A Passion to Kill

Plot sound bland: Guy falls in love with friend's wife, then friend got murdered, evidence points to wife, yadda yadda yadda. But wait. Once it gets to the second half, instead of delving into a slasher cliche, it later became clear to guy: that nothing is and never was and the line between good and evil blurred. Viewers should realised there is no real villains in the end, just victims left to the society who feels no mercy to any criminals, no matter how sad their lives were in the beginning. We used to be this child, so pure and innocent like a clean cloth, only to be tainted bit by bit by life's difficulties and our inner demons. There is so many other meanings found underneath this movie's erotic thriller exterior and the ending is haunting enough to remind us of this, that many should watch it again and again. It's unfortunate that this movie was buried along with other B-grade erotic thrillers. Hopefully, some filmmaker might pick this material up and turn it into something more deserving.

Typical suspense thriller that has its share of deviant dealings and heated passion as Scott Bakula becomes obsessed with his friend's (John Getz) wife (Chelsea Field) and soon a torrid affair starts with Field slowly taking control of Bakula's life. Old hat late-night cable fare all the way as the movie is so silly that it almost knows just how contrived and mediocre it is. Bakula seemed to really be going into limbo during this time period as he tried unsuccessfully to make it big in movie houses after his run on "Quantum Leap" was completed (he also starred in the stinker "Color of Night" in 1994). If nothing else though this picture brought Bakula and Field together in real life and their marriage is still ongoing. Turkey (0 stars out of 5).

Due mostly to the casting and the boring script. Rick King, the director, must have been in a coma to hire some of these non actor types. Namely Chelsea Field and Scott Bakula. Both to this viewer should get out of the business. Bakula goes around with a lame less expression of stupidity most of the time. Whats the big deal about this actor? And his other half, Field, does not come off as any beauty to fight over. A rather overweight bit of fluff that at times is embarrassing to watch. Shelia Kelley is good, but wasted in this as are Rex Smith (wonderful in PIRATES OF PENZANCE) John Getz and France Nuyen (good to see her again). As I said they all were wasted with most of the shots and scenes were of Bakula and Field. Mr. King, you should be ashamed of yourself. To cast those two losers.

'A Passion To Kill' is a cheesy piece of work you can spot from a mile away so enjoy it as-is or avoid any potential headache. It looks fine, acting is generally decent, but the plot device used is tired to put it lightly. Real husband & wife team of Scott Bakula, Chelsea Field do the erotic thriller song & dance. You know the score. Common sense thrown out the window, lite mystery and a few red herrings.

Psychiatrist David Lawson (Bakula) doesn't know what to do when his best friend's new wife Diana (Field) starts coming on to him and he's attracted to her. Soon Jerry (John Getz) is telling him of trouble in their marriage and asks him to speak to her. Things quickly amp up, they bang and then the real doozy hits - Jerry is murdered. Diane is initially suspect #1, but David doesn't wanna believe it. More evidence paints her in a bad spot, but if it's not Diane than who's setting her up?

Primary cast full of faces who know their way around a T&A flick. Bakula (Color of Night), Field (Snapdragon) & Sheila Kelley (Mortal Passions) as David's assistant DA girlfriend who of course is painted to be a possible suspect. Seeing Chelsea naked is a treat, but everyone's in one of those tales where a guy can't think with his big brain. One or two major plot points that I won't divulge verging on spoilers, but this psychiatrist isn't the sharpest.

I've seen enough of these flicks to say this isn't the worst as nothing ever becomes painful. However the writing is on the wall quickly not that the title 'A Passion To Kill' didn't already partially spell it out. If you crave a dose of sex with a dash of murder this may satisfy your eager appetite. It's a well made dtv flick, but nothing is original or stands out.

The film opens with Chelsea Field stabbing her abusive husband before jumping forward in future to find Scott Bakula's best friend John Getz has gotten married to her on a cruise ship. As Bakula becomes more attracted to Field she becomes increasingly erratic and it is only a matter of time before Getz is dead, all fingers point to Field and Bakula's ex-girlfriend Assistant DA (Kelley) begins to bring charges. But is everything what it seems? When the film starts you find yourself making assumptions about the characters based on the information you have. This is quite easy as all the characters are pretty one-dimensional. However along the way there are several twists - some obvious, some red-herrings but the most are silly.

Bakula can't really act other than his one persona but he does manage to carry this standard of film off just about. Getz doesn't really have much to do as the film revolves around Field's character. Unfortunately Field is not a great actress and can't carry the lead - even of this. The best performance is from Kelley as Bakula's ex, she manages to create a more complex character that rises above the rest of the film.

Overall a pretty boring TV movie that seeks to excite with twists that don't have as much impact as they should. Interesting - but only just and no more.