You won't be disappointed!

A Disappointing Continuation

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

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Slasher flicks being all the rage in 1981, it isn't any wonder producer Robert Stigwood had the idea of staging one with classy stars in the leads. Lauren Bacall plays the movie and Broadway actress being stalked by a psychotic admirer in New York City, James Garner is her concerned ex-husband and Maureen Stapleton is her long-suffering secretary. What these seasoned performers are doing in an ungainly, bloody thriller such as this is an ever bigger mystery than why young Michael Biehn worships Bacall's Sally Ross in the first place (is he stuck in a Harold and Maude phase?). The screenwriters show the lovestruck fan to be delusional--a lazy out--while also dropping the caveat that his family sends him money to live on, convenient since he can't hold a job. Stapleton gives this funereal thriller a little juice, cinematographer Dick Bush provides a bravura opening credits sequence, and Pino Donaggio contributes a decent background score. Otherwise, this "Fan" letter should be marked Return to Sender. *1/2 from ****

I have seen THE FAN at least 3-4 times and am never disappointed in it. Of course watching Lauren Bacall in any movie is a thrill. Sad that she recently passed away. R.I.P. She plays an actress of the Broadway stage doing a musical, not unknown to Miss Bacall having done several Bway shows including musicals such as APPLAUSE and WOMAN OF THE YEAR. As a matter of fact her first film break had her singing to Humphrey Bogart in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT with Hogey Carmichael. She had Hogey and Bogie. Just a little humor.Back to this movie. The wonderful Maureen Stapleton plays Lauren's secretary and as usual is brilliant almost stealing the film. She never misses a beat this fine actress. Add to that James Garner in a somewhat thankless role and Hector Alonzo as Lauren's suitors. However the real treat is to watch Michael Biehn make his film debut as the crazed psycho who is an ardent fan that goes too far in stalking his favorite actress. He plays an in the closet gay boy, which isn't really the theme of the story but explains his frequent trips to gay bars and gyms in search of his next victim.The film had that New York theatre feeling. Well filmed and written, to me it is worth seeing again and again. Biehn has done well from his beginning work having done several good films since and still working in the industry. His gorgeous youthful face from THE FAN has now become a wonderful chiseled character face that is intriguing. Here's to THE FAN.

The opening credit indicates that this is a Robert Stigwood production. So from then on, you have been warned. What is a guy known for The Bee Gees and the Grease movies doing getting involved in a slasher film? Well, it isn't all bad. The casting is very good on all fronts. Lauren Bacall stars as an aging actress trying her hand at Broadway late in her career. Michael Biehn, an upcoming talent who would make his mark mostly in James Cameron action movies, plays Douglas Breen who is an odd young man stalking her. James Garner offers fine support as Bacall's supportive ex husband. Maureen Stapleton is on hand as the put-upon secretary who first tries to warn her boss about this weirdo sending her letters. She is the first victim as Biehn begins to lash out violently after his advances are ignored. Several others also face his wrath before the finale.The fine cast, good cinematography, and Pino Donaggio score do a decent job of window dressing this routine plot. They are just enough to make this watchable. The script cannot support the premise as the plot moves along, however. First of all, once the secretary is brutally slashed in a subway attack, Biehn stops using his last name and address on the letters he writes Bacall. And conveniently all his others with that in formation have been thrown out. Sure. There is a particularly brutal attack on Bacall's young new boyfriend in a YMCA swimming pool where he is basically gutted by Biehn in plain sight of several witnesses. No way he would have gotten out of there without being caught. No way. Several other scenes ring false as Biehn clearly stands out in the crowd while stalking Bacall. And just how exactly did he get into her secured building to kill the maid and trash the place??? Never explained. They didn't even try.But still, it keeps you watching. The performances are better than the material deserves. Bacall plays her character honestly, and you can see the talent she still has in many phases. She was aging here, but gracefully and honestly. It didn't look like she'd had much surgery back then, and Botox may have not even been invented. If nothing else is on, you will probably find yourself watching this all the way through. 6 of 10 stars.The Hound.

Released by Paramount, this late entry in Grand Dame Guingol was Lauren Bacall's last lead role in a feature film. Her character's name is Sally Ross, but she's basically playing herself;she smokes, she drinks, she croaks. Bacall does a good job of playing herself and Michael Beihn is effectively cast as the fan. The Fan is an efficiently directed slasher film sprinkled with nastiness and musical numbers featuring music and lyrics by Marvin Hamlisch and Tim Rice. Based on Bob Randal's novel, which was written in the form of letters, the film uses extensive voice over to good effect. Something of an oddity, The Fan mixes camp, songs, and horror. The slasher scenes seem inspired by DePalma and Dario Argentio. The worst aspect of the film is a dull James Garner as Bacall's ex; his character has no bearing on the plot, and no business being in this film. The film makes for an so-so thriller in which an individual in peril makes not all the wrong decisions and the concluding scenes are noticeably contrived. The film is distinguished by it's celebrity stalker theme, and gets a boost from Maureen Stapleton as Bacall's quick-witted assistant, NYC locations, a genre-appropriate score, and good photography.Several comments made regarding the film's perceived homophobia seem to miss the point of the scene in the gay bar; Douglas clearly planned to fake his suicide, and needed his victim's corpse for that purpose. Douglas is portrayed as delusional, so his sexuality, whatever it may be, would seem to be repressed. Whether Douglas is gay or not isn't the issue here. The Paramount DVD release omits the line heard in the theatrical release, "How'd you like to get f#*ked by a meat cleaver b*tch!?" It was heard in Douglas' voice-over when the maid's body is discovered. See The Fan for what it is:competent, glossy trash, and you'll wind up enjoying it.