FATAL CHARM (1992) A "Turkey of the Week" film review by Justin Felix Copyright 1998 Justin Felix
Rating: * (out of five)
Written by Nicholas Niciphor. Directed by Alan Smithee. Starring Christopher Atkins, Amanda Peterson, Mary Frann. Rated R (contains violence, nudity, and profanity) 90 mins.
Synopsis: Valerie, a high school junior who doesn't look a day under 22, writes bad poetry, complains about how much she hates school, fantasizes about a young guy on trial for raping and murdering six women, chooses him as a pen pal, and plays hooky to see him in court. After a jailbreak, the killer puts on big sunglasses, wears a half-buttoned jacket, and uses his fatal charm to go after Valerie.
Comments: "Alan Smithee" directed FATAL CHARM, which should have been more appropriately titled "Fatal Bore" or "Fatal Crap". If you find out that a film you're about to see is directed by "Alan Smithee," then you should seriously, seriously, seriously consider watching something, anything, else. "Alan Smithee" is a pseudonym which a number of directors have used when they produce something really bad. Frankly, I'd be embarrassed if I had directed this turkey, so I think I understand why the director might have picked the "Alan Smithee" moniker for this film.
Where to begin with this painfully poor thriller? Let's start with the acting. It's pretty bad. Amanda Peterson plays Valerie and shows at least some talent (the rest of the cast don't), even though her performance isn't exactly stellar material. She's also miscast; she seems way too old to still have a year of high school to complete. Her scenes with Valerie's mother, played by Mary Frann, are a joke. The two look as though they're a couple of coworkers going out to lunch together, rather than a daughter with her mother who just doesn't understand. Christopher Atkins, a handsome enough actor who plays the killer, Adam, looks like a clown in the second half of FATAL CHARM. Trying to appear malicious and dangerous, he wears large sunglasses and a half-buttoned jacket. If Disney decided to do a zany comedy caper about the Unabomber, Atkins would probably be a perfect candidate for the lead, but he doesn't cut it here. Early on in the movie, a number of scenes occurs in a courtroom. Outside of the laughably poor performances given by the actors portraying lawyers, the people sitting in the benches provide the silliest effort at drama in the film. They constantly shift and turn and arc their heads in mock interest in what has got to be one of the worst perfomances that a large group of people have given at one time ever.
FATAL CHARM's storyline, such as it is, inspires more yawns than thrills. The script belabors a red herring, early on, about a second suspect who may have committed the murders for which Adam (Atkins) is charged with. This suspect, however, turns up strangled and drowned halfway through the film: an obvious plot fault. Even for the idiots who didn't consider the movie's title as Valerie and a blond newsreporter commented how innocent and charming the defendant seemed, it becomes quite obvious that Adam is dangerous when the other suspect washes up. So, the audience must wait (if they haven't already stopped watching) as the necessary details fall into place and the killer goes after the heroine in the drawn-out finale.
The video box for this dud describes FATAL CHARM as an "erotic thriller". A thriller it isn't, and neither is it particularly erotic. I can't imagine, if someone were in the mood for something "erotic," that he'd be happy after watching this fluff. A few erotic moments occur in the film; they take place in a van with little lighting and are filmed out of focus (see, they're supposed to be Valerie's fantasies -- how creative).
On a personal note, I was disturbed by the ludicrous English literature class shown in this film which Valerie had to suffer through. It's no wonder why she hated high school so much. As an instructor of English myself, I have a hard time accepting the fact that in a course emphasizing great literature, a teacher would stoop to reading a student's bad poetry (of course, it's Valerie's) about boyfriends out loud and then embarassing its author in front of class with questions about the poem's inspiration. I guess the public school system is still setting dubious standards for its students.
FATAL CHARM won't charm anyone, unless there's someone that's charmed by boring, lifeless, insipid, suspenseless thrillers. If you happen upon this turkey, just keep moving on.
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