Payne-fully rewarding

SIDEWAYS

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Alexander Payne's "Sideways" is one of the most becalming experiences I've had during the 2000 decade - a film as relaxed and assured about its characters and story as any movie released in 2004. It is richly complex and yet so simply told that it shows writer-director Alexander Payne is the foremost expert of human comedies of the early 21st century.

Miles (Paul Giamatti) is the English teacher of a middle school who is hoping to make his big break with an autobiographical novel, entitled "The Day After Yesterday." He is also something of a wine connoisseur and travels to wineries in and around Southern California (just don't mention Merlot to him). He is also divorced and severely unhappy - the kind of guy who can discuss fine wine but is emotionally shut-out from everything else.

Miles's best friend is Jack (Thomas Hayden Church, at the time he was known best for TV's "Wings"), a burly TV actor who has lately succumbed to voice-overs for commercials. He is about to get married and so Miles offers to take Jack away for a week and sample wine. Jack wants to do more than sample wine - he wants to get laid and get Miles laid as well. Miles has no interest in getting laid for many reasons - the most exclusive reason is that he is still in love with his ex-wife. He often calls her when he is drunk. Nevertheless, Jack, the womanizer, wants girly action and hooks up with Stephanie (Sandra Oh), a pour girl at a winery who makes sexual remarks. Before you can say threesome, Miles has caught the fancy of a waitress, Maya (Virginia Madsen), whom he knows from regular visits to the restaurant though he's never had the temerity to ask her out. So Jack does it for him, and the four meet for dinner and go back to Stephanie's house. Miles is an emotional wreck, and even calls his ex-wife at the restaurant. He is not ready for this but, deep down, knows the time has come.

Based on the novel by Rex Pickett, "Sideways" evolves slowly and with complete assuredness. This is a road movie to some degree but it is more than that - it is a drama of simplicity, humor and real big laughs inside of a road movie. Miles and Jack have to confront their own lives, their flaws and foibles. These guys are hardly perfect human beings. Miles takes Xanax and Lexapro for his depression, the daily intake of which has gone down a couple of notches since discovering that his ex-wife has remarried. He also steals money from his mother after a brief birthday visit. He likes Maya and pines for her but his head is too full of longing for his ex-wife and for temperamental pinot noir.

Jack is the uncontrollable party boy who wants Stephanie's body and mistakenly pretends he will live with her and her daughter and run a winery. This trip is his bachelor party, but he's also skating on thin ice since he is engaged and keeps his rings in his wallet. He is charming and loves to mingle, and develops a taste for wine, but he is as immature as most hormonal teenage boys.

"Sideways" is virtually unpredictable from start to finish, and the reason it works so well is because Payne takes his lovable duo from one situation to another free of cliches or sentimentality. Also, there is no real plot so that the story is the characters, and they roam free based on their own desires, needs and wants. This is exactly at the core of Alexander Payne's work, from "Citizen Ruth" to "About Schmidt." He refuses to make the characters anything less than true to themselves. You never feel a heavy hand is directing their actions or making them realize their mistakes so they can be redeemed. What is gained from Miles and Jack is their closer understanding of who they are, and that is the movie's optimistic conclusion.

If it wasn't for the memorable performances by Paul Giammati and Thomas Hayden Church, this film simply wouldn't work. But because Giammati is an expert at showing pain, dramatically and comedically (as in his best work, "American Splendor") and because Church shows the innocent puppy who can't help being the sex addict he is, we are left with two guys we learn to care about, despite their flaws, because they are not afraid to be honest about themselves to each other, and they help each other as a result. So what we have here is the clearest example of a therapeutic road movie that I can think of.

Also worth noting is Virginia Madsen as the waitress Maya, who is going to school to become a horticulturist. She is sympathetic to Miles but also knows where to draw the line with deceitful men. She has a powerfully tender scene where she describes the flavor and taste of wine as if it was something she could fall in love with. It is so tender and sweet that it should earn Madsen more attention than she ever got as an actress.
Sandra Oh (the director's wife) as Stephanie is the only false note in an otherwise flawless film. Though she has a scene of major rage, she is mostly saddled with being a sex magnet for Jack. I never got the impression that she took this sexual odyssey as the makings of a serious relationship, though Jack gives us that idea as does Oh's scene of violent rage.

