Customer Reviews

Single White Female

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I love this movie. It is so funny and over-the-top.

The basic plot is that Allison (Bridget Fonda) gets a roommate for her Manhattan apartment (has anyone ever seen an apartment this large in NYC??) after her skirt-crazy live-in lover Sam (played by "Wings" star Steven Weber) runs around on her. It's Headra "Hedy" (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to the rescue!

Allie thinks she found the best thing since sliced bread in Hedy. Although she is somewhat meek, and no fashion magnet she seems kind, and eager to befriend the lonely and hurt Allie.

Sam reenters the picture which really ticks Hedy off. You see, Hedy is actually a kook that is infatuated with Allie. She soon starts dressing like Allie, and acting like Allie. And Allie soon finds out that Heady has some dark secrets.

When Sam comes back from a business trip Hedy goes to his hotel posing as Allie (she cut and colored her hair the same color and style) to perform oral sex on him. Once Sam figures out it's crazy Hedy he tries to get her off him.

The next day there's a climactic scene when Allie finds out what Hedy did to Sam. They fight in the apartment basement prompting Hedy to scream, "DON'T MAKE ME COME GET YOU..."

The movie ends with Allison reflecting on what happened, she tries to forgive Hedy...

FUN FACT: Bridget Fonda was in another movie that came out a month after "Single White Female" called "Singles

Single White Female is a pretty decent early 90s horror-thriller. Although most of the action and dialogue seems kind of cheesy now, I'm sure it was surprising and intriguing at the time.

Jennifer Jason Leigh really creates a psychologically frightening character that definitely increases the scare factor of the situation overall. Her character is scary to think about and very well developed in her portrayal of psychoses.

The amount of nudity and sexuality involved in this movie is kind of amazing. Every 10 minutes either Jennifer Jason Leigh or Bridget Fonda is getting out of the shower and walking naked across the apartment, or there's an extended sex scene between Bridget Fonda and her fiance. We can either say that the premise of stolen identity crosses into the most secure areas of our lives, like our sexuality, and that we are naked before these terrors... or we could just say that sex sells thrillers when plots are lacking.

Either way, Single White Female is obviously from the 90s and the clothing is the most obvious reminder of that, although Fonda's haircut is a dead giveaway too.

The DVD doesn't have any special features, except for a theatrical trailer, so that's kind of disappointing. But it helps remind you of the early 90s. Remember when VHS just had the movie on it and that's it? Yeah, that's back when films like Single White Female were coming out.

Jenninfer Jason Leigh is totally out of control while Bridget Fonda fears for her life in this psychological thriller. Allie Jones (Fonda) puts an ad in the newspaper for a room mate wanted, a single white female. She quickly gets a response from Hendra Carlson (Leigh) and has Allie convinced. She moves in and seems like the perfect room mate. But Allie begins to notice some of her belongings missing and Hendra's style and personality changing. Before long, Hendra's obsession with Allie's life proves it's self when Hendra gets a complete make over and looks exactly like Allie. And to top it all off, Hendra tries to seduce Allie's boyfriend! When Allie finds out and confronts her about it, the film takes off into violence, mild gore, insanity, and murder. Allie tries to uncover Hendra's dark past before Hendra's increasingly violent behavior targets her. The worst scene is where Hendra becomes crazy-jealous after Allie leaves with her boyfriend. The dog is bothering her and she's so upset and irritated she throws it out the window! Allie and her boyfriend return to hear screams and the horrific mess on the pavemant. This film goes to great lenghts to terrorize the viewer!

When a Young Attractive Cultivated Carrer Woman (Bridget Fonda) is Recovering from the Betrayal of an Unfaithful Boyfriend (Steven Weber). When she decides to look for a Roommate for her Large Apartment, She accepts a Mysterious Odd and Shy Woman (Jennifer Jason Leigh) as her New Roommate.

Directed by Barbet Schroeder (Barfly, Before and After, Murder by Numbers). From a Novel by John Lutz from an Screenplay by Don Roos (Boys on the Side) is Well Written. The Film is Stylish, thanks to Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria) Cinematography. Fonda and Leigh give Strong Performances in this Box-Office Hit. This is a Underrated Thriller, which is Surprisngly Clever Movie. Grade:A-.

Here's another film I really enjoyed on the first viewing but lost its impact on subsequent viewings.

This interesting story was quite a topic of conversation when it came out 17 years ago. By now, it's probably considered fairly tame, and nothing that shocking or special. Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh star with Leigh getting the juicier role as the wacko, "Hedy Carlson." Character studies of people like her are usually entertaining. Leigh has made a career of playing totally immoral women. She also shows a lot of skin in this movie, something else she likes to do in her films.

Fonda's character, "Allie Jones," is no Mary Poppins, either, or should I say Fonda isn't exactly Shirley Temple. The movie shows several scenes of her having sex with her boyfriend.

