Scan and Pan
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Perfect Stranger
After an expose of a closeted gay senator (Gordon MacDonald) is squashed, journalist Rowena Price (Halle Berry) quits her job in protest. When her friend Grace (Nicki Aycox), who's having an affair with powerful married ad exec Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis), is found dead after threatening to expose the affair, Rowena and her computer whiz associate Miles (Giovanni Ribisi) begin investigating Grace's death, with Rowena going undercover in Hill's company to gather evidence against him.
James Foley directed the brilliant Glengarry Glen Ross in 1992, but you wouldn't know it from watching this mess of a film. As is almost always the case with a bad film, the problems start with the writing, with contributions by Jon Bokenkamp (Taking Lives) and Todd Komarnicki (Resistance) that are as contrived and unbelievable as you can get, with bonus prizes of some of the most ridiculous dialog heard in a recent film and a story resolution that's absurd. Bokenkamp is only credited with the story, so Komarnicki has the largest share of the blame. Foley has absolutely nothing to work with, and one suspects that his biggest mistake here was signing on as director in the first place. It's a technically competent film with solid cinematography by Anastas Michos (Freedomland), but a technically competent bad film is still a bad film.
Willis comes off the best as the misogynistic Hill, oozing sleaze and menace at every opportunity without going over the top, followed by Ribisi as the obsessive and equally sleazy Miles. Berry never once makes us believe that her character is anything more than a stock figure, and it's hard to avoid laughing when she has to get angry and swear simply because it's so unconvincing. Nicki Aycox is believable as Grace, the supposed friend whose manipulative nature finally catches up to her, although it doesn't seem that way at first because only the revelations at the end provide the proper context for understanding the character. MacDonald is good in limited screen time as the closeted senator. CSI: Las Vegas' Gary Dourdan is solid but wasted in a small role as Rowena's two-timing ex.
There's an old adage that one should never talk to strangers. In this case, one shouldn't spend money on a Perfect Stranger.
[1 out of 5 stars]
This tawdry thriller with a couple of A-list actors and a noted director can generously be described as risible.
After an expose of a closeted gay senator (Gordon MacDonald) is squashed, journalist Rowena Price (Halle Berry) quits her job in protest. When her friend Grace (Nicki Aycox), who's having an affair with powerful married ad exec Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis), is found dead after threatening to expose the affair, Rowena and her computer whiz associate Miles (Giovanni Ribisi) begin investigating Grace's death, with Rowena going undercover in Hill's company to gather evidence against him.
James Foley directed the brilliant Glengarry Glen Ross in 1992, but you wouldn't know it from watching this mess of a film. As is almost always the case with a bad film, the problems start with the writing, with contributions by Jon Bokenkamp (Taking Lives) and Todd Komarnicki (Resistance) that are as contrived and unbelievable as you can get, with bonus prizes of some of the most ridiculous dialog heard in a recent film and a story resolution that's absurd. Bokenkamp is only credited with the story, so Komarnicki has the largest share of the blame. Foley has absolutely nothing to work with, and one suspects that his biggest mistake here was signing on as director in the first place. It's a technically competent film with solid cinematography by Anastas Michos (Freedomland), but a technically competent bad film is still a bad film.
Willis comes off the best as the misogynistic Hill, oozing sleaze and menace at every opportunity without going over the top, followed by Ribisi as the obsessive and equally sleazy Miles. Berry never once makes us believe that her character is anything more than a stock figure, and it's hard to avoid laughing when she has to get angry and swear simply because it's so unconvincing. Nicki Aycox is believable as Grace, the supposed friend whose manipulative nature finally catches up to her, although it doesn't seem that way at first because only the revelations at the end provide the proper context for understanding the character. MacDonald is good in limited screen time as the closeted senator. CSI: Las Vegas' Gary Dourdan is solid but wasted in a small role as Rowena's two-timing ex.
There's an old adage that one should never talk to strangers. In this case, one shouldn't spend money on a Perfect Stranger.
[1 out of 5 stars]
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