Jade

Jade got a bad rap when it showed in theaters and still appears to be getting one now from the comments here, so I didn't expect much when I caught it on cable. It never hurts to have low expectations, but I was quite pleasantly surprised and have watched it a few more times since then.

No, the plot isn't especially tight nor the story original, and it can be hard to follow at some points, but it's still an exciting, kinky, disturbing ride nonetheless.

I think the main reason I enjoyed it was the actors involved - Caruso and Palminteri were both very skilled (and surprisingly sexy - I hadn't found either to be that way in any roles I had seen them in previously, including NYPD Blue). And most of all Fiorentino smokes up the screen whenever she's on it. Sensual, damaged, brilliant. She's amazing when given a good script like the Last Seduction, but even with a flawed effort such as Jade, she still sets the house on fire.

The cinematography and art direction were the other thing that made this film. I loved the lavish sets and especially the eerie lighting during the final scene.

And as far as the comparisons to Basic Instinct, I see it as being about equal, suffering from the opposite problems as Jade; while the story was far more interesting the acting was pendantic at best. But maybe that's just my personal bias; I find Michael Douglas pompous and annoying and Sharon Stone shallow and vain.

I think this movie has the lowest IMDB user vote rating of any movie that I like. It is really an entertaining movie and I am not sure why it is getting such poor ratings here. It is not perfect and may have a few plot holes, but it is definitely worth seeing. There must be an anti-Caruso IMDB splinter cell operating in cyberspace and conspiring to drop the IMDB user rating for all his movies about 2 to 3 points. Check it out and see what you think. Linda Fiorentino is truly hot and well cast as the steamy babe. Caruso's performance is very believable. Richard Crenna is underrated and good here too. Angie Everhart and Donna Murphy are pleasing to look at and also give good performances in smaller roles. Ignore the anti-Caruso crowd, who must be a band of closet NYPD Blue freaks that are still upset that he left that show to make films.

This unanimously panned film in the erotic thriller sub-genre marked both the beginning and the end of David Caruso's career as a leading man in feature films, and turned out to be among director William Friedkin's biggest commercial flops. There's no doubt that this is a flawed film with a cluttered Joe Eszterhas script that doesn't really hold up, but it's a lot better than its reputation would suggest. Friedkin himself was saddened by the film's lack of success, citing it as his favourite movie. And one can see why, because there are some portions of crisp filmmaking in here which are as edgy and emphatic as Friedkin was in his New Hollywood films of the 1970s, such as The French Connection. In particular, there's a car chase segment which stands out, directed with an old-fashioned craftsmanship that makes most of today's modern action sequences look inorganic. For as long as he is able to veil the script's obvious plot holes, Friedkin along with an industrious and fairly believable David Caruso make this an enjoyable thriller.

San Francisco ADA David Corelli (David Caruso) is attending a ball with friend Matt Gavin (Chazz Palminteri) and his wife, David's former love, Trina (Linda Fiorentino). David is called away to the brutal murder of a wealthy businessman. He finds a silver case engraved with the Chinese character Jade. The police uncovers photos of Governor Edwards (Richard Crenna) with an unknown woman later identified as prostitute Patrice Jacinto (Angie Everhart). Bob Hargrove (Michael Biehn) is a disagreeable police detective. As the investigation continues, the Gavins are pulled into the sexual political intrigue.

Joe Eszterhas' psycho-sexual script may not be fitting material for director William Friedkin. The rewriting is evident of that and not necessarily fixed anything. This concentrates more on the lurid in this stylized erotic thriller. Bless his heart, Friedkin tried. There are some car action on the steep streets but he has done better work before. Driving thru the parade may be an interesting idea. The execution is more frustrating than thriller.

The movie got caught up with the Caruso factor during its initial release. He is a perfectly serviceable actor if he doesn't get romantic. His sex appeal is limited and any attempt at sexuality is awkward at best. His character is rarely a lawyer and runs around investigating like a cop. He plays a better cop than a lawyer. Corelli should have been a police detective. Fiorentino has her great smoldering dark sexuality and that helps in this role. The story is a little messy and drags sometimes. It needs a little simplification to allow better flow and heightened tension. None of it is that compelling but it's not completely bad.

I'm shocked by the huge number of negative comments. This film is great, obviously written before Showgirls was released (when the screenwriter's ego was still intact.) Between Joe's deliriously entertaining B-movie dialogue and Friedkin's rock-solid direction, I find this movie fascinating and fun, the only downpoint being the lackluster ending. Jade has the greatest car chase I've seen in any film since the last time this director tackled one, and it's full of cute little references to the rest of his career. There is even a blatant homage to "Cruising" (Al Pacino) for those of you who were really paying attention. When David Caruso takes those cufflinks out of the drawer and looks in the mirror as we fade to the beach skyline...shot for shot and beat for beat it's the last two shots of Cruising, and it even conveys a similar meaning. This movie is clever, raunchy, sexy and fun. It's not the greatest film ever made, but it certainly deserves a lot more credit than it is receiving here. When did film lovers become such humorless prudes? (And why did Friedkin insist that the DVD be released only in a fullscreen version? Why, why, why???)