Claudine's Return

Christina Applegate put in a great performance in her interpretation of the role of Claudine. The rest of the movie did not support her performance, however. The plot was weak, with the only substantive storyline occurring in the first 15 mins., and the last 15 mins. The rest of the movie could have been cut, and the audience would not have missed much. Tibaldi's direction used a lot of close shots, and free camera work, that actually detracted from the story. In scenes where the audience might have wanted to pay attention, we were getting distracted by the edgy camera motions. There were a number of subplots that never played into the story, and ended up like flotsam on a beach, with no purpose.

this was a fairly confused film, that seemed to suffer from a failure of a sense of 'place'--at times i felt i was in hipster berlin, in some basement bordello, at times on a wild georgia coast. their was something odd and peculiar about the location, sets, and sexuality of the main characters, that i could never really put my finger on. nevertheless, Christina applegate turns in a surprisingly subtle, smart, and wry performance, the cinematography is LOVELY in the outdoor settings, and there are comic, as well as a few almost mystically beautiful moments. along with some very clunky and dumb ones. one gets the feeling the film is very much a MISS, but that their must have been something interesting underlying the story that never quite made it to the surface. atmospheric, Christina is great, but ultimately, only an interestingly, occasionally downright muddled misfire...

The main reason I'm posting this comment is point out that there are NO NUDE scenes featuring the femme fatal Christina app legate so if you mistook the R-rating,and the cover showing Appplegate pole-dancing as an implication that you're gonna see a "money shot" then do yourself a favor, don't make the same mistake I did when it first came out and don't bother renting it. Its actually a really depressing movie, so if you're into soppy love stories then you might enjoy it. The acting was OK, I suppose, but frankly the overall wasn't my cup of tea. There are, however, love scenes although about as soft-core as a soap opera. Is it just me or should they start labeling what you get to see in a movie and who you get to see it on right on the box next to the rating?

I'm sorry to say I rented this with a clear head. Under-developed story, little use of Applegate's ability as a fine actress, and no nudity ruined this film. I kept thinking to myself "If there was just the occasional breast, the movie would be fine." I was wrong, but what the hey?

The characters were sorely undeveloped. The story was never shown to the viewer. The "past" that Applegate is trying to conquer and escape is never shown.

And what kind of morons do the writers think we watchers are? The blonde kid in the car? The flash to the future? Come on.

Never rent this. Ever.

My dish: 1 out of ten, and that's my being gracious.

This film has been repackaged as an erotic picture [retitled Kiss Of Fire] with a very racy cover that implies one will get more than a brief exposure to Miss Applegate's talents. Well forget it. This is an idiotic "drama" with no point, little plot, and amateurish camera work. Disney has added the tagline "An Erotic Journey Of Desire!" to a movie that is really just a crappy chick-flick!