Manipulation

Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum's generically titled 'Careful What You Wish For' is a painfully average erotic thriller that's light on eroticism and even lighter on thrills. The movie wallows in the genre's tropes without escalating them beyond the familiar. The lack of originality and effort ultimately sinks the picture, but not before the reveal of an absurd twist ending that feels more ridiculous than shocking. Both Nick Jonas and Isabel Lucas are decent but the adulterous relationship that's at the heart of the film is never very credible, let alone sizzling, due to there's not much chemistry between them.

First, let me tell you that wishing for this movie to be good will be of no avail. There's no reason in hoping for a satisfying thriller like this one seems to claim, because doing so will only lead to a massive letdown.

CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR's biggest flaw is neither its premise nor its narrative. There's a lot to negatively comment about those two areas, but they're still much more tolerable than the movie's horrible casting. None of the actors are able to serve the requirements of their roles, and while their characters hold promise of being interesting, none of the performers could actually pull them excellently, even to a tolerable level. Their dialogues and the overly familiar plot, are partly to blame, but it so difficult to jump to that part when the first thing that can be noticed is the horrible designation of the actors to roles utterly unsuited for them. There's this evil psychopath named Elliot who never really brings as much threat as he is required. Letting Isabel Lucas play a role that doesn't fit her age is perhaps the biggest mistake in the casting. Even with her capacity fully stretched, Lucas is never able to get halfway meeting all the demands of her character. Her character, Lena, is supposed to be a devious and cunning femme fatale, Isabel Lucas is plain boring. Almost the same can be said with Nick Jonas, although it's really hard to say his role's totally garbage, when almost half the time he's confused and waiting for a good line to throw. If it's any consolation, there's a lot of skin shown here, and I'm pretty sure Nick's fans as well as Isabel's will be pleased. Other than that, there's really nothing to expect.

It is really difficult to follow the narrative's flow when all that worries you is whether the characters are still going to be something interesting or not. The plot isn't new either, and it still could have been interesting, if the characters are played the way they're supposed to be. These flaws accrue to an overall feeling that is neither good nor okay, much less satisfying. Albeit cliché, CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR could have been an enjoyable experience. There is so much to mine in its premise, but its terrible casting paralyzes the movie and made itself incapable of digging such potential. The result is an overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction.

All together it's not all that bad of a flick, predictable yes, but still fun to watch to see where its all headed. I thought the talent could have been given a much better script to work with. As most mentioned previously the premise is old and tired,,,,,,some new twists could have been added to make it more interesting! Most probably watched for the eye candy, but again a flick that can be enjoyable if you don't get too serious about it and just kick back and watch.

This is a sexy story with adultery, quite a bit of skin and murder...and it stars Nick Jonas! Yes, THAT Nick Jonas...of the squeaky clean Disney-fied Jonas Brothers! Talk about a major about face with his career! Only a few years ago, he and his brothers were singing to sold out stadiums of pre-teen and teen girls...now Nick is playing in a hard edged rated R film! My how times have changed, but the real question that needs answering is it any good? Well, it's not at all bad but the film isn't without a few problems here and there. The biggest one was casting. No, Jonas was actually pretty good. While he's in his early 20s, he looks younger, so playing a character who is supposed to be 16-17 years- old worked. The problem instead was his co-star, Isabel Lucas. While her acting was quite good, the role should have been played by someone who seemed much older--perhaps a cougar in her 30s. However, Lucas looks to be about Jonas' age and this makes the story a bit more difficult to believe.

It all begins at a lake in North Carolina. Having lived very, very close to where they actually filmed the movie, it appears to be around Lake Norman--a large lake north of Charlotte, North Carolina that is known for it's expensive lakefront homes. The Martin's are a nice and seemingly normal family and their son, Doug (Jonas) is anticipating going off to an excellent college soon. But in the meantime, it's summer and he and his super-annoying friend (too annoying) are mostly concerned with scoring with the local girls. However, Doug is in for a huge surprise. His new rich neighbor has a very young and very desirable wife, Lena (Lucas). Why she would soon seduced Doug is a puzzler--and Doug is just young and stupid enough not to ask this as well. Soon, he and Lena are having an affair. Not too long after this he's pulled into a conspiracy...one that might just get them sent to prison! What is the conspiracy? Well, think The Postman Always Rings Twice and you'll have some idea what's next. Fortunately, the film does have a few nice twists and turns, though none of it seemed all that surprising to me, as a gorgeous and rich woman like this MUST have some other hidden agenda...and my guess is that this is going to run through your mind as well as you watch. However, despite the plot being occasionally a bit easy to predict at times and the ending a bit too perfect, the acting and direction are very good and the film held my interest throughout.

So is it worth seeing? Yes, though it isn't a film I'd rush to see- -though some of his old fans (provided they are now old enough to see a rated R movie) might enjoy seeing this harder edged Nick Jonas. Just be forewarned that you won't see THAT much of Nick in the film...if you catch my drift.

This Jonas brother's future looks pretty good after seeing this movie. Is he handsome leading man material? Perhaps, perhaps not...but he can act and was able to more than hold his own in the lead. His biggest problem for the future is his strength in this particular film--he just looks very, very young and I had some trouble seeing him in more adult roles. Time will tell.

This thriller stars Isabel Lucas, Nick Jonas, Dermot Mulroney, Paul Sorvino and Kandyse McClure. In short, this is another "someone's a murderer" movie + a Jonas brother.

I'm not a Jonas brother fan, but Nick did surprise me, he wasn't great but he wasn't as awful as I expected him to be. That being said, it's a good thing that Dermot Mulroney wasn't present in most of the movie because the six time award- winning actor might have out shined his co-star Nick

Isabel Lucas, although stunning, looks a little strange and unnatural with Nick. Regardless of this, she does have the voice, emotionless expression and body language of a classic James Bond girl in the beginning. This works for her as it suits the character she portrays but also might make it look like she cannot act. It would be interesting to see her in something else.

I should also mention that the plot is unfortunately un-original and somewhat predictable through half the movie. The acting of certain co-stars such as Kandyse McClure also leaves much to be desired. Maybe that's why this site and other sites, don't even mention her. That said if you're a Jonas fan you'll like this.