Fatal Instinct

When a producer selects the actors and actresses for a film, it's usually in his mind what he is looking for. The selection Mr. Carl Reiner made in this film "Fatal Instinct" is nothing short of incredible. Taking a cue from the film parried here ( Fatal Attraction) from the moment it begins, you will begin laughing, so one had better have a good grip on his chair. Whoever selected straight actors or at least actors with a serious streak to do comedy knew they were trolling for gold. What they achieved is memorable in various films, like airplane and Horror Movie. In this hilarious offering, Reiner combines the works of the 1950's black/white films with modern murder venues. Armand Assante is incredible as Ned Ravine, super sleuth and lawyer. Sherilyn Fenn as Laura Lincolnberry, Kate Nelligan is Lana Ravine and Sean Young playing Lola Cain. All take the hero for a mind-bending spin and spoofs and succeed. However, the best selection for real comedy out of his element is none other than James Remar (The Warriors) , who plays, Max Shady. The outcome is fantastic. You've got to see this film for all it's humor. ***

Carl Reiner, a man that knows about comedy, is the man behind this spoof on the noir genre. Mr. Reiner, working here with David O'Malley's screen play, has created a film that parodies movies like "Double Indemnity", "Basic Instinct", and "Fatal Attraction", among others, with great style.

The result is a film with some clever lines spoken by the cast as though they are acting in the prototype movies that Mr. Reiner is spoofing, with great panache. Not everything works, but when it does, the fun never seems to stop making us laugh.

The cast Mr. Reiner assembled is up to the task. Armand Assante is excellent as Ned Ravine, a man who is a policeman and lawyer and who does some excellent dancing in those red stiletto shoes his character seems to love. Sherilyn Fenn is the loyal secretary Laura. Kate Nelligan does an excellent imitation of Barbara Stanwyck as the scheming wife, Lana. Sean Young has some good moments in the film.

"Fatal Instinct" is a film to watch with a lot of friends. Mr. Reiner shows why he has been one of the best comic writers in America.

Fatal Instinct is one of those guilty pleasures. It's incredibly silly and very funny. Some of the dialogue sounds dead on fast-talking early detective thriller, but the actions are outrageous and the physical comedy non-stop. If you liked the Naked Gun series, you'll love this one.

I stumbled upon this film late one night on TV a few years ago and laughed so hard that I could barely breathe. Armand Assante plays Ned Ravine, a totally clueless cop/lawyer. He is so clueless that he doesn't see that his wife (Kate Nelligan)is having an affair with a mechanic(Christopher MacDonald), or that his secretary (Sherilyn Fenn) is deeply in love with him (She also has an abusive ex-husband that's looking for her). Into the picture comes Lola Cain(Sean Young), a woman with shoe problems (everything sticks to the bottom of it). She also wants Ned.

This film spoof "Fatal Attraction," "Basic Instinct," and every film noir movie ever made. Funny Carl Reiner film.

I'm not sure why this has such a low rating. It really deserves some cult-revival love. Armande Assante doesn't have the straight man charisma of Leslie Nielsen, but he's still more than up for the job. The casting of Sean Young following her bizarre Cat Woman stunt in the early '90s couldn't fit her role better. A handful of jokes don't land, but most do.

If the film has any knocks, it's that there is almost too much going on at the end. Also, some of the older films being parodied like Chinatown are probably lost on some viewers.

If you're a fan of noir or neo-noir you'll probably love this, but anyone who enjoys spoofs should also give it a watch.