wiluxe-2 Reviews

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

The Worst Film I've Seen In Years

[1/10 · 19 January 2024]

The first two JOHN WICK films were fun to watch, the third much less so. But this fourth was just ghastly. I can suspend disbelief up to a point, especially when it comes to action movies - I mean there's only so much physical abuse a body can get and still move - but this was an enormous waste of time. The last half hour was absolutely stupid beyond belief. At first it was funny, but after awhile it was just insipid and unwatchable. I can't stress strongly enough just how terrible this film is.

I'm not sure what accounts for the shockingly high ratings for this film; I hope my own low score of this disaster that I've posted here lowers the average even a little. I can understand a fan base approving practically anything Keanu Reeves appears in, but really, y'all, this film is a parody of action filmmaking.

Voice (2019–2020)

Better Than I'd Hoped

[8/10 · 6 September 2022]

I hadn't seen the Korean version on which this is based, but I don't care - this will do fine. Decent acting, good stories, memorable characters, and very good filmmaking. Entertaining. I don't ask for much more. I don't watch a series expecting "Citizen Kane" - level excellence. It's 2022, and I just want my film experiences to be worthwhile. And they are - it's a golden age of filmmaking we're living in, and I'm thrilled that Asian cinema is among the best stuff out there.

I'd like to know more about individual actors here and how they and the Korean actors differ in their characterizations differ. And how alike and us alike the different series are. It's a shame the Korean version isn't on Netflix, as this one currently is, for comparison.

When the Danish/Swedish series "The Bridge" was released, it was so profoundly great that there was produced a French/English version ("The Tunnel") and an American/Mexican version ("The Bridge") , neither of which could compete with the Scandinavian original; should there be an American or English version of "The Voice," it will have a built-in audience. Maybe - the American/Mexican version of "The Bridge" was pretty awful.

The Night House (2020)

Intelligent, Complex Horror

[4/10 · 29 December 2021]

An unusual entry into present-day horror. After years of cabins in the woods, demons in high schools, vampires, grotesqueries everywhere, killer children, something entirely different emerges. Excellent acting, screenplay, and pacing. I'm not giving anything away, just watch this for the tension and shock. You won't figure it out til the end.

The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)

One of the Worst Sequels Ever

[2/10 · 12 September 2020]

I've watched the first "Babysitter" film maybe four times since it's release. Just great. I had high hopes for this, but it was just as bad a horror film as I've ever seen. Ludicrous. The first film had some really funny moments and there wasn't a wasted scene in the entire film. This one took FOREVER to get moving, and once it did, I couldn't have cared less. Not clever, not funny, just gruesome and stupid.

Can't Take It Back (2017)

Logan Paul!

[5/10 · 21 May 2020]

Worst actor I've encountered in years. Absolutely laughable in this film.

The Twilight Zone: A Passage for Trumpet (1960) Season 1, Episode 32

First-Rate Episode

[9/10 · 5 May 2020]

It's simply amazing how tight and perfect so many Twilight Zone episodes were, considering it was (with some exceptions) a half-your show. In the case of this particular episode the standout is the performance by Jack Klugman as a talented, but lonely and seriously depressed jazz musician. Every word Krugman speaks is authentic and profoundly real; every movement he makes is absolutely right. And Serling's script is concise, deft, and keenly intelligent; he's taken on a subject that might have been written very differently by someone else, lacking the quiet sentiment behind this sad man's story that Serling provides.

In the Cut (2003)

Not Expecting Quality, Not Getting It Either

[1/10 · 14 June 2006]

SPOILER ALERT! I'll freely admit to not being a fan of Meg Ryan's, and I was more than a little surprised to discover that she can act and act very well. And I like Jane Campion. But this was one of the most tedious films to come my way in years. There was no sustained tension to speak of, no humor to break up the monotony, no likable characters, just a few pointless and really tiresome sex scenes scattered throughout a terrible story with lots and lots of talk about sex.

And what's with Meg Ryan's long walk to Manhattan from the lighthouse, across the George Washington Bridge while she's drunk, covered with blood? After the anticlimax of her killing the murderer, her struggle to get home on her own -- exhausted, drunk, emotionally devastated by the last 12 hours -- struck me as just completely stupid.

