Movie Review: Something Wild (1986)

Genre: Romantic Comedy Adventure  

Director: Jonathan Demme  

Starring: Melanie Griffith, Jeff Daniels, Ray Liotta  

Running Time: 113 minutes  

Synopsis: In New York City, Charlie (Jeff Daniels) is a recently promoted corporate VP. On a whim, he jumps into the car of the free-spirited Lulu (Melanie Griffith). After she robs a New Jersey liquor store, they have sex at a cheap motel. In Pennsylvania, Lulu reveals her real name is Audrey and introduces Charlie as her husband to her mother Peaches. But the wild adventure takes a dark turn when Audrey's ex-husband Ray (Ray Liotta), a career criminal recently released from prison, shows up at her high school reunion party.

What Works Well: A companion piece to other mid-eighties men-out-of-their-element adventures like After Hours and Into The Night, Something Wild joins a suit-and-tie corporate type as he jettisons caution and surrenders to the erratic desires of a compelling stranger. Melanie Griffith brings a buzz of energy to Lulu/Audrey, and hints at a complex backstory that deserved more attention. Ray Liotta immediately introduces menace and tension, although he enters the story late.

What Does Not Work As Well: None of the behaviour on display carries any whiff of realism, degrading events into episodes of irresponsible silliness. Given his lack of judgment it's difficult to imagine in what context Charlie becomes a Vice President of anything, and any deep-seated motivations or explanations driving his acquiescence and Lulu's impulsiveness are studiously ignored. The final act veers towards crime and violence inconsistent with the preceding vibe.

Key Quote:

Charlie: Look, if you don't turn around and take me back, you're gonna make me do something that I don't wanna do.

Lulu: I can hardly wait, Charlie.

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Movie Review: Mulholland Falls (1996)

Genre: Neo Noir Crime Drama  

Director: Lee Tamahori  

Starring: Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, Jennifer Connelly, Chazz Palminteri, John Malkovich, Treat Williams, Chris Penn, Andrew McCarthy, Michael Madsen, Daniel Baldwin  

Running Time: 107 minutes  

Synopsis: It's the early 1950s in Los Angeles. A tough squad of police detectives led by Max Hoover (Nick Nolte) and consisting of his partners Ellery (Chazz Palminteri), Eddie (Michael Madsen), and Arthur (Chris Penn) play outside the rules to push back against organized crime. When high-class prostitute Allison Pond (Jennifer Connelly) is found dead, Max is compromised because he was one of her clients. Seedy cameraman Jimmy (Andrew McCarthy) secretly filmed Allison with her illicit lovers, including General Timms (John Malkovich). Max's dogged investigation leads to a Nevada atomic bomb test site, and a tangle with Colonel Nathan Fitzgerald (Treat Williams).

What Works Well: This character-based mood-focused drama rides on the brute charisma of Nick Nolte as Max Hoover, a detective determined to keep his town clear of mob figures. His world is suddenly upended when his trysts with the alluring Allison are exposed, collapsing his stable relationship with his wife (Melanie Griffith). The Peter Dexter script balances expertly-delivered punctuations of violence with interesting characters brought to life by a dream supporting cast, with Andrew McCarthy's opportunistic photographer a stand out. At the heart of this investigation is a strong bond of male friendship, Max's squad a cacophony of barbs united by an ends-justify-the-means ethos.

What Does Not Work As Well: The period set designs, vehicles, and wardrobes leave the conspiracy behind, the sequence of events leading to Allison's death becoming fuzzier, less interesting, and ultimately illogical with every reveal. The resources available to the antagonists should have ensured that she simply disappeared, rather than dumped in plain sight of a construction project. 

Key Quote:

General Timms (talking to Max Hoover): That's the history of the world, Lieutenant. Some people die before their time so that others can live. It's the cornerstone of civilization. War, religion, democracy. A hundred die so that a thousand may live.

