The Cool Surface

This film is absolutely HOT!! The film is so full of erotic tension, even when there's 'nothing actually happening' (!). For that, the erotic appeal, I give it 5 stars, even though the story gets a bit unsatisfactory towards the end. It feels like it was originally different and some essential scenes were cut. But I can't say much more without giving too much away. I love the very ending, though! Calls for a sequel, really, which unfortunately never happened. I would have loved to see Robert Patrick in more steamy action... So, if you want to see two very good-looking people involved in loads of hot situations and talking - this is a film to get. Might be that the story is a bit confused - but who cares??? It's certainly not boring!

I caught about 15 minutes of this on cable while on a trip. It intrigued me enough to rent it. What a mistake. Robert Patrick plays a writer. Early in the film, his writing is criticized because his characters can't make up their minds...well this film suffers from the same thing. The characters change so much there's no chance for the audience to start caring about what's happening.

Such a pity! The Cool Surface is one of those films in which the viewer can tell early on what the filmmaker is trying to do, but it's so clunky it has a paint-by-numbers feel. On any level of honest, objective scrutiny it is uneven and uninteresting. The sum is so much less than the underwhelming parts! Hatcher plays her role as a sultry siren way over the top. Considering her considerable natural talents and attributes, the result is beyond overkill. Robert Patrick alternates between a boring, sulking wimp and an unconvincing psycho. I don't remember seeing Patrick in anything else, but I hope he's better than this. Hatcher sure is. As to Matt McCoy, this is the first role I've seen him in where he isn't downright creepy (also a natural attribute?) - maybe just because he has so little screen time. Oh yeah, there are a few sex scenes, including Hatcher cameoing her bare chest (remember Seinfeld: "Yes, they're real, and they're spectacular!"). Without Hatcher's visibility in these gratuitous sex scenes, this film probably never would have seen the light of day. As it is, The Cool Surface apparently went straight to video and has only resurfaced as Hatcher has recently risen from the ashes like the mythical phoenix. No deep messages here, just glossed-over sleaze - a barely par production to give the otherwise unemployed (and woefully under-utilized) something to do. No great resume builder for anyone involved. A real time waster!

Tormented writer draws inspiration from the life of the girl-next-door for his next novel. But, as topless Teri Hatcher looks to be giving him the book his publisher has been begging for, the writer falls for her. The kind of film where anger can only be represented by a character punching a table top.

Being the goddess that she is, Teri Hatcher makes this movie a must see. Although burdened with a weak story and a poor supporting cast, Teri shines.