Ballets Russes (2005)

Beautifully, Lovingly Assembled Documentary

[10/10 · 5 May 2006]

I saw this in Boulder this spring (2006) with my girlfriend, a former professional ballet dancer who studied under George Zoritch, who appears in the film both in archival footage and in present-day interviews. Needless to say, my girlfriend was thrilled to see not just him, but Nathalie Krassovska, another teacher of hers from the 1960s. I hadn't the foggiest notion of what Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was -- nor anything about ballet history for that matter -- until I saw this film; we bought the DVD yesterday to celebrate our first year together.

Spectacular, though grainy, early footage gives you a sense of the excitement surrounding these dancers during the Depression era; and of Ballet Russe's appeal even to rural American towns, which flocked to see the company as it toured America by train. Ballets Russes, the film, is not what you might expect: it's an endlessly intriguing and often poignant and very funny tale of devotion to art; a celebration of great talent and indefatigable drive; and a study of artistic genius, the likes of which we may never see again.

Note: there's an Easter Egg on the DVD.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

A Brilliant Film

[10/10 · 30 October 2005]

This is one of the greatest of all British films, a remarkable work in every way: the acting, the jazzy soundtrack, the script (Sillitoe's, I think). Courtenay is brilliant, just brilliant, and never better. I remember thinking in the 60s that Mick Jagger may have based his persona on Courtenay's performance. A very moving, extremely poignant film. The scene where Courtenay leaves Borstal for a solitary, liberating run in the country is one I first saw almost 40 years ago and have never forgotten. The flashbacks to his home in London -- wasn't it London? -- with his unfaithful mum and his ailing father are still moving to me. I can't recommend this film highly enough. See it.

Girls in Prison (1956)

Good Genre Film

[10/10 · 15 May 2005]

I bought a VHS copy of this odd little women-in-prison film on eBay because it featured the sublime Phyllis Coates (the first "Lois Lane" on television and, arguably, the best ever) in a supporting role as 'Dorothy', a disturbed inmate. A small but memorable role for Phyllis here: oddly enough her character assumes every new female inmate is a woman named 'Lois' who broke up her family and led her to murder someone.

Lots of great-looking women inmates throughout the film. Prison life is pretty rough, with lots of meaningless busywork for the inmates.

The opening scene is pretty avant garde; the director deserves credit for his experimental approach to introducing the characters.

Slacker (1990)

Godawful Film-making

[1/10 · 15 April 2005]

SLACKER may be one of the worst films ever. EVER! How it has maintained cult-status since its release is a total, inexplicable mystery. It may have something to do with the fact that it was produced on a shoestring; but the horrible acting and worse writing (Linklater should give up trying to be funny; and after watching BEFORE SUNRISE I'd recommend his giving up writing all together) are impossible to ignore. I think there were two occasions when I laughed. I had a date for this film in Austin--amidst a highly partisan crowd--with a hot babe in the front row of the Dobie Theater; and it would have been to my credit to have pretended to enjoy the film, since my date dragged me to it. But I couldn't whore myself out to Linklater just to get on this babe's good side. I gave him a second chance with BEFORE SUNRISE and have since decided to save my money for GOOD films.

Still Breathing (1997)

Inexplicably overlooked romantic comedy

[10/10 · 28 March 2005]

I saw this at it's premiere in Austin at SXSW a few years ago--Joanna Going sat two seats over from me in the balcony at the Paramount on Congress Avenue in Austin--and the audience loved it. Brendan Fraser is pretty charming in the lead. I was surprised by the cameos: what's-his-face, Lou Rawls, as a street musician; and what's-her-name, who played Fraser's mom (I don't have the cast list handy). An "OLD Hollywood" icon. Anyway the plot is pretty unique, but maybe the main plot device could have been more clearly explained right off; I knew what was happening only because the director said what was happening in his opening remarks to the Paramount audience. The producer, a tall blonde BABE in a very lovely dress, gave me a CD of the soundtrack as I was leaving; I told her I thought the film was great and that I hoped she'd make a lot of money off it. She sighed and said she hoped so too.

Dark Shadows (1991)

Surprisingly Good

[9/10 · 26 March 2005]

I expected less, since the series in the late 60's was so lame; but this long, two-part series was pretty damn good. Fast-moving and tightly-paced production with strong performances. I watched only because Barbara Steele was in it; by the conclusion I was hungering for more. Yeah, they ought to release this on DVD.

