Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 3, 1993 TAG: 9303030171
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Mike Mayo
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
THESE WOMEN WANT TO GET YOU WHERE YOU LIVE
These days, if you watch many movies - either in theaters or on tape - you'd think that the most dangerous criminals in America are attractive young white women.Forget drug kingpins, terrorists and gangsters; they're impotent wimps compared to Killer Babes. These women are sexy, ruthless, smart, manipulative and murderous. Why, though, have they become so popular on the silver screen and the video store?
First, a little history:
The Killer Babe's foremothers were created by novelist James M. Cain in the 1930s and '40s. Cora in "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and Phyllis in Theresa Russell was terrific as she did in several husbands in 1987's "Black Widow." "Double Indemnity" were brought to the screen by Lana Turner and Barbara Stanwyck in good films that considerably water down Cain's eroticism, but retain the women's strong characters and essential natures. They're sexually adventurous - and willing to break the law when it suits their needs.
Writer-director Lawrence Kasdan and actress Kathleen Turner certainly had them in mind when they created Matty Walker in "Body Heat" (1981). She, singlehandedly, is the link between the prototypes and today's Killer Babe who was born in the late 1980s. Like her precursors, she is an attractive woman who uses a lover to get rid of an inconvenient husband, and, with a little luck, turn a tidy profit in the process.
But there are two important differences between Matty and Cain's women. First, she's always one step ahead of her hapless accomplice. As she tells William Hurt, in the film's best line, "You're not very bright. I like that in a man." Second, Matty gets away with it. That's right. She's resourceful; she really applies herself and perseveres against the odds and a male-dominated legal system. Finally, she triumphs.
All right, she's not a perfect role model, but she marks a significant shift in female characters. Despite the criticism that's been leveled at American movies, they tend to be strictly moralistic. Virtue is rewarded, and sin is punished. That's more true for women than for men. The hero can be a real rascal, but as long as he straightens out by the last reel, his transgressions can be forgiven. Not so with the conventional heroine. She's expected to retain a certain purity, despite the circumstances.
Matty is not conventional. She's such a self-sufficient, strong-willed character that it was six years before another like her appeared. 1987 saw not one but two Killer Babes.
Theresa Russell was terrific in "Black Widow," a slick exercise in camp thrills, about a woman who does in a series of older, wealthy husbands. But later that year, Glenn Close got most of the attention for "Fatal Attraction." As a thriller, it's an overrated remake of Clint Eastwood's superior "Play Misty For Me," but the film contains one of the keys to the new Killer Babe's popularity.
She's an effective and frightening character because she threatens viewers on a uniquely personal level. She attacks the basic unit of society: the family. Her motivation is more complex than simple monetary gain, and with the easing of society's strictures against divorce, an unhappy marriage alone isn't enough to bring the Killer Babe to full flower.
She engages the hero - and by extension, the audience - on the most intimate terms, disrupting the home and threatening blood relations. In other words, she literally wants to get you where you live.
In "Shattered," Greta Scacchi plays out an intricate charade involving husband, lover and friends. In "Final Analysis," sisters Kim Basinger and Uma Thurmond plot against an abusive husband and a thick-headed psychiatrist. Jennifer Jason Leigh sabotages Bridget Fonda's engagement and kills her puppy in "Single White Female." Rebecca de Mornay infiltrates Anabelle Sciorra's home and alienates her from her child, husband and handyman in "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle." Drew Barrymore goes after her new friend's mother, father and dog in "Poison Ivy."
There's also one video original that deserves to be mentioned along with those big-budget theatrical releases. "Positive I.D." takes many of the conventions of a Killer Babe mystery, turns them inside out, and twists them into a devilishly original and unpredictable story. It's an independent production that you can find the tucked away on the back shelves of some video stores. Writer-director Andy Anderson's film has developed a small but devoted cult following, and deserves to be much more widely known.
Of course, Hollywood slavishly imitates success, and that's why there have been so many of these movies recently. But something else is going on here, too.
The Killer Babe, in her many incarnations, provides a focus for all of the confusion, resentment, anger and discomfort that many men and women feel about women's roles in society. Simultaneously attractive and threatening, she's a figure who keeps audiences off-balance.
In the context of movies and videos, off-balance also means interested. Audiences are intrigued by this character because they don't know what she's going to do. Even at her worst - her most derivative and exploitative - the Killer Babe combines the two elements of drama that have been proven crowd-pleasers since the ancient Greeks. They called them eros and thanatos. To us, they're sex and violence. When a combination works, viewers are willing to stick with it.
New releases
Of Mice and Men: ****
Stars Gary Sinise, John Malkovich, Ray Walston, Sherilyn Fenn. Directed by Gary Sinise. Rated PG-13 for violence; 110 minutes. (Warner-MGM/UA)
A lovely, spare and poignant adaptation of John Steinbeck's novella about the friendship between two migrant farm workers. One is physically powerful but mentally retarded. The other looks after him. An unforgettable movie.
Honeymoon in Vegas: ***
Stars Nicolas Cage, Sara Jessica Parker, James Caan. Directed by Andrew Bergman. Rated PG-13; 103 minutes. (Columbia Tristar)
Bergman brings a typical offbeat touch to this light bit of escapism about a marriage-shy guy who loses his girl for the weekend in a high-stakes poker game.
Light Sleeper: ***
Stars Willem Dafoe, Dana Delaney Susan Sarandon. Directed by Paul Schrader. Rated R. 103 minutes. (LIVE)
Schrader's movies are not noted for consistency, but they demand attention because of unconventional subjects or unpredictable approaches. This one is a drug-dealer movie without Uzis, crack houses and screaming sirens. But this low-key account of drug dealers who cater to the upscale is curiously mesmerizing, a mood piece of existential alienation.
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland: **
Animated. Directed by Masami Hata and William Hurtz. Rated G, but it does contain some scary parts. 80 minutes. (Hemdale)
Younger viewers entranced by any animated film will probably be delighted by this one, based on Winsor McCay's comic strip. Older kids may find it too slow and too cute for their tastes. At its best, this adaptation has the fluid, ever-changing reality of a dream. At its worst, it's a clumsy retelling of familiar stories with instantly forgettable songs.
Rapid Fire: **1/2
Stars Brandon Lee, Powers Booth. Directed by Dwight H. Little. Rated R for graphic violence, strong language, sexual content, brief nudity. 94 minutes. (FoxVideo)
For non-fans of the genre, there are too many shortcomings to recommend this fast-paced martial arts movie, but Brandon Lee, son of Bruce, is an appealing young actor who could easily make the move to a larger audience. This one is ultra-violent and senseless enough to give fans their money's worth.
Cool World:
Stars Gabriel Byrne, Brad Pitt, Kim Basinger. Directed by Ralph Bakshi. Rated PG-13 for sexual content, strong language, graphic cartoon violence. 98 minutes. (Paramount)
This disaster is garish and flat-out ugly. Bakshi let his penchant for the grotesque run amok in this combination of live action and animation. "Roger Rabbit" it ain't. The story is choppy, and the human and animated characters never even appear to touch each other.