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Movie Review: Now And Then (1995)

Genre: Coming-Of-Age Dramedy  

Director: Lesli Linka Glatter  

Starring: Demi Moore, Melanie Griffith, Rosie O'Donnell, Rita Wilson, Thora Birch, Christina Ricci  

Running Time: 100 minutes  

Synopsis: Now in their 30s, four friends from childhood re-convene in their small hometown of Shelby, Indiana. Chrissy (Rita Wilson) still lives in her parents' house and is about to give birth. Roberta (Rosie O'Donnell) is a doctor, Teeny (Melanie Griffiths) a Hollywood star, and Samantha (Demi Moore) an author. In a long flashback they reminisce about the summer of 1970, when as pre-teens they became aware of life's complexities, including imperfect parents, societal ills, and burgeoning sexuality.

What Works Well: This girl's equivalent of Stand By Me explores a range of pre-adult experiences ranging from mundane misadventures (the girls have a running feud with a group of boys) to painful awakenings into the adult world. The four young actresses (Ashleigh Aston Moore as Chrissy, Christina Ricci as Roberta, Thora Birch as Teeny, and Gaby Hoffman as Samantha) capably carry the acting load and tease out subtle bonds within the already sturdy quadrangle: Chrissy and Roberta are best friends and as adults remained in Shelby, while Teeny and Samantha share a more adventurous spirit and moved far from their hometown. Brendan Fraser adds era context as a Vietnam War veteran, and Walter Sparrow makes an impact as "Crazy" Pete.

What Does Not Work As Well: The adult Samantha over-narrates with saturated sullenness, and the book-end scenes featuring the grown women appear slapped-on to add marketable star names. Moore, Griffith, and O'Donnell barely mask their disinterest, while Wilson embraces cartoon representations. In the flashback, excessive time is occupied with a side-story involving seances and a community tragedy from years past, while a near-death encounter involving an over-sized catch basin is dramatic overkill.

Key Quote:

Young Roberta: You can't get pregnant from French-kissing!

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Movie Review: Pacific Heights (1990)

Genre: Thriller  

Director: John Schlesinger  

Starring: Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine, Michael Keaton  

Running Time: 102 minutes  

Synopsis: In San Francisco, couple Patty and Drake (Melanie Griffith and Matthew Modine) buy an expensive Victorian house, counting on rent income from two ground-level apartments to afford the mortgage. Con artist Carter Hayes (Michael Keaton) fast-talks his way into one of the units without paying a deposit. Patty and Drake are plunged into a financial hole and a living nightmare, unable to get rid of a delinquent tenant now responsible for loud hammering and a cockroach infestation. They turn to a lawyer (Laurie Metcalf) for help, but Carter is also an expert at manipulating tenancy laws to his advantage.

What Works Well: This competent and compact landlord cautionary tale enjoys high production values, moments of mild suspense, a menacing Michael Keaton as an antagonist thinking five steps ahead, and in the opposite corner, a grounded Melanie Griffith. Director John Schlesinger and writer Daniel Pyne expertly allow all the walls (financial, emotional, and physical) to close-in on Patty and Drake, while the cockroaches make for effective co-stars.

What Does Not Work As Well: Matthew Modine is saddled with a character who picks the worst option at every opportunity. Carter's backstory remains blurry, and a gaggle of tertiary characters (including none other than Tippi Hedren, Melanie Griffith's mom) make late appearances to little effect. Carter's malevolent acts are a really convoluted means to a living for a supposedly wickedly intelligent man.

Conclusion: Don't skip any steps when selecting a tenant.



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Movie Review: The Milagro Beanfield War (1988)

Genre: Whimsical Dramedy

Director: Robert Redford

Starring: Chuck Vennera, Ruben Blades, Sonia Braga, John Heard, Christopher Walken, Melanie Griffith

Running Time: 117 minutes

Synopsis: In the tiny New Mexico community of Milagro, locals are resigned to the imminent arrival of a gentrification project financed by tycoon Ladd Devine (Richard Bradford). But farmer Joe Mondragon (Chick Vennera) takes a stand by diverting water to his long-dormant beanfield, the one remaining unsold plot. Activist Ruby (Sonia Braga) seizes on Joe's initiative to mobilize the community and recruits reluctant news publisher Charlie Bloom (John Heard) to the cause. Devine imports Sherriff Montana (Christopher Walken) as an intimidator, while local law officer Montoya (Ruben Blades) tries to keep the lid on bubbling tensions.