Seamlessly blended with comedy and drama, "Sideways" is a refreshingly pointed and sublime work. It is further proof that Alexander Payne is so in touch with the human condition that he can do no wrong. Consider him the new crown prince of adult filmmaking, along the lines of the late Hal Ashby and the formidable James L. Brooks. Yes, Virginia, he is that good. And remember, no Merlot.

Unclean, unsafe, and belly still aching

THE HANGOVER (2009)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I had a good time watching "The Hangover." It is often howlingly funny and filled to the brim with rapid-fire gags that range from slapsticky to inexplicable bad taste. But by the end of it, though I was still laughing, I noticed how much of it is laughing at the expense of people who are not easy to like and how I was still reeling over the bad taste in my mouth.

"The Hangover" has a classic situation that is pure gold for any comedy. A groom-to-be, Doug (Justin Batha) is taken for a wild weekend in Las Vegas for an epic bachelor party with his three pals, Phil, a schoolteacher (Bradley Cooper) who is indifferent to marriage; a, dare I say, pussywhipped dentist, Stu (Ed Helms), and the truly offputting and dangerously unpredictable nature of Doug's future brother-in-law (Zach Galifianakis). They stay at the expensive Caesars Palace and the next day, uh, oh, cue the Murphy's Law Syndrome of blackouts in comedies that can, in the right hands, be a state of utter nirvana or a buzzkill. Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong in Sin City. And everything goes wrong. More wrong than you know. Truly, irrevocably, umistakably wrong. So wrong that you ask yourself, how will these men ever right their wrongs? And that is all there is to "The Hangover" - a series of violent pratfalls and misunderstandings that lead to complete chaos.

Directed by Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (with Phillips scoring an uncredited rewrite), "The Hangover" has a barrel of laughs, everything from Mike Tyson's home surveillance footage to the Asian mob that includes a naked Ken Jeong running around with a crowbar, to Zach Galifianakis's oddball moments of flipping the bird or making strangely somber toasts, to a hungry tiger on the loose in a Vegas suite, to date-rape drugs, Heather Graham frolicking about from a wedding chapel ceremony, and so much more. For true belly laughs, you can't go wrong with "The Hangover." I laughed many times out loud, and sometimes snickered with my eyes wide shut from moments that would make anyone snicker. That may be the problem with "The Hangover overall - too many naughty moments to snicker at.

The acting is expertly done (Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis are more of a hoot than anyone else in the movie) and the situations these men find themselves in are as bizarre and insane as you can imagine. But the movie left me cold and reeling from all the naughtiness, feeling a little too unclean. Compare this to the chaotic but not as high-pitched, "Road Trip" (also directed by Todd Phillips) and you'll find that the audience was allowed to catch its breath amidst all the chaotic situations in that movie. I am all for raunch and this movie has it in spades but if I am asked to repeat the experience, I might say I am too hung over.

Ho-Ho-Ho Hogan

SANTA WITH MUSCLES (1996)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I know I should have hated "Santa With Muscles." Its got WWE star Hulk Hogan as a self-absorbed fitness guru who conks his head on a Santa statue (do not ask) and thinks he might be Santa Claus but he doesn't know the Santa rules. I know, I know, the film had a brief theatrical release that lasted about as long as "Eddie and the Cruisers II" did, playing in a paltry 98 screens. I know, I know but I have to say that "Santa With Muscles" is enjoyable through most of its screen time. It is modest, pleasant and never screechingly sentimental or too hokey. It is a live-action cartoon and, shudder the thought, it works.

