A casa da sola

Well okay it was a cold wet Sunday and I did not really feel like taxing the brain cells so ... I sat down and watched this on DVD. Rebecca de Mornay is usually worth a look at so all I can say is I tolerated it. I am biased as you will later see. A few twists and turn at the end add a little spice to this okay thriller. Otherwise Ms. Rebecca just carries on type-casting herself that is; see "The Hand that Rocked the Cradle". This I lament has done her no good at all. Oh yes ... a few sexy scenes from Ms. De Mornay are always nice to watch. After all I was a teenager just like Tom was, about the time she did Risky Business and she was a big part in many a dream then. After this credit to her she is still somewhere in my dreams.

Oh, yuck. Like Lemos (see his comment), I watched this because there was nothing better to do -- though I'm glad I saw it on cable and didn't pay for it. And also like Lemos, I agree that Ms. DeMornay is wonderfully seductive, with scenes in this movie nearly precisely like those in which she enchanted Tom Cruise and the rest of us in "Risky Business" so long ago. What a shame she can't get better roles! Must she *always* play a prostitute? (sigh) Well. Not her fault that Hollywood wants her naked or not at all.

The worst thing about this movie was not its misuse of DeMornay, but rather its misuse of viewer time. Yes, she plays a nut, and is very convincingly nutty. (And yes, the movie complies perfectly with the Hollywood Rules for Mental Illness: if female, the person must be either an elderly hag who eats garbage, or a gorgeous young nymphomaniac).

But as convincing as DeMornay is, the plot just is NOT. There is no way that one, much less two, adult men would be interested in this goofball for more than a single sweaty half-hour. Both of the men are not-quite-right-in-the-head either, but the writer (who is also the director) gave them the dignity of being both less conspicuously nude and less conspicuously nuts than the female character.

Summary: a little sexy, a little creepy, a lot boring, and even more annoying. Unless DeMornay is your particular dream girl, don't waste your time.

Rebecca DeMornay gives an inspired demented performance as one of Michael Rooker's two wives. She is unbalanced right from the git-go and gets progressively more deranged as the film moves along. Mark Rolston is also good as the interested neighbor, drawn into Rooker's scheme to break away from DeMornay. The script which is not predictable, twists and turns towards a surprising conclusion. Why "Wicked Ways" is rated so criminally low on IMDb is a real mystery? It certainly is no "Fargo", but is way better than many of the higher rated potboilers. This is definitely worth checking out. Character development and acting are equally strong, and nicely compliment the unpredictable script. - MERK

Ok... It's 4am and I'm up. So what's on TV? 150 channels on the air (flip-flip-flip) Well What's this? I know her and look he's in this too. Oh what's their names? I'll have to remember to look. But I never knew they did anything together. Hmmmm... I'll watch this for a few. Well, now she's a nut. Oh but wait he's what? Why is she like this? Oh I see. Maybe? No-yes-well-maybe... She's a nut with help. Oh and her neighbor is too. COOL!!! ^ That is how I came across this movie. ^ But this is A GREAT MOVIE if you like erotic psychological thrillers with a twist. It has everything: love, sex, adultery, a heathy dose of fear, hatred, a mentally unsound woman with a reason that been pushed too far and murder plot(s). It's got it all. Everything for a good late night movie. It's not big budget but it is big names. (Rebecca DeMornay and Michael Rooker) With a small tight cast of characters who's lives and mental states interlock smoothly with each other. Everything as to why is explained with the unfolding of the movie. There are several psychological twists. The suspense makes you hold your breath, look around every corner and behind every door. The only thing left untold is what happens to the people left after all is said and done. But great and well worth the price to rent the movie or the time to set the VCR to record it. A MUST SEE for psychological thriller lovers!

My wife and I both really liked this movie. Think of it as a Tom and Jerry or Roadrunner cartoon. It is obviously over the top in believability, but it is FUN to watch. DeMornay's charater's booby traps are straight out of the Rube Goldberg school of complicationicity. Rooker's double-life husband is lifted directly from the letters to Dear Abby and Ann Landers. Throw in the wild card next door neighbor(s) and what do you have? Video Hoo Ha. Ethel (my wife, my name is Ed) and I have rented and rerented it. The plot is as goofy as anything the old Warner Brothers animators could have concocted. We took it as a black comedy the first time we viewed it and, with that in mind, enjoyed it more each time after. (Oh, jeez, did I end a sentence in a preposition?) Think funny, and this film will work for you.