Customer Reviews

Fatal Instinct

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I loved this movie. It was hilarious. It is a spoof tha twas a response to the rash of, I don't how else to put it, "troubled marriage" movies that came out around this time. It makes fun of Fatal Attraction as well as Sleeping with the Enemy. Absolutly hilarious. HOWEVER, is only comes in STANDARD. I do not understand why a wide screen version is not available. The direector originally intended the movie to be widescreen. Keep it that way. If you must have one side of the DVD Standard and the other side widescreen. Grrr....

Carl Reiner's FATAL INSTINCT is a surprisingly funny spoof of movies like FATAL ATTRACTION, BASIC INSTINCT, AND CHINATOWN. It benefits from a lot of AIRPLANE like sight gags and some wonderful one liners tossed off by its unusual cast. Armand Assante, not known for comedic roles, is very funny as the cop/lawyer embroiled in with a beautiful stalker (Sean Young in a sexy performance), and a greedy wife (the usually dramatic Kate Nelligan just perfect in this role) and her dumb lover (Christopher McDonald) who plan to bump him off. Add a vindictive ex-con (James Remar), a devoted secretary (Sherilyn Fenn) and Judge Tony Randall and you have the ingredients for a rather hilarious send up. I laughed a lot and I think you will too!

This is one hilarious spoof movie, but what really makes it outstanding is Armand Assante. Seeing Assante playing such a role adds immeasurably to the humor of this movie! Anyone familiar with Assante knows he has always played dramatic/heavy roles until this (check out his performance in "Q&A" with Nick Nolte or "I,the Jury" for powerful examples), and that alone carries this film to must-see status! Truly outstanding!

Okay...
what is wrong with this picture? a movie on DVD (FULLSCREEN?) edition...well it happens..but this isn't a cheap knockoff...they have legendary Carl Reiner doing a commentary (he was the director) ...and to add insult to injury....several deleted scenes..PRESENTED in the proper 1:85 widescreen aspect ratio!!!

would it have killed them to issue in the proper ascpect ratio? Its still a very fun/inexpensive purchase, and the bonus features are strong for such a non-hit movie....just wondering WHY no widescreen?

enjoy!

Sometimes the editorial reviews here are funnier than the movies being reviewed. Sean Young typecast? Well, they call that irony where I hail from--and just how does one typecast anyone when the film is meant to be a parody? The lead not known for his comedic chops? Seems Leslie Nielsen wasn't known for his comedic chops which made him (and a bunch of other old hams) ten times funnier when he turned up in "Airplane." Again, something about irony. Irony. Hmmm. What is that? Someone respectable from the UK I believe recently said that Americans lack a sense of it. It's our national failing, our fatal flaw. It's the real reason the world hates us, we don't get anybody's jokes (I heard that exact complaint from a German no less).

To get straight to the meaty core here, this movie is great fun if you like Airplane, Kung Pow, Hot Shots II, or any of the other wacky and wise parodies and satires that came out during the last decade or two (Now then, aren't I being helpful?). If you're a "Scary Movie 1 through 20" fan this may not be your cup of hemlock (I'm helpful here too, trying to save you a few bucks). There's zaniness for its own sake (which really seems to confuse some people) and the courser stuff isn't driving the bus (Yet even more helpfulness on my part, I'd say).

So, basically, if you're a highly intelligent person, likable, talented, with a great sense of humor and irony, an achiever, a born leader, a scholar and a lady or gentleman, then you should own this DVD. If you're a scabrous lurching Neanderthal look elsewhere for entertainment.

[The above statement was intended as an ironic comment on the whole review schtick and is not to be taken literally nor is it meant to offend Neanderthals--the noblest beings that ever lurched scabrously about the Earth. I mean, after all, there is no good or bad, right or wrong, up or down; everything is purely a matter of taste, isn't it. Say, why don't we do here what they do at Harvard--give everything an automatic Five Stars!]

This movie was slammed by critics. The most common review of this said that there was 'just too many jokes' in it. I watched it with a critical eye, and thought it was a really fun movie.

I didn't laugh out loud with tears running down my face, but did spend the entire run time giggling at the antics of all the characters. The cast consists of several Serious Actors (Kate Nelligan, Armand Assante) who play their parts as though they were in a drama. To me, those are excellent comedic acting skills. It's when actors play for laughs that they are not funny.

You might not be tickled by this one if you aren't familiar with the 'film noir' and detective film genre. If you are a fan of those, you will laugh as you recognize all the devices in those films over-used to good effect in this one.

I had a good time watching it...give it a try!

