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This is a great-looking film, filmed in rich colors and beautiful New Orleans locations. But dramatically it doesn't fare so well; it's mostly a monotonous series of heavy-breathing sequences, interrupted by dialogue passages that seem to exist only because a film can't be made ONLY with sex scenes. We also get lots of gratuitous nudity from the statuesque Erika Anderson, who's married to Judge Reinhold (fairly good, but not good enough to be taken absolutely seriously as a dramatic actor yet) and pursued by Nicolas Cage (in a smug performance he would probably like to forget today). Overall, not a horrible film, but not outstanding, either. (**)

ZANDALEE has an appalling score of 4,3 and only 15 reviews to date, and according to the trivia section, in the US was released straight to video. All this leads to a terrible movie, and when I saw it, I could see why.

Zandalee Martin is a young store owner that is married with Thierry Martin (Judge Reinhold) but is also frustrated because of his lack of passion and their marriage hit a snag. Soon she starts an affair with Thierry's friend Johnny Collins (Nicolas Cage), a painter that literally puts body and soul in his paintings. After a while Thierry discovers the affair and he and Johnny will fight over Zandalee. How it will end? See the movie... or better don't.

The main issue with this movie is that there is nobody to like or care about in the least. Erika Anderson is gorgeous but can't act outside a paper bag, Judge Reinhold looks like stoned and Nicolas Cage excells in overacting (something his haters complain with recent movies) and often gets mad for no reason at all. I was even tempted to leave this movie half-way, and I can't believe I saw it all. Only of interest for folks who watch a steady diet of bad movies, as they may get a kick out of it.

In New Orleans, Zandalee (Erika Anderson) is married to poet-at-heart Thierry Martin (Judge Reinhold). He's struggling to keep afloat his father's business. Their marriage is in trouble. Childhood friend Johnny Collins (Nicolas Cage) comes back into his life after a bachelor party. Zandalee starts an affair with the wild painter Johnny.

This is a lifeless movie. The stone-faced Erika Anderson lacks any kind of acting charisma. She was probably much better as a model. Her main contribution to the movie is nudity. Director Sam Pillsbury tries to inject nudity to spice up this tired melodrama. It doesn't work. The dialog is clunky as heck. The pace is as slow as molasses. This is sexploitation B-movie with a lot of great actors and Erika.

Nicholas Cage is mis-cast as an irrestistable sex-god/brooding artist who comes to stay with an old friend (Judge Reinhold) and proceeds to VERY unsubtley seduce his wife, Zandalee (Twin Peaks' Erika Anderson). Despite his lank, greasy (thinning) hair, scraggy goaty, boorish manner and an unfortunate fondness for spouting pretentious philosophy, rather than find him hilarious she is inexplicably drawn to him.

The only thing that keeps the interest from flagging throughout this film are the strong sex scenes and the gratuitous nudity involving the stunning Anderson, which begins, promisingly enough, before the opening credits have even finished and is sprinkled generously throughout the film. On the downside, you also have to see Judge Reinhold's butt - not such a pretty sight - but sometimes sacrifices have to be made.

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.

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.

Either you like trashy erotic melodramas, or you don't. If you don't like trashy erotic melodramas you will dislike this movie. It's not most well-crafted example of the genre and it's certainly not great cinema like "The Godfather". But for it is it's an enjoyable night in if you like this kind of thing.

Since other reviews have already summarized the plot, I will take a minute to respond to some of the complaints addressed here.

1. Nicolas Cage was overacting: I've hung around artists of varying types for most of my life. Male artists who medicate mental illness with a constant cocktail of alcohol, drugs and promiscuous sex are not rare. Male artists who have little to no control over their emotions and are prone to egocentricity and rage explosions are also not rare. Male artists who have failed to distinguish themselves in the art world are often bitter and hostile towards society. And failed male artists with drug and alcohol problems whose unreliability tanks their prospects with day jobs and end up existing on the margins while barely earning a living in straight jobs typically end up resenting the big bosses like Thierry Martin.

2. How can a beautiful woman like Zandalee be attracted to Johnny Collins? He is greasy, disheveled, boorish and violent.: Some women are indeed drawn to men like that in spite of their better judgment. And like Zandalee they are often lonely and inhibited. Now most of the time women with brains and lives of their own don't stay with men like Johnny. The ones who do are usually trashy and ignorant women like the Marisa Tomei character.

Moving on, I enjoyed the New Orleans scenery and the colorful supporting characters like Thierry's grandmother, Zandalee's gay best friend, and the stupid but witty thug played to perfection by Steve Buscemi. Despite her beauty Erika Anderson is a terrible actress and her lack of talent is major downer for the script development. I couldn't keep from cringing every time I heard her wooden voice.

