Two Shades of Blue

When I rented this movie, I was pretty confident of two things beforehand: (1) Marlee Matlin would be excellent. (2) The movie wouldn't be. I was not surprised on either count.

There's nothing particularly wrong with the movie itself; it's just your standard run-of-the-mill thriller, with the usual plot twists (some more predictable than others) and double-crosses. However, Marlee Matlin is as magnetic a presence as ever; for example, in the "phone sex" scene, just watching her facial expressions is more erotic than any amount of nudity. (Not that the nudity in other scenes is unwelcome...)

One thing struck me as odd regarding the VHS release (I haven't seen the DVD version): Considering that the movie stars the screen's most prominent deaf actress and revolves around a telephone-relay service for the hearing-impaired...WHY is there no closed-captioning on the video? I know that this isn't a major label distributing the movie, but you'd think they'd spring for captioning on this one.

This film was made by a director who lacks the ability to bring any sense of realism to the screen. So if you approach it with high expectations of being entertained, you will be disappointed; and possibly upset. But don't forget, this mess has Rachel Hunter in it! She's not the greatest actress, but she's not bad. She is also gorgeous and almost six feet tall. And Marlee Matlin is there. She is compelling, and always worth watching. We have Gary Busey, leering menacingly; Eric Roberts, of evil profile and deed. And some hilarious over-acting by minor players. These people together make the film interesting for me. I love watching actors acting. Its a part of why I like films anyway. And if that isn't enough, there is the directors demented perception of reality. For instance, a police detective panics after wounding the murder suspect, and sprays two additional [large] magazines of ammunition around the room. We are treated to feather pillows being pulverized, lamps shattered and other silly things that a trained marksman can do with a gun. This same cop, mortally wounded, subsequently makes a clean shot on another suspect from almost fifty feet. And the director's attempt at "mystery" cause me to wonder if he ever did figure out the plot. There are a million little elements to watch the director miss or ignore. That's entertainment! I find such little films intriguing, if not entertaining in their original intent. But don't trust me completely. I'll watch anything with Rachel Hunter in it!

The only reason we had fun watching 'Two shades of blue', was because this film was objectively bad. I don't know where it went wrong, but it did. It's not the plot or the acting. They're all right. It is just that the sum doesn't work out.

Only rent this film if you want easy watching.

I recommend not to see this movie.

It is a complete nonsense.

Don't spend time in this film, even Jean Claude Van Damme has better films than this one.

A MUST TO AVOID.

Oh well,here we have another film thats supposed to be a mystery But you will not be suprised at most things in it,The only original thing is the casting of a hearing impaired man as a romantic interest. I do not know the actors name ,He was both good looking & a good actor, The cast includes Gary Busey(yu can see every bit of make-up on his face) Marlee Maitlin (capable BUT)Eric Roberts doing his usual routine. & the Australian actress Rachel Hunter my rating is a low **1/2.

AS ALWAYS

jay harris