Walk the Talk

   If you are one of those people who've always distrusted those self-help gurus who dominate late night infomercials, "Walk the Talk" is the film for you. Joey Grasso (Salvatore Coco) has attended every one of those motivational seminars, and he swallows their rhetoric as freely as most of us breathe air. Joey is always looking to make someone else's dream come true--but, in reality, he's more of a walking nightmare. For underneath Joey's faith in you is a man determined to clean out your wallet.

   Shirley Barrett, who made the wonderfully loopy comedy "Love Serenade," brings her quirky observations to a long overdue subject: the confidence man disguised as your confidence-builder. When we first meet Joey, he has his hooks in a paraplegic woman who thinks he'll marry her. Instead he uses her settlement money to bankroll a has-been lounge singer, Nikki Raye (Nikki Bennett), who can barely carry a tune. Joey is so obsessed with getting her gigs that his actions, besides being creepy, are painfully funny. Shirley Barrett, as she demonstrated in "Love Serenade," mixes pathos and comedy with subtle assurance. "Walk the Talk" does indeed do just that.    Starring Salvatore Coco, Nikki Bennett, Sacha Horler and Carter Edwards. Directed and written by Shirley Barrett. Produced by Jan Chapman. No distributor set. Comedy/Drama. Not yet rated. Running time: 110 min.