The Stray

I saw this movie on The Movie Channel late one night a few years and although I expected far worse from a movie starring Angie Everhart and Michael Madsen, it was still a bad flick. I saw it 3AM and it seemed like perfect for that hour of the night, I saw parts of it again later and it was almost unwatchable. The movie starts off great, but ends up going downhill after 45 minutes or so. The main reason if you are a guy to see the movie is Angie Everhart. Other than that, it has nothing going for it. It's an okay thriller for its genre (direct-to-video and made-for-cable) yet a forgettable one. The somewhat intriguing premise is let down by poor writing and lackluster directing Perhaps another rewrite before shooting began could have made this movie something better. 3/10

This is a straight-to-DVD movie, so don't have too high expectations. The story is simple, the acting is acceptable and the action scenes are OK. It's a typical low budget B movie.

Angie Everhart plays a wealthy restaurant owner, who lost her father two months ago. Michael Madsen is an LAPD detective, who tries to catch some bad guys and he's the boyfriend of Angie. Stefan Lysenko is the stray. I'm an Angie fan, so I'm probably not the most objective guy. Not surprisingly she's gorgeous in this film too. She's always very elegant and her outfits are amazing The custome designers did a really good job. She plays the rich businesswoman role nicely. Michael Madsen was a bit out of shape here, he looks thick. I don't know this was intentional or not, but it's weird. He's not bad, but not great either. Lysenko is an unknown actor and he's acceptable. The rest of the cast is just there to fill up time.

The locations are beautiful, especially Angie's huge house. We also see the usual California sights too. The beaches, fancy restaurant and good neighborhood. The action scenes are mixed. The car chase is very bad and it's entirely from a different film. However the crossbike chase is decent.

I think this movie is only good for Angie's fans. We see her a lot and as I mentioned she's pretty eye-catching here. Otherwise this is an average B movie. If you like her and you didn't see this so far, give it a try, maybe you'll enjoy it. If you are not a fan, then avoid it.

First off, on the box art for "The Stray" it has a clean shaven Michael Madsen on the cover, but really he has a beard. This is not an action movie. This is a drama\mystery. Madsen can easily carry a movie with the right material. He does a good job here as Ben. Angie Everhart looks pretty, and she has some acting chops. The plot is about Everhart running over a drifter and wanting to help him recover from his wounds. Usually PM entertainment makes action films but this I think is their first drama. They pull it off with ease. There are some action scenes, but they are just forced in there, so you won't fall asleep. The bike chase was exciting though. If you see it at a video store, give it chance, you probably won't be disappointed.

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Some talented individuals are involved with the creation of this drastically inferior movie, but they appear to be functioning at cross-purposes, a result being a wearisome and hackneyed piece of hogwash with nary a visible saving grace. Most of the scenario makes little sense but it essentially involves a homeless man (Stefan Lysenko) who hurls himself in front of a quickly moving sedan driven by his target for psychological demoralization (based upon a long-festering reason): Kate Grayson, played by Angie Everhart (identified as Vonna Grayson on the package), somehow presuming that he will not die from being struck down, but will instead be asked to reside in the garage of the woman, become her intimate, and so on. This is largely a stuntathon with action frequently stuttering as the athletic performers, including vehicle drivers and riders, function in a significant number of scenes, and that is certainly to the good, as a coherent script is not in use here, and some relief is thereby given to the several capable actors on board from having to deal with consistently lumpish dialogue. Film editor Kevin Mock, in his first feature as director, provides weak helmsmanship and would have been well-advised to edit the entire piece onto the cutting room floor, for it is obvious that even if trailer footage not included in the final print were retained, failings of logic and continuity would be equally as withering as they are in the distribution release. Michael Madsen, who in general merely plays as himself in his films, and for the most part to everyone's advantage and pleasure, seems defeated, simply walking through his poorly written role as lover of Kate, while Everhart, never much of an actress in any case as with most converted catwalkers, awkwardly emotes and moves, although she performs a service to viewers by clearly paraphrasing lines from other featured players so that they may be understood, of noteworthy value pertinent to enunciation deficient Lysenko; only Seidy Lopez successfully attempts to create a finished part in the face of picayune material. Although the camera-work is excellent and settings are deployed among commonly utilized picturesque Southern California location sites such as the Château Bradbury and Sable Ranch, substandard sound quality, in combination with Mock's telegraphic bent for predictability, increases the inconsistent nature of the storyline with an intended erotic scene between Everhart and Madsen being a woeful misfire, the actress seemingly sublimating an onset of giggles, while Madsen, inexplicably cast as a bearded police "detective", no doubt finds nothing so blithesome within the entire film; in fact, one must wonder why he took on his part in this forgettable yawn fest.

On July 4 at the beach, a man with an Uncle Sam mask picks up a duffel bag that was dropped in a trash can as bait. All of a sudden numerous undercover cops are after him.

Uncle Sam ends up at a fireworks show and makes a few fireworks of his own.

Meanwhile, Kate Grayson--wearing a backless dress--is celebrating the reopening of her father's elegant restaurant, Grayson's, which is on the beach near a pretty lighthouse.

Kate goes home to Ben, a detective who doesn't seem ready to commit to her. After one year, he still hasn't moved any of his stuff in, and he still has his own place.

The next day Kate is driving and uses her cell phone to find out how well the restaurant did the previous night. Uh-oh! She hits someone! Never use your cell phone while driving! Gil Draper is homeless and needs a place to recover, so Kate lets him live in a storage room at her fabulous mansion. With her dollhouse and other valuable items.

Gil seems to recover fast. He's very helpful around the house, and very charming, as he tries to pay Kate back. Ben is not happy, although he does try to make friends with Gil.

Eventually, things start happening. You just knew they would. And, yes, Uncle Sam is involved. There is an exciting chase involving motorcycles. There is violence, but it's not too bad.

I can't say the movie is that good, but Stefan Lysenko gives a better performance than most. There are a few enjoyable scenes even before the weird stuff. Angie Everhart looks good, especially in her jogging outfit.

The movie starts with closeups of the dollhouse, which has a lot of intricate detail and looks really fancy. It's more like a miniature mansion. From the music, you already know this movie with be eerie. and we keep seeing that dollhouse, as if it will play some important role.

Eventually we are rewarded, sort of. It's just a Lifetime movie.