Customer Reviews

Masquerade [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A handsome gigolo, Tim Whalen (Rob Lowe), meets a wealthy heiress, Olivia Lawrence (Meg Tilley), and her selfish and domineering stepfather is far from happy with their relationship. The local cop (Doug Savant) also expresses an interest in the Lawrence girl.

A subsequent string of murders puts each of the characters under suspicion and the wealthy Lawrence girl is suddenly caught up in a murderous plot that will see both her inheritance and her life put at risk.

'Masquerade' is a tense thriller containing a multitude of twists and turns that keep the viewer guessing to the end. It is in the same vein as 'Bad Influence', 'Sleeping with the Enemy', and 'Dead Calm'. I first watched this film when it was released on VHS in 1988 ... it is still as exciting today.

Watch it with someone you can trust.

Also stars Kim Cattrall and John Glover.

The extras include widescreen format and DVD quality picture.

A brilliant spellbinding thriller in the genre of classic Film Noir, directed by Bob Swaim, winner of several French Cesars for his now classic French film, La Balance. Like in La Balance, Swaim's European sensibilities mixed with his American pacing makes this film not only one of the great suspenseful thrillers of the 80's but perhaps one of the most original. It's Meg Tilly's hottest, sexiest film and Rob Lowe's most convincing portrayal of a complex and contradictory character. Aside from being incredibly sexy, the film is full of twists and turns that keep the audience guessing. Why don't they make films like that, anymore? And what ever happened to Bob Swaim?

The supporting roles are fabulous, particularly John Glover and Dana Delanny who give one of the best performances of their careers. Truly a classic, this underrated film deserves to be re-discovered.

Masquerade is a pretty good movie that although not action packed, keeps you guessing. When you think you have it figured out it will give a twist and turn that will surprise you. A good romantic thriller that is well cast with Rob Lowe, Meg Tilly, Kim Cattrall, John Glover, and Doug Savant. The character development and directing is good. Sets, scenery, and music are pleasant. Overall a unique surprise to me as I didn't know what to expect going into it. If you enjoy movies like "Black Widow" you will probably like it. Lowe plays a yacht captain that falls in love with a wealthy young woman. That would be good except he has a shady past. Add to that her stepfather is against them seeing each other, or is he? Good quality DVD with no extras, but decent replayability.

"Masquerade" takes places in a beautiful East Coast town, where a young, naive heiress, Olivia Lawrence (played by Meg Tilly), falls for a poor professional sailor, Tim Whalen (Rob Lowe). Olivia is without a family (her parents died, and she's an only child), but her detested, alcoholic stepfather, Tony Gateworth (John Glover), still hangs around. Unbeknown to her, Tony is in cahoots with Tim to swindle her out of her millions. Yet this secret is just a first of many to develop in this romantic thriller.

"Masquerade" has been a favorite of mine since I was a teenager, though I did deduct a ½ star for the ridiculous boat accident with the rat at the end (poor rat). Regardless, this movie has everything: a great setting, suspenseful plot, heated romance, and a pretty good conclusion to satisfy most viewers. Rated R for several sex/nude scenes (Rob Lowe's derriere is visible quite a bit, for those who are interested) and some profanity.

A handsome gigolo charms his way into the life of a beautiful young woman, heiress to a multi-million dollar fortune. After the loss of her mother, she lives with her self-indulgent stepfather, a ruthless cad intent on controlling both his stepdaughter's inheritance and her relationships. A local police officer also shows emotional interest in the heiress, having known her since childhood. But who can she really trust? 'Masquerade'is a dark and moody thriller, focusing on themes of money and greed, trust and betrayal. Reasonably-paced, and containing a multitude of twists and turns, 'Masquerade' is undoubtedly one of Rob Lowe's better thrillers. It is in the same vein as 'Bad Influence' and 'First Degree', with a talented supporting cast, including Meg Tilly and 'Sex and the City's' Kim Cattrall.

This is Rob Lowe's best work. It shows just how talented an actor he is. All of the acting is superb. John Glover is dispicable, but good. The sailing photography is gorgeous. The sailing lingo is right on. It's a twisting movie that keeps one guessing until the very end. Now, if we could only get it in DVD with outtakes. When is the studio going to wake up!