Judge Reinhold also does not hold his own, and his character's mental breakdown makes little sense because of his uneven performance. The ending is is boring and predictable. However, one of the scenes toward the end involving Steve Buscemi and Erika Anderson is hilarious. The supporting characters demonstrate that, despite the incredible pretentions voiced by failed artists, this film does not take itself too seriously.

There is full frontal nudity from almost the first scene, which keeps it being a classy erotic film. And there is too much intense emotion too quickly without build up in the script. But if you're in the mood for hot trash, this is it.

Apparently this film was released straight to video and we can see why. Certainly one of Nicolas Cage's more forgotten and least know films of his filmography. As a film, it is quite a lifeless and soap opera type from the way it's filmed, to its characters, to the overall tone and story build.

The character of Zandalee is rather unlikable and she makes poor decisions in cheating on her husband. As she simply comes across as oblivious, spoiled and rather like a diva. We simply don't care to root for her. Cage's character is a loner painter to who she has the affair with, and he overacts in several scenes. The husband is the most likeable and level headed of the three yet his character is the most boring and he suffers the worst in the end where he becomes rather unhinged.

In the end, this film just has a depressing tone but isn't exactly predictable to a degree. The very ending is rather strange and further more depressing, and rather foolish on the part of Zandelee. A very forgettable film.

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.

If you like nudity, I mean if you really, really, like nudity, this is one of the more frank nudist films I've seen. Some of it's nudity is naughty, for all you bird smugglers out there. Popular to belief, this is a bad film. It isn't. It's one of these arty, more unnoticed films, especially on Cage's resume. I've seen this film a lot. If you look past the nudity and appreciative helpings of sex, there is a story, but it's through this three characters in this love triangle, where for one, jealously goes beyond it's limit, another one, sadly in it's finale is a victim of circumstance I guess, while Cage, the other, in the end, is really the loser. He brings another crazy offbeat character that's mystifying in the form of a sleazy nude artist/university dropout/womanizer/part time magician, Johnny Collins. He's now back in the bayou working for his new boss, old school friend/gifted poet Reinhold, particularly good here, who speaks a southern accent, the way he delivers his poetry, he's just great. And so is his wife, Zandalee (Erika Anderson) not acting wise, just beautiful scenery. She doesn't even try to act, which must of been a worry. Joe Pantoliano, who almost trademarks character acting, is great as a cross dresser who works with Zandalee in her boutique. Soon Cage is getting in Anderson's pants, and it's almost as though Reinhold cracked onto this from the start, but you aren't sure, where he makes soft insinuations here and there, some through poetry. That's what I like about it, an incertitude, a scariness too, as what will Reinhold end up doing. Reinhold's a very tortured man of past, who gave the poetry up, as well as his performance in the bedroom, which is why Zandalee is drifting away from him and satisfying her sexual yearning from Cage in some pretty raunchy scenes. The prolonged last act of the film was interesting as that speedboat ride took a more than dangerous turn, but a real tragic one, evolved in the last breathing moments of the film, that was unforeseen, and truly climactic. For sex lovers, this one's sure not to disappoint, but there is more to this film than that, and that's not just in it's story. This is another of Cage's best performances among many. His name defines acting in it's true purpose, to take that character all the way, not be inhibited, something Nick definitely, isn't, in or off camera.

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.

Our protagonist , as beautiful and sensuous as a poetic muse is mired in love triangle, she loves her husband but his high flyer obsession to run a company as a legacy of his late father has consequences ; his childhood friend, Cage, who plays a painter named Johnny Collins presently an artist returns after several years and takes little time to seduce Zandalee, Married to Reinhold's character Thierry Martin.

The adulterous affair for Zandalee gets so toxic that she is has no qualms to succumb the debauchery of her lover's challenge : "with your husband in the next room 46:00 " Zandalee goes to church to try to get some heavenly miracle on her life even there she is tempted to devil's lust.

The toxic relationship takes the life of Zandalee's husband and finally she finds no other option but to get herself deliberately killed by a shooter who intended to shoot her lover.

Though it is a movie with minimum horror yet it is intensely coloured with abnormal psychology from start to end, it is actually not for general audience.

Pillsbury directed this wonderful script. New Orleans is the location. There is great sex with Cage and Anderson. Cage stands out. He makes the sex real and watchable, because you don"t know what's coming next with Cage. Nothing is second rate. The script captures love that is frustrated by impotence. Her husband is dangerous, because he is sexually conflicted. When he dances with Cage; it is sexual, and his power is evident. But he wants to satisfy his wife. The ending had to be.

I don't understand why this film accumulates so scarcely votes. Come on! Nick Cage did a good job; Erika Anderson is beautiful and stimulating (she didn't need another skill, or she did??). In my opinion, the story, the plot, could be a better fortune in the hands of an European director, like Chabrol or Goddard. But "Zandalee" it is not so bad or dull to don't be advised to the spectators. 6 points.

"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 . . .