William Friedkin directs David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino and Chazz Palminteri in this erotic thriller where a DA investigates a murder that might dirty his best friend and her lawyer husband.

Joe Ezsterhas microwaves the leftovers of his hit Basic Instinct script. Friedkin ignores the iffy road map and makes something that often is confusing and aggressive but rarely arousing or mysterious. Fiorentino, looks a million bucks but feels poorly served as the possible eponymous Belle-De-Jour. This flop pretty much ended Caruso’s all-in bid, shirt and shoes, at movie stardom. He was and is wrong for this kinda role and often feels lost in scenes he should be anchoring. Having said all that there are spikes of chaotic excitement. A car chase that grinds to an almost halt in a parade is random and frustrating and exactly what I love about Friedkin. And a poor man’s Basic Instinct is better than our current state of affairs: no Jades or Slivers or Fatal Attractions at all. Treat it like a mindless entertainment – don’t follow the plot, don’t invest in the characters. Just enjoy the discordant motions.

3

Perfect Double Bill: The Last Seduction (1994)

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We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/