Fatal Attraction may well be Sean Young's revenge on Michael Douglas. Sean played his wife in Wall Street, but she clashed with Mr. Douglas and director Oliver Stone, and her part was whittled down to a splinter. There are so many stories about Ms. Young, about her uncanny knack for bad luck (was cast in Batman as Vicki Vale, but due to a horse riding accident the night before shooting she wound up in a cast, not in the cast), and her erratic behavior (left a disfigured voodoo doll on James Woods' doorstep, dressed as Catwoman to confront Michael Keaton and Tim Burton in an attempt to get the part). I wondered why she was a magnet for misfortune, but after she heckled Julian Schnabel at the Directors Guild Award, then went into rehab, announcing that she was an alcoholic the next day, the wondering stopped. Still, I really admire her acting, in spite of--or even because of her bad behavior. I loved her in Blade Runner, and she was fabulous in The Boost. I heard that No Way Out may be her best role yet, but was unable to locate that title. I liked her a lot in Fatal Instinct. She was a blonde, which allowed her to have more fun with the role. Because, it is true that blondes have more fun. She is funny, sexy, and did I mention beautiful? Pretty good for an alcoholic.

Sherilyn Fenn is another favorite of mine. From the time I saw her tie a cherry stem in a knot with her tongue as Audrey Horne in David Lynch's Twin Peaks; I have been fascinated by Fenn. Fenn is quite fetching as April Delongpre in Two Moon Junction, one of those trashy, stylized, but somehow smokin' hot pieces of confection they were cooking up in the year of 1988. I must make mention of what I would assume is one of the biggest flops of all time. Boxing Helena is about a surgeon who amputates his love's limbs so he can keep her in a box. How that project ever got the green light, I'll never fathom.

In Fatal Instinct Sherilyn plays Laura Lincolnberry, a love sick secretary who pines for her boss, and will do anything for him. It is not the best use of her talent. She is too steadfast and forthright, I like her better when there is a hint of subversion, if not downright perversion. She seems like she would be a very nice girl in real life, but on the screen I want her to be a little more dangerous. She did a competent job, but this movie wasn't really her cup of absinthe.

Armand Assante plays Detective/Cop Ned Ravine. He arrests them, and then defends them, in an amalgamation of the two roles Michael Douglas played in Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct. Though he is not quite a Leslie Nielsen, or a Michael Douglas for that matter, he is very funny and perfect for a spoof of this nature. A scene where he dances to Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison in red high heels shows his commitment to the part, and that he will do anything for a laugh. Assante was superb in The Mambo Kings with Antonio Banderas, by the way. He is very good in Fatal Instinct, as well.

Carl Reiner directed this movie, and he did an excellent job of it. Usually spoofs are much dumber, but this one was much more sophisticated than I expected. Besides the usual slap stick and sight gags, there is some more subtle humor that skewers Film Noire conventions, such as the hard boiled detective doing voice over narration, seemingly followed everywhere by his own personal saxophone player (in this case portrayed by Clarence Clemmons). There is a running gag involving the atmospheric sound track scores of classic Film Noire, and another one that I don't want to spoil for you involving subtitles. That is all I will say about it, as to go any further down that path might spoil your enjoyment should you find yourself watching this film some day. Carl played Alan Brady, the fictional comedian that Rob Petrie wrote for on The Dick Van Dyke Show. His son Rob was Meathead on All in the Family, before going on to direct his own films as well. There is a point to this tangent, and it is that there is an aspect of Nigel Tufnel's amp with a knob that goes up to 11 from This Is Spinal Tap that is parodied in Fatal Instinct. Rob Reiner directed Spinal Tap, so it is an instance of father spoofing son, and the catharsis is complete.

One last bit of trivia, there was a film made in 1991, two years prior to this one, also called Fatal Instinct, but incredibly, it is NOT a spoof. Maybe that is where Carl Reiner got the idea, when he realized it was a perfect title to spoof both Basic Instinct and Fatal Attractions, two hit movies starring Michael Douglas. Reiner realized he could spoof them both, and much of the film noire oeuvre as well.

Smell the glove.

Two Moon Junction (1988) .... Sherilyn Fenn is April Delongpre, hubba hubba.
Boxing Helena (1993) .... Sherilyn Fenn is Helena. Thinking so far out of the box that both Madonna and Kim Bassinger backed out--with a $9 million lawsuit in Kim's case.
Blade Runner (The Director's Cut) (1982) .... Sean Young is Rachael, the beautiful replicant.
No Way Out (1987) .... Sean Young is Susan Atwell
The Boost (1988) .... Sean Young is Linda Brown
The Mambo Kings (1992) .... Armand Assante is Cesar Castillo
Double Indemnity (1944) With Fred MacMurray, much scarier than in My Three Sons or Son of Flubber.
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) Classic noire film remade in 1981, both versions good, though I prefer the original, with Lana Turner, to the remake with Jack Nicholson.
Fatal Attraction (1987) Michael Douglas is stalked by Glenn Close and has a 'Close' call.
Basic Instinct (1992) Michael Douglas interrogates Sharon Stone, who shows him a thing or two.

It is a movie that is a take off from the real McCoy movies. It is goofy but a fun movie...especially if you know the movies they are doing the take off from. It will make you laugh. A good escape!

Oh what a glorious spoof! For the movie buff, spotting the homages to a plethora of films;for the lover of comedy a delicious black thriller.Superb performances, great sets, wonderful costumes and a non-stop pace. Ace movie!

I love this movie but I'll wait for a special edition with anamorphic widescreen. I can't stand movies in fullscreen format.