Inserzione pericolosa

'Vertigo' meets 'Basic Instinct' as like Clint Eastwood in 'Play Misty for Me', Bridget Fonda learns the hard way that a seemingly harmless young lady she introduces to her life (and her palatial apartment) is more than just needy.

This is a tense thriller about an obsessive woman who becomes too enthralled in someone else's life, and even gets herself mixed up in lies, deceit and other bad activities, and the cycle of problems just gets more momentum. The basic plot is that Allison (Bridget Fonda) gets a roommate for her Manhattan apartment (has anyone ever seen an apartment this large in NYC??) after her skirt-crazy live-in lover Sam (played by "Wings" star Steven Weber) runs around on her. It's Headra "Hedy" (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to the rescue! This is one of my favorite suspense films. The setting is amazing, an old spooky apartment building but a gorgeous sparsely furnished apartment within. There really isn't a lot of violence in this movie, mainly just at the end. It's a good suspense movie, though, which builds and builds. The film is stylish, thanks to Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria) cinematography. Fonda and Leigh give strong performances in this movie. This is an underrated thriller, which is surprisingly clever movie.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

As the title implies, SINGLE WHITE FEMALE is about what happens when an ad for a housemate is answered by someone rather... troubled. Allison (Bridget Fonda) places the ad after her fiance, Sam (Steven Weber), turns out to be a not-so charming prince. Yep, he's been cheating on her.

Enter Hedra "Hedy" Carlson (Jennifer Jason-Leigh), who appears to be the perfect candidate. At first, all goes amazingly well, and the two get along great. Of course, this wouldn't be much of a thriller if everything went peachy. So, it's not long before Sam starts wooing Allison back, and Hedy starts exhibiting some odd quirks and rather unsettling behaviors. Things only get worse from here. What's a woman-gone-berserk to do next? Why, kill everyone in her way, naturally!

SWF came out at a time when similar psychological thrillers were all the rage. Ms.' Fonda and Jason-Leigh are quite good in their roles, with Allison going from clueless to suspicious to fighting for survival, while Hedy goes from seemingly shy to completely bananas! Those who love this sort of movie will love this one. Those who don't, can blame FATAL ATTRACTION.

P.S.- Anyone enamored with the female form will be overjoyed to know that both Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason-Leigh spend relatively lengthy periods of time in their birthday suits!...

Another movie with great potential. The film unfolds almost perfectly and you find yourself in a tense and deep psychological thriller (no spoilers to the plot). But then, the director chooses the easy way and we have a usual ending with mostly unrealistic situations and splatter sequences (ouch this dragging scene with the head bump at the elevator step must have hurt!).

A fairly engaging psychological thriller. Of course, there must be some suspension of disbelief, as in Hedy(Jennifer Jason Leigh) wielding a shoe. Also, there really are no truly sympathetic characters here. Hedy, of course, is what she is. And, Allie(Bridget Fonda), the supposed heroine, does kind of screw over Hedy. And Sam (Steven Webber) is basically a snake anyway. As for the actors, I thought Miss Leigh was by far the best, though she had the meatiest part, so it may be hard to compare. And what an amazing apartment for a young software designer in Manhattan. OK, they mentioned it was rent-controlled. What an insane economic policy. Grade: B-