Der Skipper

This is a real psychological study. Poor Jurgen ends up with a couple of beautiful, two bit performers who coerce him into taking them to Barbados. Unfortunately, the trip is four weeks and along the way, their personalities begin to clash, with deadly consequences. One is selfish and jealous, the other grows strong but has a psychotic side. Prochnow's Captain is Diabetic and this proves to be the biggest complication when one of the jealous females decides to use it against him. The dynamics on board are interesting. Both women are gorgeous, which complicates things as well. There is sexual tension all over the place. The name of the ship is "Bella Donna" which, of course, is a plant that is used to extract deadly poison. The movie does work pretty well as the three do everything to destroy what there is between them. I won't spoil the ending, but it certainly grabs the viewer.

This is a very interesting film which will keep your attention and at the same time entertain you right to the very end of the film. This film deals with two women, Sue (Patsy Kensit) and Elizabeth Hurley, (Lou) who enlist the services of a washed up drunken man named Jurgen Prochnow, ( The Skipper) who is a German Sailor and he owns a sailing vessel and is requested by the police authorities in the West Indes to leave their port. The Skipper meets up with these two young women in a night club called the "California" where he girls perform and sometimes give more than they are asked for. Eventually, these girls decided to sail to Barbados with the Skipper and this ride starts all kinds of sparks between two females, a dog and the Skipper, who pays very little attention sexually to these women. One of the girls finally gets some love and complete attention and the other girl gets very upset and starts all kinds of problems. You will never guess how this film ends and it is very suspenseful and will keep you on the edge of your seats. Enjoy

I expected this to be a "good bad" movie - the kind that's so bad it's entertaining. However, in terms of performance and script I was surprised to find that it was much better than expected. Jurgen Prochnow is always good, no matter how bad the material he is given. But even Patsy Kensit and Elizabeth Hurley did well portraying two self-absorbed, air-headed, and talent-free bimbos who hitch a boat ride with him, expecting a relaxing pleasure cruise. I've been on a one-week cruise with two other people on a similar vessel, sailing off the coast of Maine, and can tell you that the movie accurately portrays the claustrophobic conditions on board which can lead to personality clashes. If some of the personalities are psychotic, as in this movie, the tension would become unbearable to the point of explosion. And anyone who thinks that personalities like those portrayed in the movie don't actually exist has led a very sheltered life.

The sailing scenes are realistic - the motion of the boat, the feeling of vulnerability in the open ocean, how danger or an emergency can appear suddenly, the necessity for even the inexperienced to pitch in and help. Jurgen, who I have heard is a sailor in real life, moves naturally through all the duties of a captain.

The twist ending came out of the blue and did not work for me. However, till then the movie was involving and I enjoyed it.

This is an okay film except for the final plot twist which makes absolutely no sense given what has come before. The character development to justify this twist is non-existent and therefore the ending seems to have been done only for the shock value. It isn't shock, but rather disgust, that the viewer will be left with. Disgust at such an obvious and phony trick to end the film. Like I said, I liked the film but the ending spoiled the whole picture.

I enjoyed this movie a lot more than it deserved! The three main characters were so well portrayed that it kept me hooked despite the fact that I never did understand what motivated the girls, Liz Hurley and Patsy Kensit. The surprise ending possibly made it seem better than it was, because it didn't really make sense. In this movie the parts were better than the whole, which is weird.