What Works Well: Gorgeous cinematography (Robbie Greenberg), playful music (Dave Grusin), and a quirky sense of humour underpin this backwater culture clash. The theme of the new threatening the old in the capitalistic pursuit of profit provides a sturdy narrative foundation, but director Robert Redford maintains a light touch exemplified by Carlos Riquelme as the eccentric old-timer Amarante. He lives somewhere between the past and the present in the constant company of his pig (and a ghost), winking at life's compounding absurdities.

What Does Not Work As Well: Several characters promise much but ultimately just add clutter, including appearances by Melanie Griffith (superfluous), Daniel Stern (lost), and Julie Carmen (unfortunately underused). The ending creates numerous gaps in a rush to rudimentary cheerleading.

Conclusion: The winds of change can blow in unpredictably gorgeous directions.



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Movie Review: A Stranger Among Us (1992)

A murder investigation, romance and cultural exposition, A Stranger Among Us (also known as Close To Eden) is sloppily scripted and badly acted.

Emily Eden (Melanie Griffith) is a tough New York City detective, unafraid to use her gun when needed. After her partner Nick (Jamey Sheridan) is wounded in a knife attack, she is assigned the missing person case of Yaakov Klausman (Jake Weber), a member of the close-knit Hasidic Jewish community in New York's jewellery district. She connects with the community's Rebbe (Lee Richardson) and his two adopted children Ariel (Eric Thal) and Leah (Mia Sara), as well as Yaakov's fiancée Mara (Tracy Pollan).

Emily's blunt manner clashes with the staid and conservative society, but she uncovers Yaakov's dead body, transforming the case to a murder investigation. Backed-up by her new partner Levine (John Pankow), Emily goes undercover as a guest in the Rebbe's household, and starts to learn and appreciate Hasidic culture and traditions while falling in love with Ariel.

Whether due to her voice, wardrobe, make-up, or general demeanour, Melanie Griffith never comes close to convincing as a hardened New York City cop. She tries hard and in a couple of quiet scenes reveals the warmth of a woman craving meaningful connections, but otherwise the immature script by Robert J. Avrech and Sidney Lumet's wayward direction are of no help. Griffith is stranded with inane lines of dialogue trying to convey churlish behaviour, launching A Stranger Among Us onto the wrong track from which it never recovers.

The plot is similar to 1985's Witness, a crime used as an entryway to demystify a visible but secluded culture. And for long stretches of A Stranger Among Us, the murder investigation is parked off to the side, almost forgotten as Emily navigates a different way of life and embarks on a stuttering romance with Ariel. Scenes of food preparation, families gathering for mourning or meals, joyous dancing, and sombre religious ceremonies predominate, interrupted by conservative/liberal debates between Emily and Ariel, who come from different worlds and may as well be speaking different languages.

Their romance is chemistry-free, and not helped by her former and current partners Nick and Levine incessantly lusting after her seemingly for no reason other than her being a woman. Emily's sophomoric love life becomes yet another narrative distraction.

A couple of antagonists (including James Gandolfini) literally walk through the door and loudly introduce themselves as villainous racketeers, to make sure Emily remembers she actually has a job to do. It all ends in a rushed and inexplicable mess, key characters acting out of character because the script said so. Strangers may be among us, but they are still best avoided.



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Movie Review: Shining Through (1992)

A World War Two spy drama and romance, Shining Through enjoys sterling production values but suffers from wonky plot elements.

An elderly Linda Voss (Melanie Griffith) is being interviewed by the BBC about her experiences during World War Two. In flashback, she recounts her story starting in 1940. Half-Jewish, raised by working class parents in Queens, fluent in German, and a big fan of movies about war and espionage, Linda secures a secretarial job in Manhattan. She is assigned to assist undercover intelligence officer Ed Leland (Michael Douglas) as he questions German immigrants about the locations of factories and rail lines in their homeland. 

