Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

7/114/18. Given that I watched this 27 years after it came out, and still found it good to watch says something about the writing and the acting. A good suspense thriller that reveals tidbits like the way you peel an onion, though not as tearful an experience. Hawn marries a man she eventually realizes, upon his "death" is not who she thought he was. Applying for social security benefits and finding she had no death benefits is the first clue to investigate what's going. Amateur sleuthing on Hawn's part reveals a whole lot, leaving her in danger. Worth catching.

Plot In A Paragraph: Adrienne (Goldie Hawn) and Jack Saunders (John Heard) have a perfect marriage, but Adrienne begins to suspect Jack of an affair when he is spotted in New York when he is supposed to be out if town. All of that is forgotten when her world comes crashing down after the death of Jack in a car accident. Deceived starts off very good and gets even better before it sadly becomes ludicrous, predictably ludicrous in fact. I've always had a soft spot got Hawn, as I used I have a crush on her as a kid things like "Private Benjamin", "Wild Cats", "Best Friends" and "Overboard" had me smitten and when I saw her again on "Bird On A Wire" the year before this, I knew I still had a thing for her, despite her advancing years. Anyway here she is excellent in a different type of role. She pretty much carries the movie on her own. Sadly the same can't be said for Heard. He ridiculously over acts. Ashley Peldon (The young Pheobe Cates from "Drop Dead Fred") is good as their daughter. In fact she puts in a better performance than Heard.It's a shame it ended so poorly as it started so well.

Rare straight role for Goldie Hawn--no yucking it up here--is a totally serious part, a departure from the rest of her oeuvre. She portrays the happy wife to a husband who dies under supposed tragic circumstances, only for her investigation into his past turning up results she couldn't possibly have prepared for. John Heard is mainly involved in the ending with Hawn doing a lot of the heavy dramatic lifting. This part for Hawn features a rather aching, somber, and frustrated character; learning that your loving husband is a totally completely person, her Adrienne having to come to terms with some harsh realities, the role requires a certain type of disturbed, unsettled, and saddened temperament/response to the developments that transpire during her investigation. Heard's calm and rather ordinary phone call to Hawk, having their daughter in his possession, demanding the jewel necklace, and wanting her not to phone the police (or tell the woman next to her what their conversation's about) proves just how much of a sociopath he really is. Heard does lose it at the end when he must explain to Hawn that he does what is necessary when he has her cornered and seemingly at his mercy. Moody photography is a major plus even if a lot of the Hollywood devices (cat jumping out, pigeons flocking about out the window, the eye peering through the crack of a closet door, the little girl complaining to mommy in horror that a man was in her room) typical in these types of thrillers are used throughout. Doesn't invent the wheel, but Deceived should be of interest to fans of Goldie. The loud sound effects and noisy, obtrusive score, especially at the end when Heard is after Goldie and the necklace, can be a bit overbearing, but I like this change of pace for Hawn, trying a different genre (although, Foul Play was kind of comic thriller), and not relying on her gifted comedy skills must have been a challenge worth taking. Identity theft, so prevalent today, works its way into the investigation revealing Heard for the fraud that he is.

Deceived is directed by Damian Harris and written by Mary Agnes Donoghue & Bruce Joel Rubin. It stars Goldie Hawn & John Heard with music by Thomas Newman and Cinematography from Jack N. Green. Plot sees Hawn as a New York art restorer who finds her world is not as it seems after the unexpected death of her husband (Heard).Effective "straight" acting from Hawn in a so so thriller that promises more than it delivers. That Harris' movie never succeeds where other similar themed thrillers have is down to the unadventurous script. Which is a shame because tonally, visually and aurally the film is a triumph. There's a heavy weight of familiarity that hangs over the piece and we yearn for the story to step up a grade and give us something new. We can accept implausibilities, some of which are just stupid here, if the story takes us in an unexpected direction, sadly Deceived reverts to type right down to the cat & mouser chase finale that closes with complete absurdity.As "Sleeping With The Enemy" proved (released the same year as Deceived), there is, and always will be, a market for well budgeted thrillers. Particually when led by good female character actors. Yet Deceived commits one of the ultimate sins against a supposed "heroine" character, it makes her look, well, dopey. The little twists and turns have a Hitchcockian feel to them, but they just come off as contrived. Thus as Hawn goes about unravelling the mystery that's come about after the can of worms is opened, the shock value is mostly tepid.Great scoring from Newman and atmospheric photography from Green help to create the illusion this is a better film than it actually is. Even Heard deserves a pat on the back for managing to not let the script bog his acting down as he makes the character work. But this is mostly forgettable stuff and can't be recommended with confidence. 5/10