So Hulk Hogan really thinks he is Santa? Yes, thanks to a hired elf at the Santa Cottage in the local shopping mall who is in desperate need of a Santa since the St. Nick stand-in has disappeared (a fact that is never resolved in the entire film). Fifty bucks from a blonde mall employee is all it takes for the elf, Lenny (Danny Stark), to find Hulk Hogan wandering the mall convinced by Lenny that he is Santa. The kids chant "Santa, Santa" and Hulk does his best to please them. The plot thickens when Hulk Hogan realizes he has a mission - to save an orphanage from a villainous Ebner Frost (Ed Begley, Jr.) who has a Howard Hughes germaphobia where he refuses to breathe regular air. Ebner has a keen interest in taking over the orphanage since, below the basement of the building, there is a cavern full of precious, deadly quartz crystals that explode when dropped on the ground and give off more energy than electricity (something that environmentalist Ed Begley might be proud of).

"Santa With Muscles" is hardly great cinema nor is it as heartwarming a Yuletide tale as "A Christmas Story." Hulk Hogan looks wild-eyed and incredulous and he isn't much of an actor but he sells the role with his physique and double takes. I do wonder why the orphans (including a very young Mila Kunis) fix his Santa suit with black gloves and a studded belt that seems to have been stolen from Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, or how the proprietors of the orphanage never even knew there was a cavern with a bolted door? Or why the funniest bit that ex-SNL star Garrett Morris is given to do is to be nearly run over by an ice cream truck? Or why California cops are armed with bazookas? Still, 1996 saw this movie come and go without much notice (I never heard of it until recently). It is more fun and spirited than 1996's dull AhNuld X-Mas film, "Jingle all the Way."

The Thieving Magpies of Paradise

TRAPPED IN PARADISE (1994)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Trapped in Paradise" was savagely excoriated by critics when it first opened in December of 1994. I recall that year that Nicolas Cage appeared in the serviceable comedy "It Could Happen to You" and the harmless and deadening comedy-drama, "Guarding Tess." "Trapped in Paradise" is far better than both though it is hardly a Yuletide classic. For my money, it has more laughs and charm than I expected from almost any Christmas-themed movie since 1994.

The Firpo brothers are quite a bunch. Bill Firpo (Nicolas Cage) runs a restaurant and is the most moral of the brothers. The other two nitwits, compulsive liar Dave and kleptomaniac Alvin (Jon Lovitz, Dana Carvey) are bank robbers who are let out of jail a little too prematurely. Bill can't stand them and their schemes. Thanks to a letter from a convict, the trio find themselves in Paradise, Pennsylvania during Christmas Eve to help locate Sarah (Madchen Amick), the daughter of the convict. Before you can say entrapment, the Firpo brothers successfully rob a bank wearing silly ski masks but have a lot of trouble getting out of Paradise. The denizens of this town are as polite and forgiving as anyone in Bedford Falls (the name of the town in "It's a Wonderful Life") so stealing their money (they all have a stake in the local bank, not the big corporate ones - a timely gesture in reflection) seems downright wrong to Bill.

As written by writer-director George Gallo (he directed the witty "29th Street" and he co-wrote the fabulous "Midnight Run"), "Trapped in Paradise" heads down the icy, snowy roads with a horse sled in tow in pretty much the way you expect. You know from the first minute that Bill meets Sarah that the two will at least share a kiss in the final reel. You know the townsfolk will be supernaturally understanding when they unsuspectingly take in these three robbers and discover their true identities. In fact, the last half of the film so closely resembles "It's a Wonderful Life's" last ten minutes that I was shocked Jimmy Stewart didn't show up. I could have lived without the endless police cars and FBI units on the robbers' tail (though Richard Jenkins is a hoot as an FBI agent who hates Paradise, hence, the Gallo connection with "Midnight Run" that had its own brand of angry FBI agents). I might also have lived without the subplot of the two ex-cons in pursuit of the Firpo brothers (they are played by Frank Pesce and, former bodyguard for the late producer Don Simpson, Vic Manni, both of whom appeared in "Beverly Hills Cop II"). They simply deter from the fun of watching the Firpo brothers.

