Customer Reviews

Intimate Stranger [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Here's the good stuff; see a sexy Deborah Harry chain smoke, talk really, REALLY dirty, and fight a maniac! Now, seriously, this is one great little movie you got here. If I'm correct, this was a made for TV movie, which would help to explain the look to it. The acting is very good at points, but then seems to fade at others. The maniac, for example, sounds incredibly scary over the phone, but when you see him face to face with heroin Deb, he doesn't seem to be that great. Just a small example. The plot is a little bit thin, but what can you say? It's a cat-and-mouse style movie, which usually doesn't includee much of a plot. The plot, however, doesn't seem to matter here, because the style of it all is great. It has a very eary look and feel to it, and the soundtrack is great (especially the Debbie songs!). So, yes, it may not be the best movie ever made, but it still deserves 5 stars for its creativity and the great sense of horror about it.

FOR BLONDIE FANS, ASIDE FROM THE PLOT WICH IS COVERED BY OTHER REVIEWS, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE SHE PERFORMS ONSTAGE WITH AN UNKNOWN BAND IN A SMOKEY DIVE IN GOTHAM CITY & HER VOICE'S GOLDEN ESSENCE IS STARTLINGLY CAPTURED. IF FOR NO OTHER REASON, THESE PERFORMANCES ARE WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION, NOT ON ANY LP'S MIGHT I ADD!

Deborah Harry , who has appeared in almost 20 films ,all of which were supporting or cameo, finally gets a starring role playing a chain smoking phone sex call girl and struggling rock singer in this cat and mouse thriller. Harry gives a brilliant performance as Corey Wheeler being chased by a killer. The soudtrack is super eerie and Debbie also sings a couple Janis Joplin covers in nightclubs scenes. Top notch

One of the more frustrating aspects of being a Deborah Harry fan is supporting her acting career. Though she's a decent actress and captivating screen presence, too often one has to suffer through 90 minutes of dreck to catch the two or three wonderful moments Deborah is on screen. For every "Videodrome" or "Hairspray" in her filmography, there are twice as many wastes of celluloid like "Drop Dead Rock" or "Forever, Lulu." This made-for-cable thriller isn't a great movie, but it's entertaining solely for Deborah's star turn as a phone sex operator who "witnesses" a murder over the phone. The cops, of course, don't believe her. Street cop James Russo overhears her being laughed out of the police station and decides to do some amateur sleuthing in hopes it'll help him get promoted to detective (like I said, not a great movie). It's pretty much a by-the-numbers, mediocre thriller, with Deborah getting stalked by the killer as she tries to discover his identity. Suspense fans will be disappointed, but Deborah Harry fans will be in heaven as they listen to her talk dirty to strangers in her flat, deadpan voice ("My eyes are blue--blue like the California sky," she breathes in the same tone of voice used to open the Blondie song "X-Offender"). Better still, Deborah's character is also a struggling singer, so she gets to sing a couple songs, the best being a forlorn cover of "Piece of My Heart."

One other group that'll love this movie: smoking fetishists. There's barely a scene Deborah is in where she's not lighting a cigarette--with matches, never a lighter. Even the opening credits begin with an extreme close up of her bringing a match to the tip of a cigarette. I can't watch this movie without wanting a cigarette myself.

I FOUND THIS MOVIE HARD TO WATCH AT TIMES BECAUSE OF THE SLIGHTLY CLAUSTROPHOBIC ATMOSPHERE THE FILM HAS. EVEN THE CAST (WHO ARE ALL GOOD ACTORS) SEEM SLIGHTLY UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE SCRIPT, MAYBE THATS WHAT THE DIRECTOR HAD IN MIND. WHAT'S OBVIOUSLY INTENTIONAL IS THAT DEBORAH HARRY HAS BEEN MADE TO LOOK AS BAD AS POSSIBLE IN JUST ABOUT EVERY SCENE SHE'S IN (AND SHE'S IN JUST ABOUT ALL OF THEM). SHE OBVIOUSLY DOSENT MIND SHEDING THE GLAMOUR GIRL IMAGE FOR FILMS. THIS MOVIE WOULD PROBABLY MAKE AN O.K RENTAL FOR GROWN-UPS