They fall in love, but Linda and Ed's romance is interrupted when the US joins the war and he is deployed behind enemy lines. When he re-emerges she volunteers for a dangerous spy mission to infiltrate a Nazi commander's home and steal bomb-manufacturing secrets. In Berlin Linda connects with Allied spies Friedrichs (John Gielgud) and the alluring Margrete von Eberstein (Joely Richardson). After some mishaps she secures employment as a domestic worker for General Franz-Otto Dietrich (Liam Neeson), and attempts to track down Jewish relatives who may be hiding from the Nazis.

An adaptation of the Susan Isaacs novel written and directed by David Seltzer, Shining Through exudes quality thanks to a polished look. The 1940s are recreated in fine detail, both in the United States and especially in Germany under the Nazis. With filming locations in eastern Germany just after unification, Seltzer captures picturesque streetscapes, buildings, offices, mansions, uniforms, cars, trams and trains from the era. Nazi symbols dominate, Germany on a full war footing but also starting to experience the sting of Allied bombing raids.

But while the visuals are rich, the story is handicapped by a higher than usual level of clunkiness, the plot holes threatening to swallow the entire adventure. Ed is a master spy frequently operating in enemy territory but cannot speak a word of German. He agrees to deploy the untrained and half-Jewish Linda into the field for a crucial mission. The seemingly well-connected and rich Dietrich hires Linda to live in his home and look after his children without the most basic confirmation of her background. She then hustles his young but observant children around on buses and into a fishmonger's store run by an Allied spy.

The action scenes are equally improbable, including a confrontation with a double agent and a climax at a border crossing, both veering towards death-defying over-the-top melodramatics.

Melanie Griffith helps navigate the rough patches with a seductively gutsy performance. Michael Douglas is surprisingly stone faced, and as a result the romance between Ed and Linda operates at only lukewarm temperatures. Liam Neeson hints at a complex character residing within Dietrich, and deserved more screen time.

Peppered with references to 1940s World War Two movies, Shining Through rides an innocent and old fashioned attitude all the way to a pat ending, but the feel-good intentions are forced to shine through perforated logic.



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Movie Review: The Bonfire Of The Vanities (1990)

A satirical comedy-drama about human surrender to avarice, The Bonfire Of The Vanities tackles weighty subjects with a dismissively careless attitude.

Perpetually drunk reporter-turned-author Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis) basks in the glory of his new-found fame as a best-selling author. In flashback, Fallow recounts the past year's events. Sherman McCoy (Tom Hanks) is one of the few "Masters of the Universe", a mega-wealthy Wall Street bond trader raking in millions per deal. Married to Judy (Kim Cattrall), he is carrying on an affair with the equally married airhead Maria Ruskin (Melanie Griffith).

Sherman picks up Maria from the airport and after a wrong turn they end up deep in the Bronx late at night. They tangle with two Black men and in the frantic effort to drive away Maria, now in the driver's seat, accidentally runs over one of the men. Maria convinces Sherman not to report the incident, but with the victim in a coma the outraged South Bronx Black community rises to demand justice and a full investigation of the hit-and-run, with Reverend Bacon (John Hancock) leading the protests.

Ambitious District Attorney Weiss (an uncredited F. Murray Abraham) recognizes the publicity value of the case. Assistant DA Kramer (Saul Rubinek) starts investigating, and Fallow is plucked from obscurity to start pumping newspaper headlines. Soon Sherman's car is identified and his life is forever altered, with a climax in the courtroom of the Black Judge White (Morgan Freeman).

An adaptation of Tom Wolfe's novel, The Bonfire Of The Vanities critiques rampant narcissism with inflated humour. Overcoming a nightmarish production cycle featuring countless casting and miscasting chops and changes, director Brian De Palma nevertheless luxuriates in creating a vivid and hyper-realistic world, whether in McCoy's Manhattan apartment or on the streets of the Bronx. And he layers on the cinematic tricks, glitz and style, including a spectacular opening single tracking shot extending close to five minutes as Farrow arrives at a gala event. 

But the problems run deep, from Farrow's boring and unnecessary narration to the juvenile comedy antics, including McCoy using a shotgun to end a party and Kramer instigating a physical courtroom fracas. And unrefined hyperbole surrounds every distasteful character. In the context of a movie studded with star names, the absence of a single empathetic character becomes a problem script writer Michael Cristofer cannot solve. Fallow has traded his career for the bottle, Maria is an over-sexed and vocabulary-challenged moron, Weiss is a villain in a suit with his eyes solely on the Mayor's chair, and Reverend Bacon is a larger than life thunderous buffoon.

