Dangereusement Belle

Paul Lynch's 'Drop Dead Gorgeous' aka 'Victim Of Beauty' (the latter the better in my opinion) is an under-rated sleeping beauty for thriller fans. Especially those who enjoy a murder mystery with twists and turns. Lynch's Direction is solid for a TV movie. It obviously had a TV Movies Budget. The acting isn't award winning but believable. What makes this movie special is the story. Harriet Steinberg has created a fantastic script. Not so much the dialogue but the way this mystery is plotted and unfolds. Everything a Murder Mystery needs; many suspects, motives, confused sexual orientation, red herrings, an underlying story that occasionally raises its ugly head, and a sting in its tail. Rubin is beautiful, Outerbridge is talented and the supporting cast do a good job.

This is not so much a suspenseful thriller. All Murders happen off camera. We only see the left over bodies. But it is a very good Murder Mystery Thriller with a great twist that works. Check it out.

Recently shown on cable tv under the title "Victim of Beauty" this film was made 10 years ago, and on the whole carries itself well. Stunningly photogenic school teacher becomes fashion pin-up though as that career progresses she is followed around by a series of murders. Basically a "whodunnit" what I like is the way the movie constantly teases the viewer as to the identity of the murderer though in hindsight ample clues are given throughout. The plot and the story line are generally ludicrous and preposterous but of course that is the norm for so many films whereby the film-makes expectations of their audience is zero level. Nevertheless this picture is very watchable, the star of the show being the actress portraying a lesbian fashion house head. A scenario dealt with intelligently and maturely. The surprise climax of the film reminds me of classic Hitchcock whereat all the clues fall into place.

Jennifer Rubin,(Allie Holton),"Road Kill",'99, gave a great performance as a very pretty innocent looking young gal, who is teaching in a Catholic School and simply loves her job and all the children. However, there is a photographer named Peter Outerbridge,(Dylan Wiatt),"Land of the Dead",'05, who is taking pictures of Allie and finds her very interesting and attractive to even become a model. Dylan contacts Sally Kellerman,(Evelyn Ash),"Open House",'04 who is the boss of a large model agency; Evelyn becomes interested in Allie in more ways than one. Allie seems to prefer men and woman to love and enjoy and desires to make Allie into an International Fashion Model. This film will keep you in suspense and it is not easy to find out who the naughty person turns out be.

Well, first to the plot: There are some very good ideas here, since the way the mystery is revealed is quite good, especially since you are given clues right at the beginning (Rubin's obsession with child abuse) that make the ending quite an "Aha!" experience. On the other hand: So why did Kellerman place those phone calls? And why got Candy killed?? Jennifer Rubin is great, as usual, especially in the last sequence. She again proofs that she is one of the most talented actresses on the screen. The other actors are rather bad compared to her, for example this silly rock star (also the video clip look quite ridiculous). And why did they make Kellerman look so ugly in this film? Well, but the great performance by Rubin saves everything, as usual.

Many know the 1999 DROP DEAD GORGEOUS right? But very few know that in 1991 they made a TV movie with the same title but as I saw this I could see why it's not remembered like the 1999 version. Not that it's a bad movie, and I was about to give this a good rating.

Allie Holton is an aspiring model that wants to make it big in the business but looks a bit too lead-footed, until she meets Evelyn Ash (Sally Kellerman) that becomes her agent. Oddly enough, when Holton makes it big everyone around her after a while dies and while suicide could be a motive some suspect of her. This would gradually take her to madness until in the end she is took in an asylum and she'll be questioned by an unnamed interrogator (Michael Ironside in an uncredited cameo) before being forced to stay in the institution forever, but then the movie ends.

The acting was ok by Jennifer Rubin and Kellerman, and the fact of the people dying around Allie was a plus. Yet it was the slow pace in the second half and the ending that showed her end in the asylum that made me lower the score and if it was more pleasant in this last part I would have liked it more. As it is, an ok TV movie but nothing more.