The movie starts building its suspense about halfway through when Leigh - the roommate and admirer of Fonda - begins to lose her girlfriend to that guy....and decides to do something about it.

There really isn't a lot of violence in this movie, mainly just at the end. It's a good suspense movie, though, which builds and builds. Tha's why I gave it four stars because it does keep your attention, big-time, if you've never seen this movie.

Allie (Bridget Fonda) is a woman who seems to have it all. Her career as a fashion designer is taking off and she shares a spacious, rent controlled apartment with her boyfriend Sam (Steven Weber). Allie tells him that he is the best thing that ever happened to her. Her perfect world is shattered one night by a wake up call from Sam's ex wife. It turns out that Sam is still sleeping with her and hiding it from Allie. Devastated she breaks up with him and kicks him out of their apartment. The next day she begins the search of finding a replacement roommate. She interviews a half dozen women but finds them all to be a little odd. None of the other candidates had anything on what comes walking through Allie's door next. Her name is Hedra (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and even though she is attractive she is painfully shy whereas Allie is more outgoing. Allie feeling a little bad for Hedra rips up all the other applications and offers this mystery woman the apartment on the spot. She tells her how she came to be looking for a new roommate and Hedra cautiously asks if there is a chance that Allie might patch things up with Sam causing her to be left all alone and in need of a new place to stay. Allie assures her that that isn't going to happen and the two women get settled in. Things start off innocently enough with the two women moving in furniture and admiring each other's jewels and antiques. Allie starts to notice little things about Hedra that cause her to become concerned. Hedra is always nervous and on edge whenever Allie is in her room and she confides to Allie that her twin sister died during birth. Things start to get weirder when she notices that Hedra is copying her wardrobe and even gets a makeover complete with a hair cut that makes her look identical to Allie. Sam finally contacts Allie after several failed attempts and Allie is disturbed to hear that Sam has called numerous times and even sent Allie letters which she never knew about. Suspecting Hedra of intercepting them she goes into her room and discovers why Hedra is so nervous whenever Allie is alone in her room. She finds tons of incriminating evidence that reveals that Hedra is definitely not who she says she is and has been lying to Allie the whole time. The film is pretty suspenseful and darkly humorous. Both Fonda and Leigh give great performances with Leigh having more to work with. The ending doesn't entirely work since it is typical of what you would find in an action movie rather than a clever suspense film which this one is for most of its running time.

Believe it or not, I'd never seen this movie before. I caught the title on cable over the weekend, and quite honestly, just going by the title, I thought it was a light, romantic comedy ala 'Sleepless in Seattle' or something! Needless to say, I was a bit surprised as the plot unfolded and no lighthearted hijinks ensued! Once I got over my expectations, and accepted that this was in fact a semi-horror film, I was okay, but it took some time to adjust my brain to that concept.

That being said, Bridget Fonda does a good job as vulnerable little Allie, which makes the story believable. Of course she believes Hedy's story and finds it difficult to accept the lies once they become apparent. That's the kind of person she is and by the time she's wise to Hedy, it's almost too late. I also liked the switched identity angle. Jennifer Jason Leigh really pulls this off well.

Not bad.

Fashion designer Allison has a boyfriend whom she plans to marry; in the interim, roommate Hedy becomes concerned that the marriage will force her to move out and undertakes a number of actions to prevent this from happening. Eventually Hedy kills Allison's fiancee and is on the verge of killing Allison as well when one of Allison's customers saves her at the last second. Turns out Hedy was a psycho from long ago.

Even with Barbet Schroeder behind the camera, "Single White Female" (1992) remains a depressing, sickening affair. The ridiculous screenplay defies credulity for a psychological thriller. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Bridget Fonda deserve better than this exploitative rubbish.

"Single White Female" is one of the best psycholgical suspense thrillers. Debuting in theatres in 1992, the film hasn't really aged much, except for the hairstyles and clothes. The story is still prevailent today as the message here is clear: make sure you check out your roomate's past before having them live with you.
Bridget Fonda, Jane's niece, and the wonderful Jennifer Jason Leigh ("Dolores Clairborne's" Selena), star in this film about two young career women who move in together in a stylish New York apartment. Alley, the Leigh character, suffers from severe mental issues unbeknownst to the Bridget Fonda character. The problems Alley has becomes evident not only when she shows possession to her new roomate, but also at the point where Alley wants to take over her friend's life. A hugely suspenceful thriller that will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays one of the best villins ever in the history of films in this piece and the writing and direction is impeccable. The scenery of New York is breathtaking as well, as the film was shot in the Big Aplle in the summer of 1991.
There is a remake of the film that was sold directly to DVD called "Single White Female 2:, but it is absolute trash. Buy this original as it is an excellent film.
The DVD is barebones, but it comes with the theatrical trailer, is in widescreen format, and is dual layered with both full and standard editions.