Compromising Positions

A good script (with adult themes) and an excellent cast make this a most enjoyable caper-comedy about the secret life of an upscale dentist. What this one does with vegetables gives one pause about eating salads anywhere but home, as Judith Ivy (particularly good as an oversexed suburban housewife) dryly points out in one of the funniest lines in the film. The movie is fast-paced with very good direction and production values. Maybe not quite a "10," but close to it.

Susan sarandon, who started out in the soap operas and was janet in "rocky horror"! When someone gets moidid in a small town, the whole neighborhood is talking about it. Apparently the victim was quite the ladies man, and was always on the make. So housewife and mom judith decides to try to figure out who-dunnit. But now she's a suspect herself! It's okay. Major over-acting by julia and herrmann. A bit slow in the middle. Some familiar faces... joe montegna, judith ivey, anne desalvo, ed herrmann, raul julia. Story based on the novel by susan isaacs. She also wrote "hello again", about the death of a spouse. And that also starred judith ivey, and it also had director frank perry! Perry was nominated for "david and lisa"... has anyone ever heard of that one? He also directed mommied dearest. Raul julia died young at 54.

Frank Perry, a middling director I know best for DAVID AND LISA, MOMMIE DEAREST, comes up with a far more comic product in COMPROMISING POSITIONS. A generally humorous screenplay by Susan Isaacs helps, especially with with some clever twists and the relationship between Julia and Sarandon; cinematography is competent enough, with some interesting angle shots in the tooth extraction room at the start; and some telling closeups of Susan Sarandon, whose eye-rolling greatly contributes to the film's offbeat oddball atmosphere. The church scene where many woman cry over the romeo dentist's passing is memorable.

Sarandon dominates the film - she is a real pleasure to watch - and Raul Julia, Joe Mantegna, Judith Ivey and Josh Mostel provide more than adequate support.

No masterpiece, but completely enjoyable until the final quarter, at which point it becomes rather bland. The scene where a cop car drives up and the cop distracts the baddie is just too pat and (in my opinion) does not fit in with the rest of the movie, but that scene is not enough to condemn the film. 7/10.

. . .but anyone else should like it,too. I saw it for the first time in the theater when I was 19. It was the first movie I went to alone because none of my friends wanted to see a "girl's movie". It is that, but it's a wonderful one of those. Since then I've seen it a dozen times and it always makes me laugh.

Susan is wonderful as always and Raul Julia is solid, but Judith Ivy steals every scene she's in. Some of the other characters are excentric to distraction, but over all it's very entertaining. It's the kind of comedy that's amusing even if it's not laugh-out-loud funny all the time. Now it's a little dated, but still really fun to watch.

This is a movie that you will have fun watching, and you might find yourself watching it again and again. It is certainly throwaway, and will never show up on anyone's top ten list, but it works nonetheless. Like The Late Show with Lily Tomlin and Art Carney, it involves a woman investigating a mystery, a seasoned detective and humor evolving from the lead character being involved in something so over her head. Judith Ivey has some great moments as an artist/housewife who loves her husband but seeks out meaningless sexual trysts. Her pure hedonistic attitude toward her lifestyle, and unshakable lack of guilt make for some hilarious moments. Susan Sarandon plays a naive housewife who used to be a reporter. She longs for the excitement, but is hampered by a domineering husband who wishes for nothing else from her than a hot meal and clean underwear. It's no wonder she's ripe for an affair with the lead detective on the case, Raul Julia. He finds himself falling for her despite the fact that she's driving him crazy by horning in on the case.

I love this movie for the same reason that I love Six Days and Seven Nights with Anne Heche and Harrison Ford, it's funny and has a nice romantic plot that keeps me coming back again and again to experience it. This is Sunday afternoon fodder, lazy day entertainment that won't ruffle your feathers with too serious subject matter and objectionable content. It's just a fun movie.

I really enjoyed seeing Raul Julia pining over Sarandon. Too many times he was the heavy in a film, or being subjected to the machinations of one. Here he is just a man who happens to be a detective, and the only thing heavy about him is the change in his pocket. Sarandon plays her part well, acting oblivious to her growing interest in Julia, a point that Judith Ivey makes clear in blunt and humorous terms.

It's a little silly, and you can see things coming a mile away at times, but all in all you'll be glad you rented it. My wife liked it a lot as well, and it's always nice to find a movie that women like that doesn't smell like potpourri before you even get it in the DVD player. If you like movies like Fletch, The Late Show and Six Days, Seven Nights, you'll enjoy this.