Which leaves Tom Hanks stranded in the central role of Sherman McCoy, a man with apparently no redeeming qualities, making money by trading money and happy to cheat on his wife with a bimbo. Still, the film needs a victim and McCoy is the closest thing to it, but he remains a relative non-entity as the cause of racial justice is co-opted by all around him for selfish causes.

Morgan Freeman's Judge White emerges as the one individual fighting a rearguard action to safeguard some sense of decency amidst the sea of moral bankruptcy. Within a societal sensibility portrayed as rotten to the core and well beyond salvation, his climactic speechifying carries no conviction.

For all its faults, The Bonfire Of The Vanities is nothing if not perceptive. It borders on cartoonish, but the film lays bare the tsunami of materialistic selfishness and greed corroding hearts and minds, a fiery spiral reaching into every corner and always spinning downwards.

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The Movies Of Melanie Griffith

 

All movies starring Melanie Griffith and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

Night Moves (1975)

Body Double (1984)

Something Wild (1986)

The Milagro Beanfield War (1988)

Working Girl (1988)

Pacific Heights (1990)

The Bonfire Of The Vanities (1990)

A Stranger Among Us (1992)

Shining Through (1992)

Now And Then (1995)

Mulholland Falls (1996)

The Disaster Artist (2017)

The High Note (2020, cameo)

All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.

The Movie Star Index is here.

Movie Review: Night Moves (1975)

A neo-noir detective thriller, Night Moves is an engrossing character study ironically elevated by an almost incomprehensible plot featuring large gaps and plenty of edges.

Through his friend Nick (Kenneth Mars), Los Angeles based former pro footballer and now private detective Harry Moseby (Gene Hackman) is hired by has-been movie starlet and multiple divorcée Arlene Iverson (Janet Ward) to find her runaway 16 year old daughter Delly (Melanie Griffith). Arlene is less interested in Delly's well-being and more in need of the money generated by her daughter's trust fund. Just as he starts his investigation Harry stumbles on his wife Ellen (Susan Clark) having an affair under his nose with a man called Marty Heller (Harris Yulin). He pushes on regardless and starts to uncover the web of Delly's friends, including greasy mechanic Quentin (James Woods), caustic movie stunt director Joey Ziegler (Edward Binns) and handsome stunt pilot Marv Ellman (Anthony Costello).

Learning that Delly is an uninhibited sexpot who is sleeping her way through her mother's former lovers, Harry makes his way to the Florida keys where he finds Delly hanging out with Arlene's second ex-husband Tom Iverson (John Crawford). Tom appears to have already been ensnared by Delly's sexual charms, but his partner Paula (Jennifer Warren) is nevertheless curiously still standing by him. Harry is attracted to Paula but struggles to make sense of what is going on and is unsure if he should return Delly to her mother. A grisly underwater discovery suddenly makes the case a lot more complicated.

Directed by Arthur Penn and written by Alan Sharp, Night Moves is a beautiful mess. With some jarring editing, audacious risks and a plot that scribbles on the periphery of character disintegration, the movie could have dissolved into irrelevance. Instead Penn conjures up a companion piece to The Big Sleep, stripped of even the pretense of thorny heroism. The story of Night Moves is littered with holes, ill-defined motivations and at least one incredible coincidence. It does not matter. The focus is on Harry Moseby standing witness to his family life and career crumbling around his ears, while he intellectually believes that there is something he can do about it.

The signs are clear early on that Moseby's detective skills fall short. This is a man who could not detect his own wife having an affair, and later cannot untangle the relationship between Tom and Paula. He thinks he is saving Delly by depositing her back with her mother, but that proves to be the worst possible move. All the time he is obsessed with replaying and demonstrating a chess match where a winning strategy involving clever knight moves was missed and the game lost. Moseby is a man always running behind events, falling further back every time he uncovers another piece of the puzzle, and most unfortunately oblivious to his own incompetence.