The leads were superb--very strong performance by actor in the Barnabas role. Ben Kingsley? I forget. And his love interest Joanna Going was hot, to say the least. She was later in that Brendan Fraser film STILL BREATHING, playing the babe Fraser's character pursued. By the way that's another film that, I think, is overlooked. A satisfyingly funny romantic comedy.

Joanna Going just happened to sit next to me in the balcony of the Paramount Theater at STILL BREATHING's world premiere in Austin during SXSW a few years ago. I hope she still thinks of me.

The Hunting of the President (2004)

Makes Powerful Case For Abuse Of Power

[10/10 · 27 June 2004]

Gene Lyons and Joe Conason's book THE HUNTING OF THE PRESIDENT had no photos of the major players, a real shame when you have a huge cast and no way to keep the players straight . Seeing the film brings the faces of some of the story's less well-known personalities--the Dogpatch types from Arkansas (such as the bait shop owner and the Arkansas troopers), the White Supremacists, and the members of the Arkansas Project--into the light of day...Susan McDougal emerges from this film a bona fide hero, as she should. I thought I knew this area of the story well, but there are chilling details about her treatment by the Independent Counsel that are shockingly disturbing...The film doesn't try to excuse Clinton's behavior vis-a-vis Monica Lewinski; the real outrage, it suggests, is the abuse of power within the Office of the Independent Counsel. For that it makes a very strong case. A powerful film indeed.

Out of the Past (1947)

Don't Miss This One!

[10/10 · 14 January 2004]

What seems to be missing in the critiques of this fantastic, dark little film is a good look at the screenplay: tough, intelligent, crisp, complex, clever, and real, with nary a superfluous word. Geoffrey Homes (aka Daniel Mainwaring) wrote the screenplay from his even darker mystery HANG MY GALLOWS HIGH, itself beautifully written, occasionally even poetic.

There is so much double-crossing going on in this film you don't know what or who to believe. Given their attractiveness, intelligence, sincerity, and wit, it's hard to believe that the characters portrayed by Jane Greer and Rhonda Fleming (both looking EXTREMELY hot) and by Mitchum and Kirk Douglas can't be trusted by anyone.

I've watched this film at least a dozen times. I never tire of it. Brilliant, exciting, and beautiful. A masterpiece.

Spy Smasher (1942)

Truly Great Wartime Serial

[6 June 2003]

This action-packed serial never fails to amaze me--first-rate work by Kane Richmond in the lead and some of the best-choreographed action scenes to be found in any serial; the stunts are sometimes astonishing. Spy Smasher is as convincingly agile a serial good guy as I've seen; his falls from balconies during fights are truly breathtaking. Sure, none of the bad guys lose their fedoras during the intense fight scenes; but if you can't suspend disbelief during a serial, you shouldn't bother watching them in the first place. Several very clever cliffhangers are impossible to explain until their subsequent resolution in the succeeding chapter. The whole serial is stylish, exciting, fun, and even ends, notably, with the tragic death of a beloved favorite good-guy character. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Paths to Paradise (1925)

Very funny silent film

[10/10 · 19 December 2002]

I first saw this film in 1972 in London, shortly after the only extant copy was found. Even this print was incomplete, missing the final reel. As it stands the film ends with Compson and Griffith crossing the border into Mexico, beyond the reach of the gaggle of police who've been chasing them. But the missing reel has Compson having second thoughts about the heist of the necklace--it was, after all, intended to go to the daughter of the necklace's owner on her wedding day. So Compson convinces Griffith to cross back over the border again and on into California and return the necklace to its owners. Which they do, pursued by police cars and motorcycles.

True, the film is not gag driven; most of the humor comes from the dramatic irony of two rival jewel thieves, Griffith and Compson, making their way into the home where the necklace is kept locked away in a safe, Griffith posing as a police detective who says he's there to make sure the necklace is safe; Compson pretends to be a servant. Griffith and Compson make repeated and often hilarious attempts to steal the necklace while the wedding party is on and the house is full of guests and two bonafide plainclothes police. In one scene Griffith delights the guests by having them hide an item for him to find, while he waits in the next room where the safe is kept, desperately trying to break into it and steal the necklace before he's called back.

