Zandalee

There is a reason this went straight to video- the story is smarmy, Nick Cage plays Johnny in a sleazy way- sex in churches, and other scenes that border on tasteless(like the scene in the laundry room) taint this movie. Judge Reinhold as the cuckold is okay- but the movie itself with its themes of degradation and revenge are not well done. But it is a good film for trivia contests- because so few people saw it.

The movie is not as bad as the overall rating shows. I presume too many people saw it on account of Nicholas Cage and got disappointed. The problem is that the drama does not develop in one direction. It ended as a banal story about adultery culminating in a theatrical suicide and an unconvincing tragedy. Cage (Johnny), the outsider, turned up to be the guiltiest of all. Yet, until the middle the movie had developed around Anderson (Zandalee) and at some point it looked as if the victim of the drama would be exactly Cage who fell desperately in love with beautiful Anderson while she was using him to overcome her frustrations with husband Thierry. That seemed to be the purpose of the two supporting characters: Tatta and the gay shop-attendant who were pushing her into adultery, so as to save her marriage. At some point, either when shooting or when cutting, the concept changed and the triangle lost everything even remotely intriguing.

Is soap opera for slopeheads. This movie is billed as a "thriller". That Reinhold cannot act very well, Cage makes up for by overacting. The full frontal nudity cannot save this wretch. So if you view it for the nudity - OK. That works because it is all at the beginning, so after 15 minutes turn it off, go for a walk.

Zandalee is the kind of movie that a teenage boy would watch late at night on HBO...only after locking his bedroom door. New Orleans is very pretty, and there's some decent sex scenes, but other than that there's nothing more here that hasn't been done better somewhere else. It is what it is.

"Not the best . . .but . . . Reviewer: A viewer from edison, nj USA For those of us who cherish the steamy city of New Orleans, Zandalee captures the steaminess while transcending its shortcomings.

Rehinhold could have made more of an effort to exhibit a more tragic figure - and could have made an attempt at maintaining ANY accent. Cage is satan personified. More than a bit melodramatic in many scenes, good cameo appearances by Marissa Tomei, Joe Pantoliano (pricesless cross-dresser!) and Steve Buscemi (playing Steve Buscemi) add to the memorable scenes and memorable/quotable dialogue: ("I'm your reality check" "Its a heartifact" "A little decorum!".

Its worth the 3 bucks to rent of the $15 to buy it. Nice steamy, sexy movie. Not the greatest . . . but . . .