Posizioni compromettenti

Susan sarandon, who started out in the soap operas and was janet in "rocky horror"! When someone gets moidid in a small town, the whole neighborhood is talking about it. Apparently the victim was quite the ladies man, and was always on the make. So housewife and mom judith decides to try to figure out who-dunnit. But now she's a suspect herself! It's okay. Major over-acting by julia and herrmann. A bit slow in the middle. Some familiar faces... joe montegna, judith ivey, anne desalvo, ed herrmann, raul julia. Story based on the novel by susan isaacs. She also wrote "hello again", about the death of a spouse. And that also starred judith ivey, and it also had director frank perry! Perry was nominated for "david and lisa"... has anyone ever heard of that one? He also directed mommied dearest. Raul julia died young at 54.

Hard to believe it from this black comedy, but director Frank Perry used to excel with stories about headstrong women shaking off the chains from their men and finding answers on their own. Therefore, it's rather sad to see Susan Sarandon so open-mouthed and hesitant here, kowtowing to a perfectly dreadful Edward Herrmann in the opening scenes of "Compromising Positions". After her lascivious dentist is murdered, Sarandon goes against hubby's wishes and helps detective Raul Julia solve the case. It's too late; too much compromising has been done on Perry's part and whatever visual interest there is early on has sputtered. Is there nothing more depressing than a deadening plot taking place in dullsville surroundings? Perry used to stage high-wire acts in the hearts of high-strung, big city women. Here, he plants his camera on mowed lawns and points it at front doors. The dentist is the lucky one. *1/2 from ****

A good script (with adult themes) and an excellent cast make this a most enjoyable caper-comedy about the secret life of an upscale dentist. What this one does with vegetables gives one pause about eating salads anywhere but home, as Judith Ivy (particularly good as an oversexed suburban housewife) dryly points out in one of the funniest lines in the film. The movie is fast-paced with very good direction and production values. Maybe not quite a "10," but close to it.

This is one of the biggest surprises to come out of the 80's. I could watch it over and over....Susan Sarandon is great (a strong and dynamic woman trapped in a dull marriage to a total jerk) - Edward Herrman plays the perfect total jerk. Judith Singer's relationship with the lieutenant played by the wonderful late Raul Julia is beautifully played out. The funniest of all is Judith Ivey with her unbelievable delivery (especially the line about the cole slaw). The tongue in cheek parody of an annoyingly incestuous suburban community is handled with subtle humor and total class. I really recommend this movie!

BTW, Compromising Positions is based on the novel by Susan Isaacs; if you love the movie you will adore the book as well.

. . .but anyone else should like it,too. I saw it for the first time in the theater when I was 19. It was the first movie I went to alone because none of my friends wanted to see a "girl's movie". It is that, but it's a wonderful one of those. Since then I've seen it a dozen times and it always makes me laugh.

Susan is wonderful as always and Raul Julia is solid, but Judith Ivy steals every scene she's in. Some of the other characters are excentric to distraction, but over all it's very entertaining. It's the kind of comedy that's amusing even if it's not laugh-out-loud funny all the time. Now it's a little dated, but still really fun to watch.