Blue Desert

This movie should win an award for dumbest female protagonist. It's hard to have any sympathy for the Cortney Cox character, Lisa, because every time she is given an opportunity to avoid a threat, she decides to remain. She has a million opportunities to leave this town and the two nuts who are threatening her, but she remains. You have to wonder if Lisa has any shred of common sense because time after time she does the exact opposite of what common sense would dictate.

If being an empowered woman means staying in a mobile home in the desert in a town of strangers and continually letting strange men into your home even when you know they are dangerous and never asking your neighbors for help, then the life span of such a woman is going to be very short.

Comic book artists have very tight deadlines that they must meet each month.

It was amazing to see Lisa working calmly at her drawing board, pencilling, inking and lettering a complete comic while spending her days and nights being nearly raped, chased across the desert in her Chevette by a police cruiser and sticking a 5 inch knife in a police officer's thigh.

All in a days work for "EMPOWERED WOMAN" I guess.

This movie is way above average. Along the lines of a "chick power" movie (starring Courtney Cox - who looks great here riding a big Harley motorcycle, by the way), it has a compelling storyline, an interesting desert setting, and just enough plot twists and turns to make it intriguing until the very end. The movie has a genuine atmosphere of suspense and mystery throughout, as well as an interesting side-bar of a comic strip that gets lightly woven into the story.

What strikes me most about this film is that the characters and the setting all seem extremely realistic and believable - it's almost as if this story really happened.

There are a few scenes of violence, a bit of gun action, plus a few car chase segments, but they are very low-key - not at all like the way over-the-top nonsense that you see all too often in the movies. This only adds to the realism of the movie.

I was also struck by certain similarities between this movie and "Tank Girl" (1995), which also had a "chick power" theme, as well as comic book segments woven into the movie.

Anyway, if you like realistic crime-drama movies, I'd highly recommend this little gem.

There is an awful lot wrong with this picture, beginning with a script that is both obvious and redundant. Courtney Cox plays a comic book artist who escapes to a small desert town after being raped twice in the big city. She immediately is stalked by a local who appears quite unhinged (Craig Sheffer), and who seems to be attempting a third rate Mickey Rourke imitation. D.B. Sweeny is a local cop, who is supposedly there to protect and serve. Meanwhile, the script manipulates the audience as to who's really the good guy? Logic flies out the window after the first ten minutes and never returns, and there are more unanswered questions than there should be. If you think "Blue Desert" might be saved by the wonderful Philip Baker Hall, you will be disappointed. His part is insignificant, just like the entire movie. - MERK

I would totally agree with the review made by the guy before me. This movie really has everything going for it. I was very impressed with the story line & plot as well as the great acting by Cox and Sweeny among others. I would ask anyone who likes thriller flicks to go and rent this you won't be in for something boring and predictable.

This movie really builds to a climax at the end. D B Sweeney (Memphis Belle, Superfire, Hardball, 8 Men Out, The Cutting Edge) is such an under-rated actor. This guy should be getting major movie roles!

I ordered this movie, Blue Desert, because Sweeney was in it. I was not disappointed. He plays the local law enforcement officer (Steve Smith) of a small, sleepy, boring desert town. Lisa, (Courtney Cox), a rape victim, leaves NYC to get away from that madness and settle in the desert where she will feel safer. Boy, was she wrong! She meets a weird drifter who immediately tries to take sexual advantage of her (Craig Sheffer of A River Ran Through It). So she finds out fast that this sleepy little town isn't as safe as she wishes. She turns to Steve, (D B Sweeney), who is the helpful and protective police officer. Steve is always polite, trusting, and soft spoken. Sweeney plays this role perfectly! Steve is there to help the damsel in distress.

The movie twists and turns. Evidence mounts against the drifter but Sweeney can't get enough evidence to put the guy away. The drifter tells Lisa bad things about Steve and the polite and efficient Steve tells Lisa he is there to protect her and not to believe the drifter. Who to believe? After awhile Lisa doesn't know who is the bad guy and who is the good guy.

The ending is as suspenseful as you can get in a movie. Like I have said before, Sweeney is wonderful in this role. He makes this movie work as far as I am concerned because he is so believable.

If you like a psycho thriller. If you like suspense. If you like Courtney Cox and if you like D.B. Sweeney, then this movie is for you. I highly recommend this sleeper of a movie. It is well worth watching.