Nicolas Cage is always a joy to watch and, here, he is a little more restrained than even in "Honeymoon in Vegas." His opening scenes where he goes to confession and deliberates returning a wallet he found in a train station is classic. Jon Lovitz is also funny to watch, and also a bit more restrained. Dana Carvey does a whole Mickey Rourke bit that is sublime in its comic timing - when he speaks, he can grate one's nerves but his physical body language is a major plus.

"Trapped in Paradise" is a jovial, sweet and warm-hearted comedy, never straining for too much sentiment and never too overplayed or overdone. I laughed a lot more than the critics did at the time, thus I never felt I was trapped in a so-called turkey.

P.S. An imdb user made this following claim: "I saw this movie in a film class I took in Manhattan at the time the movie came out and they interviewed Jon Lovitz as part of the class. Do you know what he called this movie? Trapped In S**T! Says something doesn't it?"

The Lambs are Still Screaming!

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

When I first saw "The Silence of the Lambs" on Valentine's Day in 1991, I found it chilling and intense but not much more than a sophisticated slasher film "with a little taste." I re-reviewed it in 2001 after seeing it multiple times, and thought this is an extraordinary thriller, far more supercharged in intensity and psychology than I had thought. Now, twenty years later after its release, "The Silence of the Lambs" is possibly the best suspense thriller ever made, equal parts psychological thriller and character study that often resembles an unusual love story. Let me explain further.

As the film opens, we are introduced to a young, virile woman running in the woods, training to be an FBI agent. She is Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), an ambitious woman eager to study criminal psychology and behavioral science. FBI Section Chief Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to run a test on Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a psychiatrist who also happens to be a cannibal and is being held in a Baltimore prison surrounded by thick glass walls.

Crawford: "Do you spook easily Starling?"
Clarice: "Not yet sir."

Clarice is determined to question Dr. Lecter and decipher any knowledge he might have about a serial killer on the loose known as Buffalo Bill aka Jame Gumm (Ted Levine, a chilling and underrated performance). This killer likes to skin the humps of heavyset girls and may possibly be a transsexual. Apparently, Lecter knows him very well. The initial meeting between Lecter and Clarice is enough to give people goosebumps and nightmares for weeks. We enter a cavernous prison underground surrounded by some obscenely red lighting and red gates, as if we were entering Hell (a heavy murmur that gets louder and louder is heard on the soundtrack). She meets Lecter who stands motionless in his cell whispering, "Good Morning." Their conversation is so memorable that it stands as one of the most classic introductions of evil characters to grace the silver screen since Bela Lugosi's Dracula. Lecter analyzes Clarice to the fullest, fully aware of her second-rate shoes, the disguising of her West Virginia accent and knowing she would do anything to keep away from her homely existence by going so far as to join the FBI. In this scene, we see how Jodie Foster's Clarice works - she maintains her cool and composure without crying, though she wants to. Then she turns the tables on Lecter, asking if he has the temerity to look at himself and analyze his own behavior. This gets to Lecter who has finally met his match in the form of an ambitious FBI trainee, who also happens to be a woman.

Based on Thomas Harris's novel, "Silence of the Lambs" involves and engages us from the start, closing in on an investigation of murders in the midwest of women found in ditches or lakes with their skins removed. It is all part of the Buffalo Bill murder spree and Clarice needs Lecter to provide crucial details, such as Buffalo Bill's real name and whereabouts. An exchange has to occur as she fools Lecter into thinking he can be moved from Baltimore to a pleasant island known as Plum Island where he can roam the beach freely "under Swat team surveillance, of course." (Plum Island is an animal testing center, very charming indeed). But the film is not just interested in grisly details of murders or scamming jailed killers. Each passing event and sequence invites us to see how Clarice Starling is affected and changed by them. And we also see how she is affected by Lecter and how he gets inside her head. After their initial meeting, Clarice walks to her car, reminded of memories of her father and cries.

