DANGEROUS LIAISONS
A film review by Jeff Meyer
Copyright 1989 Jeff Meyer
I guess I look at it this way: you can stuff Close and Malkovich into the dress of the nobility, place them in lavish sets (though, surprisingly, fairly pedestrian photography), and give them tons of room to emote in (I didn't see FATAL ATTRACTION, but I bet it was a lot like Close's next-to-final scene where she starts ripping up her dressing room); however, without a lot of quality, acid dialogue, there isn't a lot that separates DANGEROUS LIAISONS from DYNASTY.
This became evident pretty quickly into the picture. The plot is complex enough to be interesting, but since it all comes down to who-is-diddling-who, it resulted in a plot that was only marginally more interesting than a study of Paddington Station train schedules. What I really started to look for -- and what I never found -- was some witty, pointed dialogue that would supplement a group of characters I had no interest in following for two hours. Nada. I damn near fell asleep a couple of times.
Malkovich rarely seems to show emotion, and his final agony isn't very believable to me. Close is fun to watch, and she really can add some interest to the picture through her ability to look coy in 791 different ways, but it certainly isn't enough to save the ship. The others left next to no impression on me, except that the young man who duels with Malkovich played Ted in BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE. I fervently wish those two had shown up somewhere in this film.
Recommendation: skip it.
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
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