A Disappointing Continuation

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A spoof of the erotic thriller genre in the "Naked Gun" mold, "Fatal Instict" must have been funnier back in 1993. Now, a lot of its references to other movies ("Sleeping With The Enemy", "Cape Fear", "Body Heat"), though still recognizable, have lost much of their topicality. The film is full of "meta" gags which are sometimes clever, sometimes derivative. The cast is certainly game: Armand Assante is perfectly deadpan, and the women (devious Kate Nelligan, sweet Sherilyn Fenn and slinky Sean Young) are terrific. Also, Carl Reiner's direction doesn't over-rush the pacing like most such spoofs, and Richard Gibbs' music score is spot-on. **1/2 out of 4.

When a producer selects the actors and actresses for a film, it's usually in his mind what he is looking for. The selection Mr. Carl Reiner made in this film "Fatal Instinct" is nothing short of incredible. Taking a cue from the film parried here ( Fatal Attraction) from the moment it begins, you will begin laughing, so one had better have a good grip on his chair. Whoever selected straight actors or at least actors with a serious streak to do comedy knew they were trolling for gold. What they achieved is memorable in various films, like airplane and Horror Movie. In this hilarious offering, Reiner combines the works of the 1950's black/white films with modern murder venues. Armand Assante is incredible as Ned Ravine, super sleuth and lawyer. Sherilyn Fenn as Laura Lincolnberry, Kate Nelligan is Lana Ravine and Sean Young playing Lola Cain. All take the hero for a mind-bending spin and spoofs and succeed. However, the best selection for real comedy out of his element is none other than James Remar (The Warriors) , who plays, Max Shady. The outcome is fantastic. You've got to see this film for all it's humor. ***

Ned Ravine is a cop and a lawyer. He has only lost one case--Max Shady was sent to Sam Quentin Prison and, now that he is about to be released, he wants revenge.Ned's wife Lana is cheating on him with Frank, the mechanic. There is a $3 million insurance policy on Frank's life, and under very unique circumstances (which Lana hopes to make happen) the amount will be tripled.Not that Ned is completely innocent. Lola needs Ned's help, and she's not wearing panties. Unlike Sharon Stone in 'Basic Instinct', she has her back to the camera when she makes this fact quite obvious to Ned.Ned's secretary has flashbacks of her abusive relationship at the strangest times. She is quite pleasant, though, and good at her job, and otherwise seems happy.This is what happens in the movie. How it all happens--that's what makes the movie unique. The opening resembles Film Noir, though it is in color, with a narrator and a saxophone playing. We eventually see the narrator on screen, and the man with him is getting tired of listening. Clarence Clemons, the sax player, also appears in the scene, and numerous others. In a later scene a trumpet is being played instead, by Doc Severinsen--the explanation is that Clarence is taking a break.Many of the gags involve breaking the fourth wall, such as when two people in a park speak in Yiddish so no one will understand. Bill Cobbs plays the man who offers advice about their situation. He can understand because he saw the subtitles.In a courtroom, Bob Uecker delivers play-by-play and Tony Randall impresses as the judge. When the court is in recess, this takes place on a playground. In another scene, putting flowers in water takes on a whole new meaning.Numerous other jokes in the style of movies such as 'Airplane!' show up. And as in that movie, they are delivered in such a way it's not clear they are funny. Some are so obvious, but then they would never be done in an ordinary movie. Others are not so obvious. The writing is quite clever, though not all the jokes worked for me. Perhaps this is because I did not know the movies that were being parodied. I did recognize a couple of scenes from 'Fatal Attraction'. One scene involving a pet on a roller coaster made no sense to me.I enjoy this type of movie, though some have been done better.

The multi-talented Carl Reiner blows the crime-drama genre wide open in this film, but the results are nowhere near as funny as intended. A handful of clever gags are interspersed with tons of leaden jokes. This over-the-top takeoff on movies like "Fatal Attraction," "Basic Instinct" and numerous B movies tries much too hard. It announces its intentions with tough-guy voice-over narration delivered by the main character, Ned Ravine (Armand Assante), who is a lawyer/cop and an intended murder victim. Kate Nelligan is his cheating wife, and Christopher McDonald is her auto mechanic/insurance salesman/lover. These two hatch a murder scheme loosely based on the one in "Double Indemnity," and they quote (and misquote) lines spoken by Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in that classic 1944 film, but to no avail. Slapstick vies with verbal gymnastics and Hollywood in-jokes as David O'Malley's script lurches from one silly situation to another in an effort to get audiences rolling in the aisles. Maybe some audiences do roll, but unless you find bouquets flushed down toilets the height of hilarity, you probably won't. The sad thing is that this picture has an excellent cast—including Sean Young as a film-noir temptress and James Remar as a maniacal goon—and features cameos by Eartha Kitt, Tony Randall, Rosie O'Donnell and the director himself, who appears standing at a urinal. Reiner has done many good things on television over the years, and it's possible some of the hi-inks in this movie might work in a sketch. Here, unfortunately, the old pro steps up to the plate and swings mightily but whiffs. It's a strikeout, leaving several fine runners on base.