13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Farewell To Arms....And Legs, March 26, 2008
This is a hard movie to defend, so most of the time I don't even bother to try. I really won't even try now, but just say that I really like this movie and I'm not sure why. It's reputation as a lousy film is almost legendary. Of course when you consider Michael Bay's filmography, you might want to re-evaluate this movie, or maybe not.
Julian Sands(an actor I love) is a rich surgeon obsessed with a woman he had a one nighter with. The woman, Helena, is played by Sherilyn Fenn, so it's easy to understand his obsession. However, Helena is a crass, mean, all around unpleasant woman who's on the search solely for boytoys. Julian's attempts to lure her in result in her being hit by a car. He now has the perfect opportunity to posses her as he brings her back to his home and begins a process of dismembering her. Julian quits his job and cuts off communication with his friends, even dumping his girlfriend so he can take care of Helena. She throws endless insults at him, screams at him, belittles him, and it makes you wonder just what it is that he's so in love with. Psychological games are played out between the two, and soon some sex is thrown into the mix(Sands brings home one of his tasty looking nurses and makes Helena watch him have sex with her to everybody's favorite Enigma song, Sadness Part 1). Meanwhile, Helena's sortaboyfriend, Bill Paxton, is trying to find out what happened to her. Now, this plot may sound kinda grim and gruesome, but it really isn't quite as demented as you'd think. I don't know why, but the movie sort of reminds me of one of those softcore Skinemax type movies even though there isn't much sex in it. Sands gives a decent performance, but his character is such a pathetic, whiny, lovestruck schmuck that you just wish you could reach into the tv and smack him one. As usual, Fenn will make your eyes bug out like something from a Looney Tunes cartoon. Yummy!! Apparently Madonna was originally supposed to have this role, and then the role went to Kim Basinger after Madonna dropped out. Personally I'm glad neither of them got it coz Fenn's my baby.
So no, I can't honestly recommend this movie to people coz the numbers say you might not care much for this one. I'm just here to tell you that I like it. So there.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What are you willing to do for love?, April 30, 2010
As you can probably tell, I love this movie. All the negative reviews, goodness! Did you not get the point of the film? Maybe you need to watch again & this time, with an open mind. I don't want to spoil it for those that haven't seen it. I know quite a few reviews already spoiled it but just watch it for yourself. Obsessive love at its most unrelenting, or is it?
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15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"A little party, then MEXICO!!", September 13, 2001
The more people say they hate this movie, the more I love it.
But I must warn you, this is not the uncut version or even the director's cut. To get that you need to find the Laserdisc collection that came with commentary, extra "dirty" scenes(which are great btw) and the package-only 24KT musical score by the wonderful Graeme Revell. I really loved the music composed for this film, and it's terrible that this is the only way you can obtain this great score. The commentary is quite insightful, J Sands pops in for a bit to chat about it with Jennifer. For her 1st film, I thought Jennifer did a superb job handling everything from the actors, to the lush sets, editing, etc. Fenn, Paxton and Sands are all in prime form here, I really couldn't ask for anything more!!
Enjoy, and scream for "HELENNA!!"
DMSR
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