Penn is not just satisfied with an in depth look at one miserable character: he surrounds him with all that the mid-1970s had to offer in terms of a dispirited society, where 1960s communal idealism crashed against Watergate and the oil crisis, triggering an era of unfettered narcissism. Arlene is a silicone enhanced has-been collecting ex-husbands and still acting the role of being interested in her daughter, while her only real desire is income continuance.

Meanwhile, Delly is not waiting for anyone: she has appropriated the sexual revolution for her selfish purpose, devouring her mother's former lovers in service of personal pleasure. At 16, she is already deploying sex as a weapon of mass escapism across the country. Meanwhile, the movie industry is a cover for illicit activities, the exportation of American culture through on-screen magic a cover-up for a nefarious scheme involving cultural imports.

Moseby walks into this cesspool believing that he is actually good, and Gene Hackman is brilliant at portraying a pathetic man catching up too late with his own incompetence. Ruffled, betrayed, and played repeatedly for a fool, Hackman ensures that Moseby is an unforgettable tragic figure. The supporting cast members share the screen time, planets circling Moseby's dying sun. Particularly effective are Melanie Griffith and James Woods, who both make strong marks in early roles.

Night Moves ends with Moseby coming to terms with the limits of his talent. After chasing the truth back and forth across the country, his fate is simplified into small circles, so that even he can understand it.

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Movie Review: Working Girl (1988)

A romantic comedy drama set in the high stakes world of business, Working Girl celebrates the power of the individual to succeed despite any lowly starting point. The film is an effective combination of character-driven boardroom drama, unlikely romance and clever, adult-oriented humour.

In New York, Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) is a working class Staten Island girl holding a job as an administrative secretary at a Manhattan investment brokerage. Just turning 30, Tess is smart, savvy and strives for admission into the firm's trainee program, but entry doors just slam in her face. A spark of hope is ignited when Tess is assigned to a new boss in the form of sharp young executive Katharine Parker (Sigourney Weaver). Katharine promises to take Tess seriously and help her advance, but then proceeds to steal Tess' idea for a major media acquisition deal.

When Katharine is unexpectedly laid up in Switzerland with a broken leg due to a ski accident, Tess takes the opportunity to over-represent herself, taking over Katharine's office and wardrobe and playing deal maker between two major corporations, with help from mergers and acquisitions executive Jack Trainer (Harrison Ford). Jack and Tess push the deal seemingly towards success and start to develop romantic feelings for each other. But when Katharine reenters the picture, Tess is exposed and finds herself severely compromised professionally and personally.

Directed by Mike Nichols, Working Girl is a corporate fairy tale, a Cinderella-in-Manhattan where the corporation is the castle, dreams can come true, and the poor but good girl from the 'burbs has to try and overcome a horrid wardrobe, outsmart the evil schemer, and aim to win the heart of prince charming. Written by Kevin Wade, the film mixes humour, romance and business in a slick and irresistible package, and unfolds as a breezy romp through the extreme sport of office politics, where knives are plunged into backs as a matter of course and always with an icy smile.

Working Girl is also a quintessential piece of late 1980s filmmaking celebrating the decade of greed. Here executives are only as good as their last deal, barracudas like Katharine Parker slice through cocktail parties looking for their next victim, Jack Trainer and his ilk forgo sleep and crave the success of brokering an acquisition, boardroom deals are the pinnacle of excitement, and even the secretary aims for her piece of the me decade. Flattery, flirting and barely concealed sexuality are just more weapons in the business battlefield.

Tess has the scrappy streetsmarts but not the education to join the game, but her desire to climb this particular corporate ladder is never questioned. Her sacrifices includes cutting her working class hair, dumping the gaudy jewelry, and breaking off with oily boyfriend Mick (Alec Baldwin), who conveniently cheats on her just as she is starting to carve out a new life. It is an open question whether Tess' friendship with fellow secretary Cynthia (Joan Cusack) will survive her desire to rise above the secretarial pool.

