Fatal Instinct

I'm not sure why this has such a low rating. It really deserves some cult-revival love. Armande Assante doesn't have the straight man charisma of Leslie Nielsen, but he's still more than up for the job. The casting of Sean Young following her bizarre Cat Woman stunt in the early '90s couldn't fit her role better. A handful of jokes don't land, but most do.

If the film has any knocks, it's that there is almost too much going on at the end. Also, some of the older films being parodied like Chinatown are probably lost on some viewers.

If you're a fan of noir or neo-noir you'll probably love this, but anyone who enjoys spoofs should also give it a watch.

Ned Ravine is a cop and a lawyer. He has only lost one case--Max Shady was sent to Sam Quentin Prison and, now that he is about to be released, he wants revenge.

Ned's wife Lana is cheating on him with Frank, the mechanic. There is a $3 million insurance policy on Frank's life, and under very unique circumstances (which Lana hopes to make happen) the amount will be tripled.

Not that Ned is completely innocent. Lola needs Ned's help, and she's not wearing panties. Unlike Sharon Stone in 'Basic Instinct', she has her back to the camera when she makes this fact quite obvious to Ned.

Ned's secretary has flashbacks of her abusive relationship at the strangest times. She is quite pleasant, though, and good at her job, and otherwise seems happy.

This is what happens in the movie. How it all happens--that's what makes the movie unique. The opening resembles Film Noir, though it is in color, with a narrator and a saxophone playing. We eventually see the narrator on screen, and the man with him is getting tired of listening. Clarence Clemons, the sax player, also appears in the scene, and numerous others. In a later scene a trumpet is being played instead, by Doc Severinsen--the explanation is that Clarence is taking a break.

Many of the gags involve breaking the fourth wall, such as when two people in a park speak in Yiddish so no one will understand. Bill Cobbs plays the man who offers advice about their situation. He can understand because he saw the subtitles.

In a courtroom, Bob Uecker delivers play-by-play and Tony Randall impresses as the judge. When the court is in recess, this takes place on a playground. In another scene, putting flowers in water takes on a whole new meaning.

Numerous other jokes in the style of movies such as 'Airplane!' show up. And as in that movie, they are delivered in such a way it's not clear they are funny. Some are so obvious, but then they would never be done in an ordinary movie. Others are not so obvious. The writing is quite clever, though not all the jokes worked for me. Perhaps this is because I did not know the movies that were being parodied. I did recognize a couple of scenes from 'Fatal Attraction'. One scene involving a pet on a roller coaster made no sense to me.

I enjoy this type of movie, though some have been done better.

The fine touch of comedy mixed with the charm of the three actressess. Assante is great and has a real sense of humour as the famous detective/lawyer who defends his arrests in the courts. The film has many touches of famous movies as "Sleeping with the enemy", Cape fear" and many movies that I may haven't seen yet.

Very funny film noir spoof, that's undeservedly criticised. It may lack the "quality" feel of e.g. The Naked Gun, but I think it's almost as funny.

The film looks great, and the jokes aren't as much of a hit-and-miss affair as you could fear. Naturally it's almost essential that you've seen most of the films it takes a crack at (Double Indemnity, Body Heat, Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, Sleeping with the Enemy just to mention a few).

But what really elevates Fatal Instinct above similar efforts is the brilliant performance from Armand Assante, who displays a comic timing that I never would have guessed he had. He plays his completely oblivious-to-everything-that's-happening-around-him detective with such dead pan seriousness, that it's impossible not to laugh (the scenes with his skunk little Neddy are hilarious).

Never mind the critics, find this film and see it. [8/10]

Carl Reiner, a man that knows about comedy, is the man behind this spoof on the noir genre. Mr. Reiner, working here with David O'Malley's screen play, has created a film that parodies movies like "Double Indemnity", "Basic Instinct", and "Fatal Attraction", among others, with great style.

The result is a film with some clever lines spoken by the cast as though they are acting in the prototype movies that Mr. Reiner is spoofing, with great panache. Not everything works, but when it does, the fun never seems to stop making us laugh.

The cast Mr. Reiner assembled is up to the task. Armand Assante is excellent as Ned Ravine, a man who is a policeman and lawyer and who does some excellent dancing in those red stiletto shoes his character seems to love. Sherilyn Fenn is the loyal secretary Laura. Kate Nelligan does an excellent imitation of Barbara Stanwyck as the scheming wife, Lana. Sean Young has some good moments in the film.

"Fatal Instinct" is a film to watch with a lot of friends. Mr. Reiner shows why he has been one of the best comic writers in America.