A lot of the humor lies in the tension generated by the thieves' masquerade and by the tension between the two (in an earlier scene Griffith, posing again as a detective, had conned Compson and her gang in San Francisco and made off with a huge sum of their money). One of the funniest scenes in the film takes place while the house is dark and everyone is asleep. Griffith sneaks into the darkened room where the safe is kept. The two cops decide to see if everything's safe and sound and make their way through the rooms of the house with a flashlight. At one point they decide to light a cigarette; the cop with the long-handled flashlight sticks it under his arm, pointing it behind him and illuminating Griffith in the next room, frozen in place and holding the safe in his arms. Neither cop sees him, though one apparently sees something out of the corner of his eye right before the other cop removes the flashlight from under his arm, so that the light no longer shines on Griffith. When they turn to shine the light back into the other room, Griffith is gone. They go into the other room to check it out; but the family dog grabs the flashlight away from the detective, who chases the dog back and forth across the room in a futile attempt to take the light back. While the dog is running around with the flashlight, the light shines on Griffith who is behind the cops and against the opposite wall, holding the safe. The cops, intent on retrieving the flashlight don't see Griffith. Griffith tries desperately to avoid the light, scampering back and forth and onto a couch, only to have the dog follow his every move and constantly illuminating him. Griffith finally sits on the couch with the safe, sighs, holds his hands up in defeat, convinced that it's only a matter of time before he's discovered. But the cops retrieve the light, they never see Griffith, and he escapes from the room.

Charlie Chaplin used this same gag in THE GOLD RUSH. When Charlie and the other prospector, Big Jim, are in their cabin in the middle of nowhere, starving, they're threatened by another prospector who's entered their cabin with a rifle. Big Jim and the intruder wrestle over the rifle, which is always pointed at Charlie during the struggle; no matter where he runs in the cabin, he can't escape being in the crosshairs of a weapon about to fire and kill him. A very funny sequence, but lifted from PATHS TO PARADISE (just as the 'Dance of the Rolls' in THE GOLD RUSH was lifted from an early Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton silent one-reeler).

I love this film. When I saw it in London, my stomach ached from laughing so hard. This film IS available on tape; the owner of the one extant copy has them for sale at Grapevine Video.

The Last Warning (1938)

OK, but Jonathan Latimer's works need to be read for now

[28 November 2002]

A few of Jonathan Latimer's books made it to the screen, none memorably. The novel this is based on, THE DEAD DON'T CARE, certainly deserved better treatment than it gets with this film. A complex, frequently hilarious, and suspenseful novel was turned into a tepid, clumsy, run-of-the-mill detective film with Foster as Bill Crane, Latimer's alcoholic detective (as the blurb on the cover of the paperback for LADY IN THE MORGUE says "Bill Crane--unique and alcoholic!") in a string of mystery novels. Latimer was a Phi Beta Kappa who later wrote the tense, terrific screenplay for THE CLOCK, starring Ray Milland.

Latimer later wrote or adapted scores of teleplays for PERRY MASON; his work for the show are among the best mysteries written for television.

Read the book this film is based on, if you can find a copy--it's great!

The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)

A Rewrite of My Previous Review

[10/10 · 7 June 2002]

I started collecting 16 mm films in the 1970's--jazz films mostly. Every now and then, though, something outside my area of interest would catch my eye in the film catalogues available on the underground market to collectors.The deliriously entertaining and rockin'100 minute TAMI Show was up for grabs in this format from one collector I knew (who was making prints from a negative he'd struck from a master print in his collection) for a mere $200.

In 1978 not a whole lot of people were hip to this amazing little documentary or to many of the artists performing in it; I remember its being briefly released theatrically in the mid-1960's when I was in high school as a Rolling Stone concert film. It was much more than that.

Filmed in 1964 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in "Electronovision" (i.e., videotape later transferred to film), the TAMI Show is a record of one truly great concert hosted by the marginally talented Jan and Dean, featuring a mixture of groups and individuals and musical styles that pretty much summed up popular music of the era: American rock and roll(Chuck Berry); Motown (The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and Marvin Gaye--who was himself backed by Darlene Love and the Crystals, though the latter are credited as `The Blossoms', their SHINDIG name from television); California surf music (the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean; sadly enough, the true pioneers of surf music, such as the legendary Dick Dale, are not represented here); American garage band (the Barbarians); the uncategorizable (but described in the TAMI theme song, sung by Jan and Dean, as representing New York City) Leslie Gore; the British Invasion (Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas, Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Rolling Stones); and the incandescent James Brown and His Famous Flames.

The whole spellbinding production was masterminded by Jack Nitzsche and directed by Steve Binder (who later gave us `The Singer Special', the unforgettable 1968 Elvis Comeback Special).