Clarice Starling is also the focus of "The Silence of the Lambs" as we see how a woman lives and breathes in a man's world, and how she copes with her slain father who was a cop killed in the line of duty. We see two brief flashbacks of her as a child, one where she is greeted by her father and another where she is at his funeral. They pinpoint to a woman who has her emotions in check but is unable to forget her past thanks to Lecter's intervention in her psychological makeup.

And how can a short, ambitious, sincere woman survive in a man's world? Several scenes indicate that her every encounter with a man results in romantic interest. For example, there is her initial encounter with the leathery sliminess of Dr. Chilton (Anthony Heald), Lecter's psychiatrist who is hoping for a little fame, who reminds Clarice that the town of Baltimore is fun "if you have the right guide." One entomologist asks her to go out for "cheesburgers and beer."

More often than not, Clarice is reminded that she is a minority. There are several examples such as when Clarice enters an elevator of tall, imposing men. At the mortuary where a slain victim of Buffalo Bill's is being autopsied, Crawford tells the sheriff that certain elements of the sex crime should not be discussed in front of Clarice. Yet she maintains her cool and shows determination and persistence, no matter who gets in her way. It is doubly ironic that Hannibal Lecter is the only man who shows her some level of respect.

The film is directed by Jonathan Demme ("Beloved," "Melvin and Howard") and he has a fascinating device in the film that is used sparingly in "Philadelphia." He shows us mostly close-ups of his characters and shifts in reverse angle shots by showing another character off-center. Often the characters seem to be looking straight at us - a subjective device that would often seem distracting is cleverly used in the film, particularly the meetings between Clarice and Lecter. The subjectivity forces us to study their faces and understand what they are thinking and feeling.

The casting is impeccable. Jodie Foster is unequivocally seamless as Clarice Starling - tender, tough, sincere, argumentative, vulnerable. She has her flaws but shows fierce ambition and all the characters in the film know it. Anthony Hopkins (thankfully not typecast, though he might have been) is sheer excellence as Lecter. He has remarkable stillness and a quiet, calm voice that carries a sense of understated malice - he has a way with words and can tell what kind of fragrance a woman wears by sniffing through the tiny holes of his glass cell. More than that, he can get inside your skin and rattle your nerves. Lecter also has a way with biting people's cheeks while listening to Bach's "Goldberg Variations." Amazingly, Hopkins is only on screen for twenty minutes but his presence looms large throughout. Both actors won deserved Oscars for their roles.

There are so many memorable moments in its 118 minute running time that remain etched in one's memory. Clarice's meetings with Lecter are all exceptionally shot and edited. I love her story of the screaming lambs and the one lamb she tried to save (not to mention the priceless shot of Lecter's tears after hearing her story). The moment when Clarice shakes Crawford's hand after getting her official FBI badge. The intricately shot scene in a building where Lecter makes his extraordinary escape while FBI agents circle his cell. The unquestionably suspenseful climax where Clarice hunts for Buffalo Bill in his subterranean lair (look closely at shots of moths and swastikas). The autopsy scene of the slain girl which is quite heartbreaking to watch, thanks to Foster's controlled yet emotional observations. And there is so much more.

Another exceptional aspect as to why "The Silence of the Lambs" works is because it chooses to be uniquely disturbing without showing much gore. A film about a cannibal and a serial killer with a predilection for skin could very well show plenty of gore and bloody executions. Instead, director Demme implies as much as he shows, forcing us to imagine certain unseen events. My favorite moment is when Dr. Chilton shows Clarice a picture of what Lecter did to a helpless nurse - a close-up of her reaction to the photo says so much more than what is actually in the photo. Directors Ridley Scott and Brett Ratner did not seem to follow suit with Demme's high standards in "Hannibal" (a fascinating misfire of a sequel) and the mediocre shimmerings of "Red Dragon," itself a remake of Michael Mann's vastly superior "Manhunter."

At its base, "The Silence of the Lambs" is really about the relationship between Lecter and Clarice, resulting in a love story of sorts between a monster and his mate. "People will say we are in love," says Lecter. Of course, it is more of a mutual respect for one another, not a literal love story of a sexually attractive couple. Clarice and Lecter both test and size each other up, and continue being personal and up close. It is only fitting that this film was released on February 14th.

