Swank's!

Denver, 1997: A bodega is robbed at gunpoint by two men in ski masks, leaving a young clerk dead on the floor. That same night, Gavin Murphy (28) listens as Larry, his sex addict counselor, address the group. After Larry challenges Gavin to share his feelings to no avail, he issues a challenge: Meet a person of substance. Gavin scoffs, but takes him up on his offer. After waking up with one of the female sex addicts the next morning, he commutes to his place of business- Swank's. A rundown 35 millimeter adult theater, Swank's is a throwback to a time when porn wasn't a mere mouse-click away. Gavin's head projectionist, Rufus, is a swinging middle aged black man who quotes philosophy and chases prostitutes. The two of them chat before Gavin leaves to drop off a letter at the post office. It’s addressed to a woman named Linda in San Diego. Gavin decides the best (and easiest) way to meet a person of substance is via the personals. After finding an ad in the paper from a woman who desires to meet a "Realist," he leaves her a clumsy voice message. Later, Gavin and Rufus sit in the booth of a saloon. Gavin laments his inability to find love. The next morning, Gavin stops at a convenience store near Swank's. There's an ambulance in the parking lot. Gail, a cute clerk who works there, informs Gavin the store was robbed by two men wearing masks and they killed the overnight clerk. Despite her grief, she propositions Gavin. Winslow, a self-righteous cop with a disdain for sleaze, arrives at Swank's a short time later with three other officers. He tells Gavin they're going to have a look around. Gavin insults them while surreptitiously pushing a button located under the front counter. This button activates a red warning light in the theater. His banter with the cops gives his patrons time to zip up before the police enter. The cops catch a random pervert, Dave, with his pants down- Literally. Winslow stays behind as the officers escort him out of the theater. Alone in the auditorium, Winslow walks to the projection booth and informs Rufus that he's working on a plan that will shut down Swank's for good. While being led out of the lobby in handcuffs, Dave issues a generic threat to Gavin. Winslow later issues a ticket to Gavin for running a brothel. That same evening, a frustrated Gavin writes a letter to a random woman from an old address book. Gavin attends another meeting and tells Larry about his upcoming date with the woman from the personal pages. Larry is skeptical which prompts Gavin to inform the group that he's a changed man. He wakes up the next morning with Gail, the convenience store clerk at his side. Mike, one of the day clerks at Swank’s, arrives late and reeking of weed. Gavin excuses himself and heads to the projection booth. He catches Rufus inside with a prostitute named Yolanda. Gavin chases her off and admonishes Rufus for bringing a hooker to Swank's while the cops are sniffing around. Gavin goes to a fancy restaurant to meet his blind date, Stacey. She turns out to be incredibly attractive and they hit it off immediately. He offers to take her to Swank's after it closes for the night. Once there, he takes her upstairs to show her the projectors. He also shows her the sawed-off shotgun Rufus keeps around for protection. Stacey asks Gavin if they can watch a movie "Out there... In the theater." He obliges and things quickly become heated. Before they give in to their desires, Gavin puts a stop to it. Having never been shunned by a man before, Stacey is baffled. He offers to tell her something very personal about himself if she promises not to judge him. The next morning, Stacey debriefs her co-worker, Suzanne, about the blind date. While she speaks sweetly of Gavin, she’s hesitant to tell Suzanne what he does for a living. Gavin and Rufus hang out at the bar the following evening. He informs Rufus that he passed up an easy lay because he’s trying to better himself and beat his sex addiction. Gavin also tells Rufus of his desire to connect with the mother he's never met. Rufus, having worked at the theater since Gavin's father opened it thirty years prior, tells Gavin what little he knows about the woman- She lived in San Diego and was unfit to be a parent. Gavin tells Rufus he’s been writing letters to the anonymous women in his deceased father’s little black book in an effort to track down his unknown mother. Stacey shows up to the theater the next day and tells Gavin that she longs for a relationship with him and is willing to wait for physical intimacy. A later montage explores Gavin and Stacey's plutonic relationship. Gavin receives a phone call from a woman claiming to be his mother. Her name is Linda and she plans on coming to Denver soon. He decides to give her a chance and invites her to stay at his place. Once she's settled in, he takes a trip to see Mort, his lawyer, about the brothel ticket. Later that night, Gavin, Stacey, Rufus and Linda go out to dinner where embarrassing photos are passed around. After returning home, Linda tells Gavin she's a former porn actress. At the same time, Rufus drives home after picking up Yolanda. They find Mike passed out in the driveway, high on heroin. “I thought you quit this shit,” Rufus tells him. The next day, Gavin has Rufus gather all the films with Linda in them. Winslow arrives a short time later with a cease and desist order from the courts. Figuring life as he knows it is over, Gavin immediately goes out and buys a wedding ring before proposing to Stacey. At the same time, Linda takes a cab to the theater to speak to Rufus. She tells him she's dying and only reached out to Gavin for selfish reasons. She asks Rufus to keep it a secret until after she leaves Denver. Two weeks go by and Gavin has been unable to reach Linda. Rufus sees Gavin's pain and tells him her secret. Gavin immediately gets drunk and beds a bar hussy. Stacey catches them together and leaves him. Now alone, Gavin attends one last meeting. He tells the group that love is overrated. He returns to the theater and burns Linda's films in the alley. He later finds Mike overdosed in a bathroom and calls 911. An off-duty Winslow pops in at closing time. He boasts that having an overdosed junkie taken out of the theater isn't going to help Gavin's upcoming court case. Before Gavin can run him off, the ski mask killers burst into the lobby. One of them recognizes Winslow. He removes his mask and reveals his identity: It's Dave, the pervert who got arrested earlier. Gavin pushes the button for the red warning lamp repeatedly. Up in the projection booth, Rufus notices the flashing light and creeps downstairs with the sawed-off shotgun. Just as Dave is about to execute Winslow, Rufus leaps into the room and fires, killing the second robber who has a pistol pressed to Gavin’s skull. Dave immediately spins and shoots Rufus, gravely wounding him. Winslow kills Dave with his concealed service revolver a moment later. As Rufus lies on the floor gasping for air, he tells Gavin that he’s like a son to him. Stacey arrives at the hospital and forgives Gavin. Rufus has survived the shooting, but just barely. Winslow shows up at the hospital humbled and bearing a bouquet of flowers. One year later, Gavin and Stacey hand their infant to a sitter before leaving to a formal affair. They arrive at Swank's grand re-opening and are stunned by the theater’s transformation. The rundown building has been remodeled and sterilized. In the projection booth, Gavin reveals that while he's glad to have sold it to Rufus, he still misses the old place. Rufus tells him an old tale about being satisfied with what you have and the three of them return to the party. We focus on an old photo of Rufus with Gavin and his father as we fade out.