Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 23, 1993 TAG: 9301230230
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
`HEXED' MAKES YOU WANT TO LAUGH OUT LOUD
"Hexed" is an irreverent, low-budget black comedy that's much funnier than it has a right to be.People aren't supposed to laugh at jokes about murder, fashion models and weight-loss plans, but maybe it's time they did. At its core, the film is an "Airplane"-like parody of the lethal-blonde flicks that have been so popular in recent years - from "Fatal Attraction" to "Basic Instinct."
It's writer-director Alan Spencer's theatrical debut, but he got his start with the TV series "Sledge Hammer." The film shares the series' strengths and weaknesses. Some of the jokes are so sharp, accurate and unexpected that they're laugh-out-loud funny. At other times, the action is pointlessly frantic, neither amusing nor exciting.
Flaws not withstanding, anyone with a taste for humor that's not afraid to be offensive will probably enjoy "Hexed."
Our hero is Matthew (Ayre Gross), assistant manager of the Palace Hotel and compulsive liar, who has a real fixation on the world-class model Hexina (Claudia Christian). When he learns that she's going to be staying incognito at the hotel, he tells everybody that they've known each other for years.
Then, to everyone's surprise including his own, he manages to get a date with her. But Hexina has a few little problems. For openers, she likes to punch out mimes. Then there's the pistol in her purse. And the body in the refrigerator. Along the way, the film also takes some casual swipes at the Rodney King video, advertising, sex and several other semi-sacred cows.
"Hexed" was shot in Texas, and it has the grainy look of a threadbare budget, but that's as it should be. If this kind of comedy gets too tony it loses its bite. Spencer never forgets what he's trying to do, and he doesn't tack on any false preachiness, either. He got terrific performances from the two leads. Gross does a good enough job, but Claudia Christian's sustained vamp-from-hell routine is worth the price of a ticket all by itself.
The film isn't perfect - far from it. Some of the routines don't work, and there are some flat stretches, but good strong black comedy is so rare these days that it's pointless to quibble. "Hexed" is the first sleeper of 1993.
Hexed: ***
A Columbia release playing at the Salem Valley 8. 90 min. Rated R for all the right reasons: nudity, comic sexual activity, violence, strong language, mime-abuse.