Singing and dancing at the Chicken Ranch

THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS (1982)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Infectious, over-the-top, and sillier than expected, "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" is a fun, innocent musical of sexual freedom in a brothel and Texas politics where politicians expound on nothingness and alleged moral pride. It is nothing more than a goofy parody of madams with big bosoms (Dolly Parton), a Moral Watchdog TV interviewer who wears a little too much sparkle and a bad toupee (Dom DeLuise), and politicians who have nothing to say (a hysterical, scene-stealing Charles Durning plays one such politician). In other words, even today with egotistical politicians running the White House or running Texas, nothing much has changed.

Dolly is Madam Mona, the owner of the long festering 100-year-old Chicken Ranch, a whorehouse where the only sexual play we see is a silhouette through a bedroom curtain. Otherwise, this place is inhabited by merry women who sing and dance in lingerie. The Chicken Ranch itself is about to be closed down by Mr. Moral Boundaries, Melvin P. Thorpe (DeLuise), and he will go tootin' all the way to the Texas governor to make it a reality. It is up to the sharp Ed Earl (Burt Reynolds), the local sheriff who is in love with bosoming, er, blossoming Mona. Can Earl convince the governor not to close it down? Will Earl prove he can right his wrongs when he demeans Mona by calling her a whore? These questions are not answered the way you might expect.

The movie starts with neat little intro to the Chicken Ranch's history and its clientele, with Jim Nabors as Deputy Fred talking directly to the camera. The rest of the movie is packed with wild, busy musical numbers, some more infectious than others. There is sweet chemistry between Reynolds and Parton, particularly when they sing in the bathroom, and their final scenes are tinged with an emotion that is not forced and very honest. The resolution of the Chicken Ranch's future is also handled with emotional restraint, unusual even in the 1980's when Hollywood films went for bigger emotions and sentimentality (which they still do in the 2010 era).

The cast is about as much fun and up to the task of the movie's slight ambitions which, if you think about it, are aimed at being nothing more than a mature love story. Nabors is often unwatchable in most other films (Reynolds' "Stroker Ace" comes to mind) but here he is loose and goofy enough to warrant a few chuckles. DeLuise is precious to watch and never overbearing, which he can be in other films. Reynolds and Parton are a dream team, and Charles Durning (in an Oscar-nominated turn as a tap-dancing governor whom you can't help but love) brings a satirical bent to the material that the movie could've used more of.

"Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" is a wholesome movie musical with its heart in the right place. I am no fan of movie musicals but this one is playful and joyous.

Fatal Errors in Bloodsoaked "Attraction"

FATAL ATTRACTION

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

In 2012, "Fatal Attraction" will celebrate its 25th anniversary as a pop-culture moment in film history. I do not begrudge those who like this picture but I have been on the fence as to its dubious popularity and what the film actually says about marital infidelity. The surprise is that it says nothing at all. It takes a serious issue that many marriages face, turns it and twists into thriller dynamics on the order of the Grand Guignol of Horrors, and ends with a horribly misguided slasher film finish! The whole film is misguided.

Let's go back to 1987 for a moment. I first saw "Fatal Attraction" in theaters back in a cold December evening in that year, and I came away agreeing completely with Roger Ebert's pan of the film. The ending was dishonest and disgraceful, and a disservice to what preceded it. Let's backtrack for the moment to the plot of the film. Dan (Michael Douglas) is a successful New York attorney who is happily married to Beth (Anne Archer, in one of many thankless roles she has played). They also have a cute daughter who wants a bunny rabbit! Dan meets a sophisticated book editor, Alex Forrest (Glenn Close), at a business meeting where she notices he has cream cheese on his chin. They have dinner and before you know it, they are boinking in the kitchen sink and in elevators! Dan doesn't take this fling seriously, though he admits he is happily married to Beth and repeatedly meets with Alex. "Then why are you here?," asks Alex. Good question because the marriage between Dan and Beth is not shown to have any flaws at all. Dan and Beth are shown to be happy and they have a cute happy child (one of the cutest shown in a film in a long time). So did Dan do this to have a thrill because the wife was out of town with the in-laws, or did he do it to see if he could get away with it? He doesn't use any contraception, nor does Alex since she makes the claim she is pregnant! Before you can say "she will not be ignored," we have Alex threatening suicide by cutting her wrists, attacking Dan with a knife, throwing acid on Dan's car, and, well, then she becomes a raging psychopath with a butcher knife who cuts herself in the leg when threatening Beth!