Before screening The TAMI Show, though, I would clue the audience in on its background: T.A.M.I. stands for "Teenage Music International", a foundation devoted to providing music scholarships to teens. The film itself was to be shown at the TAMI Foundation's first annual awards ceremony, where the scholarship winners would receive a TAMI, an award like an Emmy or an Oscar. Evidently the foundation never made it that far. As I've said, the film was released to theaters, then quickly withdrawn and never seen again.

The Beach Boys segment was included in the theatrical release print, but no subsequent print I've ever seen includes it. In fact, except for the opening sequence--a montage of film clips of the audience members and the show's performers arriving at the auditorium (including a WONDERFUL shot of Diana Ross applying her lipstick)--and some brief shots of them and the rest of the performers massed together onstage as the Stones perform `Dipsy Doodle' (!) at the show's conclusion, you never see the Beach Boys at all.

It's true that actress Teri Garr is among the TAMI Show's SHINDIG-like dancers (wearing a sweatshirt with what looks like a target on the front); also true is that Glen Campbell and Leon Russell appear in the house band, in tuxes no less. NOT true is that Ann-Margret dances behind Chuck Berry during his performance of "Sweet Little Sixteen" and caught the eye of some Hollywood hosebag who sought her out and made a movie star out of her. The young lady in question does look like A-M, but it's not her; besides, she was already deeply involved in show biz by this time.

Everybody is just great: Chuck Berry opens and trades off with Gerry and the Pacemakers, a peripheral British Invasion band that NOBODY I knew listened to (though Gerry Marsden was a pretty decent guitarist); Smokey Robinson and the Miracles follow with some choice material, ending with Smokey singing "Mickey's Monkey" and everybody dancing. Marvin Gaye does his thing next backed by the aforementioned Crystals.

Petite Leslie Gore, whose hair has been lacquered with hairspray for the occasion--it was a different world then, y'all--sings her hits, including "You Don't Own Me", which never failed to get a cheer from the audiences to whom I showed the film. Missing was the execrable "Sunshine and Lollipops", an inexplicable hit written by the no-longer-worth-maligning Marvin Hamlisch.

Jan and Dean follow with a few of their hits; Dean Torrance's falsetto sounds absurd onstage. The Beach Boys sequence followed with 4 songs, only three of which have been released as part of various rock retrospectives: `Dance, Dance, Dance', `Surfin' USA', and `Surfer Girl'. The fourth song is, I'm told, `I Get Around'.

Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas (Kramer's friend John Lennon-who wrote `Do You Want To Know A Secret?' for him-suggested that Kramer add the `J' to his name) follow with their Lennon-McCartney-penned hits "I'll Keep You Satisfied", `From A Window', and the beloved "Bad To Me". I could never watch Billy J without someone commenting on how much he resembles Andy Kaufman.

Next in this lineup is/are the original Supremes. Now when this film was originally distributed, the sound for the Supremes sequence was out of synch with the visuals; even the trailer for the film contained this annoying flaw. The guy who sold me my print CORRECTED this flaw; the result is a totally satisfying Supremes experience. Look for Teri Garr as a dancer in this segment.

Rhode Island's The Barbarians follow. Remember `Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl'? Sure you do. Remember "Moulty", the band's drummer (aka Victor Moulton) who had lost a hand in an accident and holds a drumstick in a CLAW? They had a hit song by the same name:

Verse 1:

(spoken): I remember the days when things were real bad for me It was right after my accident, when I lost my hand It seemed like I was all alone, with nobody to help me.

You know, I almost gave up all my hopes and dreams But then - then - then something inside me kept tellin' me Way down inside of me - over and over again To keep goin' on - yeah, on!

Chorus 1:

Moulty! Don't turn away (you're gonna make it, baby) Don't turn away (ah, try to make it, baby) Don't turn away

What you probably don't know is that Moulty Moulton was backed on the song by Bob Dylan's band, listed as `Levon and the Hawks'. The Barbarians sing one song on the TAMI Show and it's a good one, characterized by more of an '80's punk sound than was typical of the 60's.

THEN--James Brown enters from stage left, skating one-legged the whole way, electrifying EVERYONE. It is IMPOSSIBLE to watch the James Brown sequence and not be transformed by it: he pulls out ALL the stops, dropping to his knees (hard too), dancing faster than God Almighty ordinarily allows, shouting, whispering, screeching, imploring, and shutting down everything that came before. To witness his performance is to have an epiphany. At the end, even the hardened studio musicians backing everybody up stand to applaud him, and he's called back from the wings at least twice to a sustained ovation.

