Compromising Positions

Compromising Positions is a 1985 comedy that represents the limbo midsection of the decade. It is part mystery, part comedy, part women empowerment - and none of the parts are very solid.

Susan Sarandon stars as an unsatisfied housewife who used to be a journalist and now relies on her husband Edward Herman to be the breadwinner. When her dentist becomes a murder victim, the detective, Raoul Julia, questions her. Turns out, she's not the only woman in town to be questioned, since the dentist was fooling around with a lot of his patients. Susan gets the bee in her bonnet to find the murderer herself, much to Raoul's frustration. Meanwhile, Edward is also frustrated, since his wife is stepping outside her role and picks fights with him at unexpected times. I found it uneven, with no one really standing out. Judith Ivey, Susan's raunchy friend, tried to make an impression with her nasty one-liners, but it's a pretty forgettable movie. If you want to see Susan in a comedy, just stick with Bull Durham.

Hard to believe it from this black comedy, but director Frank Perry used to excel with stories about headstrong women shaking off the chains from their men and finding answers on their own. Therefore, it's rather sad to see Susan Sarandon so open-mouthed and hesitant here, kowtowing to a perfectly dreadful Edward Herrmann in the opening scenes of "Compromising Positions". After her lascivious dentist is murdered, Sarandon goes against hubby's wishes and helps detective Raul Julia solve the case. It's too late; too much compromising has been done on Perry's part and whatever visual interest there is early on has sputtered. Is there nothing more depressing than a deadening plot taking place in dullsville surroundings? Perry used to stage high-wire acts in the hearts of high-strung, big city women. Here, he plants his camera on mowed lawns and points it at front doors. The dentist is the lucky one. *1/2 from ****

A good script (with adult themes) and an excellent cast make this a most enjoyable caper-comedy about the secret life of an upscale dentist. What this one does with vegetables gives one pause about eating salads anywhere but home, as Judith Ivy (particularly good as an oversexed suburban housewife) dryly points out in one of the funniest lines in the film. The movie is fast-paced with very good direction and production values. Maybe not quite a "10," but close to it.

This is a movie that you will have fun watching, and you might find yourself watching it again and again. It is certainly throwaway, and will never show up on anyone's top ten list, but it works nonetheless. Like The Late Show with Lily Tomlin and Art Carney, it involves a woman investigating a mystery, a seasoned detective and humor evolving from the lead character being involved in something so over her head. Judith Ivey has some great moments as an artist/housewife who loves her husband but seeks out meaningless sexual trysts. Her pure hedonistic attitude toward her lifestyle, and unshakable lack of guilt make for some hilarious moments. Susan Sarandon plays a naive housewife who used to be a reporter. She longs for the excitement, but is hampered by a domineering husband who wishes for nothing else from her than a hot meal and clean underwear. It's no wonder she's ripe for an affair with the lead detective on the case, Raul Julia. He finds himself falling for her despite the fact that she's driving him crazy by horning in on the case.

I love this movie for the same reason that I love Six Days and Seven Nights with Anne Heche and Harrison Ford, it's funny and has a nice romantic plot that keeps me coming back again and again to experience it. This is Sunday afternoon fodder, lazy day entertainment that won't ruffle your feathers with too serious subject matter and objectionable content. It's just a fun movie.

I really enjoyed seeing Raul Julia pining over Sarandon. Too many times he was the heavy in a film, or being subjected to the machinations of one. Here he is just a man who happens to be a detective, and the only thing heavy about him is the change in his pocket. Sarandon plays her part well, acting oblivious to her growing interest in Julia, a point that Judith Ivey makes clear in blunt and humorous terms.

It's a little silly, and you can see things coming a mile away at times, but all in all you'll be glad you rented it. My wife liked it a lot as well, and it's always nice to find a movie that women like that doesn't smell like potpourri before you even get it in the DVD player. If you like movies like Fletch, The Late Show and Six Days, Seven Nights, you'll enjoy this.

. . .but anyone else should like it,too. I saw it for the first time in the theater when I was 19. It was the first movie I went to alone because none of my friends wanted to see a "girl's movie". It is that, but it's a wonderful one of those. Since then I've seen it a dozen times and it always makes me laugh.

Susan is wonderful as always and Raul Julia is solid, but Judith Ivy steals every scene she's in. Some of the other characters are excentric to distraction, but over all it's very entertaining. It's the kind of comedy that's amusing even if it's not laugh-out-loud funny all the time. Now it's a little dated, but still really fun to watch.