The film chews heartily on several themes, including classism, careerism, women in the work force, the limits of ambition, and the rights and wrongs of the ends justifying the means. A unifying theme is the desperation to get ahead at all levels and at all costs. Just as much as Tess is eager to prove herself, Katharine and Jack are just as committed to their goals, and if nothing else, they serve as warnings of what Tess should expect once she wades into the dangerous waters of deal making.

Tess McGill is probably Melanie Griffith's greatest role. She brings Tess to life with cat-like agility, smarts, and intensity. Griffith keeps the character anchored in Tess' working class roots, which represent a commitment to dogged persistence and an inability to compromise when confronted with two-faced sleaze. Harrison Ford provides a steady presence, while Sigourney Weaver has an absolute blast turning Katharine Parker into the seminal surreptitious corporate conniver, trampling on the likes of Tess with absolute glee. Oliver Platt (Tess' first boss), Kevin Spacey (a coke snorting lusty executive) and Olympia Dukakis (the personnel director) contribute small roles.

Most appropriately, the impressively spiritual Carly Simon song Let the River Run won the Academy Award. After all, Working Girl is an ode to the career that glistens in the high rise windows of the Manhattan sky, where all shall worship at the altar of the next big commission.

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Movie Review: Body Double (1984)

Stylish but deeply flawed, Body Double is director Brian De Palma's attempt to modernize Hitchcock by introducing a potent dose of sexuality and a sharper instrument of death. Uninspired performances and a plot that crumbles under close inspection undermine the pizzazz.

Jake (Craig Wasson) is finding out just how bad a failing Hollywood career can get: reduced to playing the vampire in a Grade Z slasher flick, claustrophobia paralyzes him while he is entombed in his casket. Then he catches his girlfriend in bed with another guy, before being utterly humiliated in an acting class. Forced to abandon his apartment, Jake seems to catch a break when shady fellow-actor Sam (Gregg Henry) offers him the chance to house-sit a stunning villa with a breathtaking view. The major perk: sexy neighbour Gloria (Deborah Shelton) puts on a solo striptease show in front of her window every night, and Sam encourages Jake to watch through the conveniently available telescope.

Jake helps himself to the nightly eye candy, and quickly notices that Gloria is being dangerously stalked by one ugly looking Indian. Jake starts stalking both Gloria and her stalker, following them through a mall and on the beach, and is indecisive as to whether to interfere or not. It doesn't matter much: the following night Gloria is gruesomely murdered by the Indian, while Jake watches helplessly through the telescope. But many things are not what they seem: Jake discovers that porn star Holly Body (Melanie Griffith) was unwittingly duping him into witnessing a carefully staged murder. Jake has to unravel all the lies that he is being subjected to, and in the process both he and Holly become targets for the murderer.

De Palma imports at least a couple of classic Hitcockian themes: the Rear Window witness-to-a-murder, and the Vertigo acrophobia here becomes claustrophobia. There are other small touches, including the murder-on-the-phone from Dial M For Murder. But from the opening scenes De Palma also litters his movie with what-you-see-is-not-real references, and the mix of modernized Hitchcockian elements and almost overt winking at the audience just doesn't bake well.

Unfortunately, Body Double may have one of De Palma's all-time weakest casts. Craig Wasson , Gregg Henry and Deborah Shelton take up a lot of oxygen and deliver precious little presence in return. Wasson floats through the film in a vacuous state; Henry hisses slimy evil intent; and former beauty queen Shelton stares blankly out of her mesmerizing eyes, gradually realizing that television is going to be the only place where her lack of acting talent will flourish. Melanie Griffith arrives late and immediately injects a much needed shot of wicked edginess and sly humour, but by the time she makes her entrance, the pervasive bland acting delivered by everyone else has already suffocated the film.

With character behaviour straight out of a first year writing class for the imagination-challenged, Body Double is left with only it's emphasis on style to save it, and here De Palma does score points. The film oozes sleek extravagance, from the ridiculously attractive design of the look-out house to the sensual voyeuristic scenes and the sojourn into the ultra-expensive mall, De Palma layers luxury that, through Jake's eyes, is inaccessible to most mortals.

Body Double is more of an interesting curiosity than a good film, a bit of an unkempt cul-de-sac on the otherwise generally well-maintained De Palma career avenue.

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