Body Of Evidence may or may not be the worst film of the 1990s: it certainly presents a compelling example of a project gone pear shaped to the point of being interesting for all the wrong reasons.
Body Of Evidence would have had a better chance of success with a half-decent script and a half-decent director. Instead Brad Mirman wrote a screenplay that gets lamer the harder it tries for eroticism, and once promising director Uli Edel used Body Of Evidence to prove his inability to deliver quality movies, spending most of the rest of his tattered career in TV land.
And the hole at the centre of this donut is Madonna, flapping her eyelids in a desperate attempt to prove that she belongs on the big screen, and utterly failing to convince. Madonna's lightweight presence at the heart of Body Of Evidence tilts the whole enterprise towards farce. Next to her on the screen, Willem Dafoe, Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, Julianne Moore, Frank Langella and Jurgen Prochnow hang on for dear life as they realize that their careers may be drowning in a sea of ineptitude.
As for the plot, old man Andrew Marsh is found dead in his bed. Rebecca Carlson (Madonna) is his much younger lover, and she is soon arrested for having induced Marsh's death by intentionally straining his heart with ever more kinky sex. Rebecca's lawyer is Frank Dulaney (Dafoe), and although he is happily married to Sharon (Julianne Moore), Rebecca is soon tying him up, straddling him naked, and dripping hot wax on his chest in what is meant to be an erotic lovemaking session. Better is yet to come when they have sex in a dank parkade as shards of glass tear through his skin.
Nevertheless, Prosecutor Robert Garrett (Mategna) wants to deprive the world of Rebecca's unique skill set by throwing her in jail for murder, and he thinks he has a strong case, particularly as Rebecca stands to inherit Marsh's fortune. Marsh's secretary Joanne (Archer) is ready to testify that Rebecca shoved cocaine up March's nose; a former lover is uncovered and he testifies that Rebecca also tried to push his heart over the edge with too much sex, and Marsh's doctor Alan (Prochnow) confesses that Rebecca found out from him that Marsh had a weak heart.
All these witnesses eventually implode into a spectacular mess in the farcical courtroom, as Rebecca and Frank are able to discredit them with ever more ludicrous revelations, all without any research, support staff, or actual work to interrupt the hot sex sessions in Rebecca's floating house with flowing curtains. Rebecca walks, and Frank has to confront her when he is shocked -- shocked! -- that she was, actually and after all, behind the murder of Andrew Marsh.
Body Of Evidence is not bad enough to be funny, just bad enough to make for compelling viewing as several careers suffer nasty damage in a most unfortunate screen wreck.
All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.
Body Of Evidence would have had a better chance of success with a half-decent script and a half-decent director. Instead Brad Mirman wrote a screenplay sluggish ....
ReplyDeleteEx-promising director Uli Edel used Body Of Evidence to prove his inability to deliver quality movies, spending most of the rest of his tattered career in TV land.
But there is Madonna! The centre is sexy Madonna, flapping her eyelids in a desperate attempt to prove that she belongs on the big screen. ... but the only thing he knows how to do is get... "slammed" by all the male protagonists in the film!
Amazingly, a talented group of performers signed on for this erotic-trhiller mishmash, including Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, Frank Langella, Jurgen Prochnow, and Julianne Moore, all of whom do their best to breathe some life into this movie.
Willem Dafoe, also a good actor, is the most uncomfortably miscast of the bunch as Madonna's lawyer who is susceptible to his gorgeous client's sultry charms. He is absolutely not fit for a role, not being sexy! Devil: let's talk about Doctor Goblin...
As for Madonna herself, she is the perfect choice for such a from slut role. The part doesn't call for much more than removing clothing and heavy-breathing, moan, and... mount the cock of her naive lawyer and her old lover, riding them with a conviction that would make even Cicciolina pale ! Madonna was smoking hot in this sex scenes and I'd bet the actors had to take a Valium to keep the excitement under control and contained if you catch my drift...... And as long as the script she is given sticks to those aspects, then she is safe.
But deep down who cares about history, ... whose killer is it,... whether Madonna is guilty or not .... Us horny little boys, are here to see this silly but funny B-movie , only for one... reason...