The Stones are next; and to this day Keith Richards says that following James Brown at the TAMI Show was the biggest mistake of their lives. But they put on a pretty damn fine show nonetheless; in fact, it still stands as my own favorite Stones performance.

POSTSCRIPT: this film has been available commercially only in truncated form, paired up with THE BIG TNT SHOW on a single tape, with Chuck Berry doing the intros to SOME of the performances from both films. That tape is itself out of print; you might be able to find it for rent somewhere. Sadly, you can't watch Chuck emceeing without cringing or feeling ashamed for him.

Dick Clark currently owns the rights to this wonderful film, so good luck ever seeing it again in our lifetime, since he'll probably outlive us all. The TAMI Show deserves to see the light of day again as it was originally introduced to us--uncut, without colorizing, in theaters, and with the Beach Boys segment intact. Then let us buy our own copies.

Contact (1997)

CONTACT spoiled by MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY's performance

[2/10 · 13 March 2002]

I thought the film was fine until it became clear that our boy Matthew McConaughey was going to play such a significant role in it. I had the distinct impression that Tom Skerrit held Matthew in contempt--see the film and judge for yourself. And by that I mean Skerrit the ACTOR held McConaughey the...actor...in contempt.

Notice in the ONE scene where Jodie Foster and McConaughey kiss, they're about 4 inches from kissing when Foster blocks our view with her hand so we don't see their lips actually TOUCHING. Would any one of the great modern actresses want a record of herself kissing Pauly Shore? Would you? Foster probably couldn't go through with it, and you can't blame her for not wanting there to be a record of it on film.....

Similarly in their bedroom scene together McConaughey lies in bed like he's posing for GQ; Foster, to her credit, plays the scene well, and convinces you they'd made love and she'd had fun. McConaughey looked like he'd been admiring himself on Larry King the whole time.....

Later, when Foster leaves a Congressional committee investigation where she'd been grilled by skeptical Enron-enriched Republican congressmen, she sees her beloved Matthew standing alone in the hallway. She runs to him, throws her arms around him, and tells him how happy she is to see him again; McConaughey doesn't move, he barely acknowledges her at all. He looks like he's posing for a statue--THE STATUE OF LIMITATIONS. Little wonder that in end-of-the-year polls in ESQUIRE and THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER, McConaughey was voted 'WORST ACTOR OF THE YEAR' for CONTACT in both publications and, understandably (and significantly), 'WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR' for Speilberg's AMISTAD in the ENQUIRER. By his PEERS, no less!

The Boss' Wife (1986)

Addendum

[10/10 · 23 February 2002]

Like any other good farce, the characters in this film represent extremes: the boss (Plummer) is REALLY eccentric and REALLY blind to his wife's behavior; his wife (Dombasle) is RELENTLESSLY seductive and sexual; the photographer (Delgado) sees the EXTREME anger he deliberately arouses in people as affirmation of his art; Daniel Stern is climbing the walls to have sex with his wife (Mayron), but can't, since they have to wait until she's at her most fertile (making the advances on him by Dombasle that much funnier, since he has no choice but to resist her constantly); Martin Mull is the CONSUMMATE yes-man, clawing his way up the corporate ladder. Character development? Who needs it? THE BOSS' WIFE isn't trying to be CITIZEN KANE; it's just a very funny movie. And it's NOT slapstick, despite what others might tell you.

The Boss' Wife (1986)

Decent, Shamefully Overlooked Comedy

[10/10 · 21 February 2002]

THE BOSS' WIFE has been a favorite of mine for years. Sure, it's preposterous, but this is screwball comedy; and the premise may not be the most original, but the actors do a great job. Christopher Plummer is great; Arielle Dombasle is drop-dead beautiful and perfectly cast as his dangerously flirtatious wife. Fisher Stevens as Carlos Delgado, the conceptual artist and photographer--whose work centers around p***ing off complete strangers, then photographing them while they're in a rage--is a perfect foil for Daniel Stern, who can't seem to be rid of him. Yeah, seeing Arielle Dombasle nude appeals to my baser side; but I'd rather see her nekkid than anyone else in show biz today. Martin Mull as a professional ass-licker is at his best in this film. A pleasure, despite what others might tell you--rent it!