MASQUERADE IS ROB LOWE'S BEST MOVIE!!! Rob Lowe is at the top of his game in MASQUERADE, young, handsome, and in a part made to order for him as a boat captain for the rich. Meg Tilly is also excellent as the poor little rich girl who falls in love with Lowe, John Glover is sensational as her scheming stepfather, Doug Savant--gay Matt from MELROSE PLACE--is terrific as the bad cop who loves Tilly, and Kim Cattrall is as good as ever as the pretty cheating wife she always seems to play.

MASQUERADE's photography is great, John Barry's music is great, Bob Swaim's direction is great, and the movie's only flaw is that it would have been better if had been a little longer and had a little more information about the characters, but even so, Rob Lowe's unusual looks--the wide cheekbones, the hair, the well proportioned body--and perfectly matched role with Tilly make MASQUERADE an irrestible showcase for his underrated dramatic acting.

MASQUERADE IS ROB LOWE'S BEST MOVIE!!!

Chari Krishnan
RESEARCHKING

As in the earlier movie, a beautiful woman marries a mysterious man who may or may not want to murder her for her money. This is a diifferent story than Suspision but it does seem the Hitchcock film at least inspired this movie.
Giving away plotlines will take away from enjoyment of the film so that will be avoided. Rob Lowe is no Cary Grant in this movie (or any other for that matter) but he does manage to handle his part. Meg Tilly is excellent and her performance carries the movie. In the Hitchcock film, Joan Fontaine won a best actress Oscar in the newleywed part and Tilly's work here is of that caliber.

Sorry, I couldn't finish the title since there weren't enough spaces to finish it. Please, fill in the blanks. This movie was very well done, for a dramatic thriller. I thought watching it the first time through that it was an exciting unfolding and unexpected twist of events. However, I did not like the ending, and it seems that the same thrill could have still lead to a happy ending. I like happy endings. How about some humor and fun added, such as in the movie with Bill Murray, "The Man Who Knew Too Little". I don't mind all of the exciting twists and discoveries, but Rob Lowe could have been portrayed at the end as a saviour and he could have ignored the rat, and saved the scene, followed by a wedding and the birth of a child. Why do all of his movies seem to be left as "cliff hangers" with depressing endings. The only one that really seemed to have a happy ending was illegally yours, and stories from my childhood 2. The love scenes in the movie were sensual, erotic, touching to a point, but more emphasis could have been made on the actual relationship between Rob Lowe and the two women he was supposed to be involved with, who are listed as among the three leading characters. Also, the yacht scenes were exciting, and more time could have been devoted to the involvement of Rob Lowe and his love and interest in racing boats, and Meg Tilly's interest in boating could have been developed so that the two of them together could have entered a yacht regatta and won, instead of coming in second place. That to me would be so much more uplifting. The bad guys were eliminated, but unfortunately so was the good guy, so what's the point? It's depressing. At least they should have had a funeral or she should have had the birth of her child to add some kind of more positive feeling to the movie. That is my opinion.

The synopsis of the film didn't intrigue me so I took a gamble on it and I'm glad I did. I really enjoyed this one. Throughout the film there are some twists as the story evolves. Unfortunately the main lesson is that money truly can be the route to all evil. It is a painful lesson but also I rated the movie only 3 stars because I felt the overall tone of the film was so cynical and I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending. It seemed rather anticlimactic especially when all of the deceit was exposed. There are some familiar tv stars you'll see throughout the film when they were much younger. Kim Cattrall, Doug Savant and Dana Delaney to name a few. By the way, I disagree with the other reviewer saying that the film is too sexually explicit. It doesn't even come close to Basic Instinct which also shares an R rating. The R rating here is appropriate and its a normal amount of sex. This is also more of a psychological thriller so the violence is minimum. There are a few "thrills" but nothing too heavy. You can see more violence on any typical modern day cop show. Still, I did enjoy the movie overall so I recommend it as a movie night treat.