Customer Reviews

Wasp Woman

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

 

 

I would have thought that if you were going to remake a Roger Corman film that the idea would be to improve on the original. This would be fairly easy to do because the 1959 original of "The Wasp Woman" was a laughable Corman quickie, but this 1995 effort fails to clear even that low hurdle. The story remains the same: Janice (Jennifer Rubin) not only runs a cosmetic company, she is its model. But Janice is not a kid any more and in her quest for eternal youth and beauty she use a potion created by mad scientist Dr. Zinthorp (a slumming Daniel J. Travanti) from wasp hormones that is supposed to rejuvenate skin. The immediate affects are wonderful as Janice returns to major babe status, but there are some serious side effects, mainly paranoid delusions and turning into a giant wasp creature. However, this is the sexiest looking giant wasp creature you have ever seen, once you get past the cheesy makeup. The end result is that you can pretend "The Wasp Woman" makes the argument that people should not judge women by their looks, but even that rather obvious position seems superfluous in the context of this Showtime film (although the wasp woman's way of teaching men the errors of your way will certainly have male viewers squirming big time in their seats). Besides, you will spend most of your time trying to figure out how come Janice's clothes are not completely destroyed by her changing back and forth into the titular creature. Jennifer Rubin is a good looking woman, but if you happen to be near TriBeca in New York City you can go see her at Grace restaurant where she is the current hostess instead of wasting time with this film. "The Wasp Woman" was also known as "Forbidden Beauty" as if erasing the connection to the original Corman film would somehow enhance this one. Go figure.

Fans of the original 1959 Roger Corman flick will undoubtedly remember the delightful Susan Cabot as the title character, and will also undoubtedly enjoy this campy remake, produced by none other than Mr. Corman himself.
We meet Jennifer Rubin as Janice Starlin, the aging owner of a cosmetics firm. She has ALWAYS been the model spokeswoman for her company, but now she's a little too wrinkled and elderly to carry this post on, or so her fellow owners think (including the delightfully smarmy Gerritt Graham). So Janice learns of a doctor (played quite woodenly by Daniel J. Travanti) who has found that using a serum made from bee venom can make one younger. He experiments on a little kitty cat he finds in the alley and lo and behold, the cat gets younger, not to mention the fact that the poor puss also turns into a beecat!!! Anyway, Rubin uses the serum and voila, she's young and beautiful again, but also has advanced cases of paranoid delusions, and oh, yes, when she gets really horny, she turns into the titular monstrosity.
The movie is a true B movie, and captures the feel of those wonderfully overwrought films of the 50s. Rubin is effective as the wasp woman; Doug Wert as her main hunk Alec is heroically adroit; and the whole movie preaches about the cost of vanity. The wasp woman creature isn't the greatest of effects, but it fits this charmingly nostalgic movie. BEE ENTERTAINED!!!

We know how this remake will go right from the start as the film opens on a curvy blond in way too little clothing out for a jog. She ignores the warnings of a strange character who tells her some of the bugs are on the warpath.

Just after her demise, the same man delivers a bunch of wasps to a shady doctor operating out of what looks like an alley. We then jump to a model with puffy eyes who is actually the owner of a skin-care company. She must face the fact that she is not as young and beautiful as she was. As investors begin to maneuver for a takeover, she gets a second chance with the shady doctor's wasp serum.

Now a raving beauty (well, her eyes aren't puffy anymore, at least) she takes full control again of her company, her staff, and her love life.

All looks well, but... guess what? Right, she turns into a giant killer wasp when she needs to (or is angry or exited or having sex or...). But in the end the tragedy works itself out as she realizes she can not go on in this way.

Silly silly sill but a lot of fun. The morph effects as we see her face go from model to mandibled is worth it. The giant wasp is also really funny. Ever see a bug in a bustier? Great b-movie that is surprisingly better than the original.

this movie is so cheesy, it trys to be scary but i garantee you will end up laughing your hardest at is craptasticness

Boy, in an age of advanced technology to make movies more realistic, this movie showed NONE of that. I mean, boy, I can't believe I wasted money on this movie. The character MORPHED into a wasp? That was a waste of time. Very unrealistic looking wasp.

...had a couple of hours to watch a horror flick
> last
> night. Only problem is, "The Wasp Woman" had no
> stinger. Let's say it was a stinker. The original
> classic was made in 1959. This 1995 remake by Roger
> Corman is lower than low-budget. Not only will it
> likely be available at the 99 cent store, but it
> comes
> off as being shot there (and produced, directed, and
> choreographed by the owners). Not that I'm putting
> down the owners of a thrift store...but, yes, I am
> putting down this silly insect flop that should have
> been assaulted by RAID the week before its release.
>
>
> The opening scene is almosy comedic. A jogger is
> attacked in the park by a swarm of black blobs...I
> assume they are supposed to be wasps, but every real
> insect in the film is a bee. Maybe they are
> related,
> but I do know my a - bee- c's.
>
> The audio is irritating (cell phones ring
> consistently
> in the background. I must have reached for my phone
> at least a half dozen times).
>
> The star is Jennifer Rubin, whose previous
> blockbuster
> performance was in "Plump Fiction"...that's right
> "PLUMP" Fiction. Get my drift?
>
> While her performance gets a 3...on a scale of
> 10...the movie also gets a 1 for being somewhat
> entertaining...only because you want to hang in
> there
> and see how much cornier this disaster can get.
> Roger
> Corman should be ashamed for this DOG! With no
> sting...there's no buzz (as in bee...I mean wasp!).
>
> Avoid this. Read the current issue of National
> Geographic if you're starved for entertainment.