Careful What You Wish For

Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum's generically titled 'Careful What You Wish For' is a painfully average erotic thriller that's light on eroticism and even lighter on thrills. The movie wallows in the genre's tropes without escalating them beyond the familiar. The lack of originality and effort ultimately sinks the picture, but not before the reveal of an absurd twist ending that feels more ridiculous than shocking. Both Nick Jonas and Isabel Lucas are decent but the adulterous relationship that's at the heart of the film is never very credible, let alone sizzling, due to there's not much chemistry between them.

'Careful What You Wish For' was never going to be an Oscar worthy, genre defining, boundary leaping film however for what it is trying to be, which is an easy going, enjoyable and suspenseful piece of drama, it does very well. The storyline and plot my perhaps leave something to be desired but having said that this viewer was taken for the ride with all the twists and turns that were thrown at the audience. For the most part the acting was strong, especially considering the calibre of the actors and the relatively little previous work they have done in the industry. My main criticism would be that there were moments where the focus seemed to be more on moving the plot forward without first establishing the necessary character development to make us fully care what happens to the characters.

Overall an enjoyable flick so long as you go into it expecting the next big thing, and don't try and analyse every detail but just sit back, relax and don't take it too seriously.

If you're a boy teenager with a hard-on, go for it - enjoy the shower scene, especially.

If you're a juvenile looking for mild mental stimulation with one eye on another screen, it's passable.

If you're as old as I am then you'll quickly suss this is a regurgitated plot based on the classic film 'Body Heat' (1981) with William Hurt and Kathleen Turner. I continued watching just to see how close to the wind they sailed. And yep, I suggest you cut your losses and immerse yourself in the original.

Plus ça change ...

I went into 'Careful What You Wish For' not really knowing what to expect. Often when thrillers cast non-actors (often musicians) in their lead roles they are trying to garner some publicity and cover up a weak script. So I was surprised to find myself genuinely enjoying it. The acting wasn't all that bad and Nick Jonas carried himself well especially. Isabel Lucas also impressed me. She has a mysteriousness about her that worked perfectly in this film. The story was patient and building, while never becoming stale or boring. It had a couple of nice twists to keep things exciting and really ticked all the boxes a thriller should.

The plot has a bit of a "seen it all before" feel about it. There's no question Hollywood is lacking originality and 'Careful What You Wish For' does nothing to expel those claims. The ending (after the twist) also came up seriously lacking, showing perhaps a touch of laziness on the writer's part. Those faults aside though it really isn't a bad little watch. Don't be put off by the casting of Jonas, give it a shot and you'll be pleased you did.

All together it's not all that bad of a flick, predictable yes, but still fun to watch to see where its all headed. I thought the talent could have been given a much better script to work with. As most mentioned previously the premise is old and tired,,,,,,some new twists could have been added to make it more interesting! Most probably watched for the eye candy, but again a flick that can be enjoyable if you don't get too serious about it and just kick back and watch.