Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

From my favorite movies..

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Right from the start, "The Hot Spot" promises something different – it has a terrific sense of place, and we feel we already know a lot about Don Johnson's character. Although heat, sex and southern accents are nothing new to drama, they haven't often been put together in a slicker package – Dennis Hopper took film noir on a trip to Texas and came up with a polished, classy-looking movie with great lines and a few twists you don't see coming.The icing on the cake is a soundtrack featuring Miles Davis and John Lee Hooker, which punctuates the story at key points with knowing grunts and moans. The repeated refrain, "Well, well, well", suggests a weary acceptance of human frailty.Johnson's character, Harry Madox, arrives in the Texas town of Landers. He is a drifter, a smart one, but his life seems to be going nowhere. One of the characters puts his finger on the problem when he says to Harry, "What are you anyway – 35-36? Well, you sure as hell haven't set the world on fire so far or you wouldn't be hanging around a place like this". "Yeah, replies Harry, "but I've got ambition".Harry is ready for any opportunity that presents itself, and it doesn't take him long to shake things up, especially the libidos of two women – Gloria Harper and Dolly Harshaw – played by Jennifer Connelly and Virginia Madsen.Using his wits, Harry gets a job at the used car lot owned by George Harshaw where the beautiful Gloria works. Not long after, he meets Harshaw's wife Dolly, and begins an affair with her. "There are only two things to do in this town", she informs him, and as he doesn't have a television set, that only leaves one thing to do. Before the film has finished, Harry and Dolly make love in Harshaw's bedroom, in a car at the used car lot, and even in a sawmill after an evening of spectacular skinny-dipping. Despite Dolly's attraction to him, Harry's interest in Gloria continues to grow, although she is only 19 to his 36.Virginia Madsen throws herself into her role as the scheming wife of a much older man with heart trouble. Her performance is showy, amusing and over-the-top. She provides the light moments in a film that might otherwise be heavy going. She is also the perfect contrast to Jennifer Connelly's detached and ethereal Gloria.Despite his preoccupations, Harry sizes up the Landers bank and pulls off a robbery. He immediately comes under suspicion from the law. After a swim with Gloria – there is a lot of swimming in this film – Harry learns she is being blackmailed by a low-life named Frank Sutton over photographs that suggest she has had a lesbian relationship. William Sadler as Sutton embraces the white trash clichés with relish and delivers a superbly repellent character. Sutton also attempts to blackmail Harry over the bank robbery. Harry's attempt to solve both blackmail problems precipitates the film's final act."The Hot Spot" hits the right spot with a great script and perfect performances – it also has a twist ending to rival the best of them. It's surprising that it didn't do better when first released but it's a great little discovery for anyone who comes across it now.

The hot spot is complete package to me,as it contains drama, thriller, romance,seduction and everything was accomplished perfectly by Director Dennis Hopper.But i don't know why the rating of this movie is so low,certainly it deserves better rating.The plan of making fire and robbing bank by Harry Madox was good, but the ultimate game planing and game playing by Dolly Harshaw made the story certainly stronger.I think Virginia Madsen was the best performer of this movie playing very seductive and bad character. Jennifer Connelly was brilliant by expressing her innocent and good image.Don Johnson did his job very well also.Director made a good point in the end that we should certainly find our level.

Dennis Hopper was such a charismatic actor that it's easy to forget that he was also an accomplished director. The Hot Spot is a film which seems to be almost forgotten. Yet it is an excellent piece of work.Don Johnson is a drifter who takes a car salesman job in a small town, and becomes embroiled romantically with two local women: innocent secretary with a secret Jennifer Connelly, and earthy married woman with rich older husband Virginia Madsen. Within this limited scenario, quite a lot of plot takes place.Johnson has always seemed a bit lightweight to me, but he is excellent in this. And the two female leads are both excellent, giving performances which are both intense and highly sexual, in two very different ways.But it is Hopper's direction which gives the film an overpowering air of oppressiveness, sex and, yes, heat. It is not called The Hot Spot for nothing.

When the drifter Harry Madox (Don Johnson) reaches a small town in Texas, he gets a job as used car salesman with the dealer George Harshaw (Jerry Hardin) and settles down in a hotel room. During a fire, Harry observes that the local bank is left empty and open without any security. Sooner he plots a scheme to rob the bank, provoking a fire in his room to distract the employees. When Harry meets George's wife Dolly Harshaw (Virginia Madsen), the easy woman teases him and they have sex. Harry becomes the prime suspect of the bank heist and is arrested, but Dolly provided the necessary alibi to release him and blackmails him to have a love affair with her. However, Harry falls in love for Gloria Harper (Jennifer Connelly), who works as accountant in the dealership. He discovers that Gloria is blackmailed by the despicable Frank Sutton (William Sadler) and he decides to press Sutton. But in the end, Dolly gets what she wants. "Hot Spot" is an unknown gem and one of the most amoral stories of the cinema history. With the exception of the sweet Gloria Harper and the cuckold George Harshow, the other three lead characters have no moral or ethical codes and Virginia Madsen performs one of the most despicable and Machiavellian femme fatale of the cinema. This masterpiece of Dennis Hopper is certainly the best work of Don Johnson and the soundtrack is stunning and among my favorites. I have just watched "Hot Spot" maybe for the sixth or seventh time and this film-noir has not aged. My vote is nine.Title (Brazil): "Hot Spot – Um Local Muito Quente" ("Hot Spot – A Very Hot Spot")Note: On 29 October 2011, I saw this film again.