Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 14, 1995 TAG: 9510170110
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He writes the same movies over and over, and people in Hollywood pay him millions of dollars. Think about it. "Flashdance" became "Showgirls." "Jagged Edge" became "Basic Instinct" and now "Basic Instinct" has become "Jade."
It's got the same San Francisco setting and the same premise - naked kinky rich guy murdered in his mansion. The same heroes have the same crusty sidekicks and the same lust for the same primary suspects who are the same sexually voracious women. Even the car chases and glaring lapses in plotting are the same.
All that's missing is the one thing that made "Basic Instinct" work: a strong female character.
David Corelli (David Caruso) is a hotshot D.A. who's still carrying a torch for Trina Gavin (Linda Fiorentino), clinical psychologist and wife of Corelli's pal Matt (Chazz Palminteri), a high-powered defense lawyer. At the ritzy Black and White Ball, the three of them learn that a local millionaire has been murdered.
Imagine that, and Trina had seen him just that afternoon. They had tea and talked about art and she fondled his ceremonial ax ... the same one the cops found in his chest.
The other key elements are compromising photographs of the governor (Richard Crenna) and a prostitute (Angie Everhart), and evidence of an even stronger sexual nature. Though the on-screen action isn't as graphic as it was in "Basic Instinct," the sexual side of the story is much gamier. At the same time, it's also sillier. One seduction scene generated a lot of laughs at a preview screening.
The story is so far-fetched that it's probably pointless to criticize it on logical grounds, but after a series of ridiculous twists during which the cops fail to ask even the most simple questions - like "Where is your car?" - the big finish is a confusing mess.
Director William Friedkin brings the same sleek, broody atmosphere to the proceedings that Paul Verhoeven gave to "Basic Instinct," and he came up with a couple of fair chases, too.
But at the center of the story, Linda Fiorentino is no Sharon Stone, and that's where "Jade" really falls short. Stone's portrayal of a no-prisoners killer blonde provided the raw energy of "Basic Instinct." For comparative purposes, Linda Fiorentino is an anorexic shadow. Nothing here comes close to her memorable work in "The Last Seduction."
But that would have required some originality, a quality that's in short supply with "Jade."
\ Jade *1/2
A Paramount release playing at the Salem Valley 8 and Valley View 6. 97 min. Rated R for strong sexual content, language, violence, brief nudity.
by CNB