army, saying many of his old clients still miss him and he was the best gigolo she'd ever had. Sonny repeatedly turns her down, wanting to leave that life behind. However, the job he was promised never materializes and he is forced to return to working for his mother. Jewel had recently recruited a new girl to the brothel, Carol, who meets Sonny and falls in love with him. They talk of getting out together. One of Carol's clients, an older man, proposes to her. She initially declines, hoping to go away with Sonny. She and Sonny fall out as he fails to make an effort to get out of the business, instead becoming increasingly introverted and depressed, with occasional outbursts as he looks for more work. Ultimately, Carol accepts the marriage proposal.

Cast

• James Franco
  James Franco
  James Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
  
   as Sonny
• Brenda Blethyn
  Brenda Blethyn
  Brenda Anne Blethyn, OBE is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. Blethyn has received two Academy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations, two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
  
   as Jewel
• Harry Dean Stanton
  Harry Dean Stanton
  Harry Dean Stanton is an American actor, musician, and singer. Stanton's career has spanned over fifty years, which has seen him star in such films as Paris, Texas, Kelly's Heroes, Dillinger, Alien, Repo Man, The Last Temptation of Christ, Wild at Heart, The Green Mile and The Pledge...
  
   as Henry
• Mena Suvari
  Mena Suvari
  Mena Alexandra Suvari is an American actress, fashion designer, and model. Shortly after beginning her career as a model, she appeared in guest roles on 1990's television shows such as Boy Meets World and High Incident...
  
   as Carol
• Seymour Cassel
  Seymour Cassel
  Seymour Joseph Cassel is an American actor.He first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering independent films of writer/directorJohn Cassavetes...
  
   as Albert
• Josie Davis
  Josie Davis
  Josie Rebecca Davis is an American actress and producer, best known for her role as Sarah Powell in the television sitcom Charles in Charge from 1987 to 1990.-Television work:...
  
   as Gretchen
• Nicolas Cage
  Nicolas Cage
  Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
  
  as Acid Yellow