SPOILER ALERTS but you knew it was coming. Dan practically drowns Alex when Alex invades their home. Alex wakes up from her brief bathtub coma and Beth shoots her in the heart! So two lives are claimed, technically, Alex and Dan's future baby. Amazing how, at the time, this was completely avoided in any criticism whatsoever, aside from Ebert's review. The original ending that was shown in Japan and in previews in the U.S. had Alex committing suicide to the musical strains of  "Madame Butterfly" by slicing her neck with the butcher knife. The knife had Dan's fingerprints thus framing him for Alex's death. What was also shown was a later scene of Beth finding evidence that could get Dan free. This apparently was not the ending that the American audience wanted. Frankly, it could have ended with Dan's arrest and that would be fitting for a film noir story but "Fatal Attraction" does not develop as a noir story. The bloodbath ending that was shot and used has nothing to do with what preceded the film either since Alex was turned into a Jason Voorhees villain who can rise from the dead. Such an ending also plagued and trivialized a Julia Roberts supposedly psychological thriller from 1991, "Sleeping With the Enemy."

So why do I dislike "Fatal Attraction"? Because the film starts strong as a psychological and moral story about a woman who clings to a married man who wants nothing to do with her, but it does not develop the characters along a psychological plane. We never truly know what makes Dan tick or Alex, or the far too underdeveloped role of Beth. The film, written by James Dearden, goes for the obvious: it amps up the feverish pitch of a thriller with a cop-out ending that is more troubling than germane to the story. Glenn Close is absolutely excellent in the early part of the film, especially in the dinner sequence that is handled with sublime restraint. I also like some of the early scenes between Alex and Dan as they sit in the park. But the movie is in a rush to get a roller-coaster ride mentality going, opting for needless and perfunctory scenes of an actual roller-coaster ride with Dan's kidnapped child; the gratuitous bunny boiled scene (Stephen King argued that one of the staples of Gothic horror is animal mutilations, but it shouldn't be included in a seemingly psychological drama); Alex arriving unannounced at Dan's apartment, which is a startlingly intense scene but, again, feels perfunctory; Beth getting into a car collision that would be at home in an action flick; and all the trimmings in the last half of the film that belong to the slasher film genre. Director Adrian Lyne (who helmed the stylish "Flashdance" and the haunting "Jacob's Ladder") loses all patience with subtlety after a while and gives the audience what they want: a bloodbath tinged with a psychological bent so that no married men or women ever consider having an extramarital affair. Sorry, the TV show "Maury" has proven that married couples still engage in affairs and the divorce rate is higher than ever. With regards to what should've been a controversial ending, Glenn Close, in a recent Entertainment Weekly article, claims she did not understand why Alex was made into a psychopath. I also want to point out that though Close's character, Alex, is pregnant and refuses to have an abortion, it is her choice and she is entitled to it so the double whammy of having her killed and along with her unborn baby leaves me feeling queasy. "Fatal Attraction" is ultimately a morally problematic film. 

I held my tongue for many years on the pros and cons of "Fatal Attraction." I have seen it more than once and still feel that the film is simply gibberish, a supposedly moral tale of adultery that has no real morality to it. It starts off as a great film, and betrays every single idea it started to develop by soaking it with blood. The blood gives the audience a visceral, adrenaline rush, but it is hardly an intellectual rush.