THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE

In the days leading up to the 2008 presidential election, a high-end Manhattan escort meets the challenges of her real life relationships, her clients, and her work. Chelsea (real name Christine) specializes in offering girlfriend experiences. She finds that lately her clients are spending less and less on her services, and are troubled by the Great Recession, a topic they raise frequently in her company. She is also interviewed by a journalist, who quizzes her about her work and personal life. She goes from client to client performing her services. The film contrasts Chelsea's experience with her clients with her boyfriend Chris, a personal trainer at a costly gym who spends his time talking up to his wealthier male clients.

A married screenwriter appears as a potential new client for Chelsea and proposes that she go away with him for the weekend. Initially intending to reject him, Chelsea starts to feel drawn to him because their birthdays coincide together well, as she is an avid reader of "personology" books and thinks their connection shouldn't be something to miss. This creates a fight with Chris, who berates her over her eagerness to meet with the man, as "going away" with clients is a boundary in their relationship. Chris is invited by one of his clients to join him and other finance men on a trip to Las Vegas. While he struggles to leverage a better position in his current gym and others, Chelsea also feels the stress of the job, especially with the coming of a new girl that her own clients start to favor.