FATAL INSTINCT
A Review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
FATAL INSTINCT
Rating (Linear 0 to 10): 3.0
Date Released: 10/29/93
Running Length: 1:30
Rated: PG-13 (Mature themes, language)
Starring: Armand Assante, Sean Young, Sherilyn Fenn, Kate Nelligan
Director: Carl Reiner
Producers: Katie Jacobs and Pierce Gardner
Screenplay: David O'Malley
Music: Richard Gibbs
Released by MGM
Ned Ravine (Armand Assante) has a duel career. By night, he's a tough, no-nonsense cop who always gets his man. By day, he's a defense attorney who defends most of the guys he catches. Despite his devotion to his cheating wife Lana (Kate Nelligan), Ned finds himself strangely attracted to his newest client, the mysterious and sensuous Lola Kane (Sean Young), who is determined to lure the lawyer/cop back to her place and into her bed. There's another woman in Ned's life, as well - his shy, innocent secretary Laura (Sherilyn Fenn), whose past is about to catch up to her in the form of an abusive husband that she ran away from. And as if Ned didn't have enough problems, his arch enemy has just been released from jail and is faxing him death threats.
FATAL INSTINCT is the next in a seemingly-endless series of parodies that sets its sights on recent blockbusters. As indicated by the title, the primary targets are BASIC INSTINCT and FATAL ATTRACTION. Thrown in for good measure are satires from DOUBLE INDEMNITY, CAPE FEAR, and SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY. Considering the fertile ground available with no less than five films being lampooned, you figure FATAL INSTINCT can't possibly miss the mark altogether. Bad assumption. This movie is about as stale and unfunny as they come.
This style of movie - the "AIRPLANE type" - had gotten old before 1993 began. The entries over the past few years have gotten progressively weaker, generating fewer laughs and providing more tedium. Nevertheless, Hollywood in its infinite wisdom decided to give us four more this year - LOADED WEAPON ONE, HOT SHOTS PART DEUX, ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS, and now FATAL INSTINCT.
Not only has the genre reached the stage where each new addition escalates the continued flogging of a very dead horse, but there's little zing to each individual one-liner, pun, or sight gag. For every joke that works in FATAL INSTINCT, there are a dozen that don't. Rapid-fire humor succeeds only when there are enough amusing bits to keep the viewer's mind off everything that falls through. In this film, it's painfully evident how unimaginative the script is.
Perhaps the strongest condemnation I can give is that this movie makes Mel Brooks' ROBIN HOOD picture look like a classic comedy. Most of the funniest moments in FATAL INSTINCT are shown in the theatrical and television trailers, and I didn't laugh a whole lot when I saw them then. Needless to say, their impact during the actual film was considerably less impressive. There are countless jokes that rely on sexual innuendo, but most of these aren't much more original than the graffiti found in an average high school boys' locker room.
Of the actors, only Armand Assante and Sherilyn Fenn give credible performances. Assante isn't as good doing the dead-pan cop as Leslie Nielsen, but he does an adequate job, and dances better than expected in high heels. He also has the best single line: "I don't look as stupid as I am." (If nothing else, that should tell you about the quality of humor in FATAL INSTINCT). Frankly, Sherilyn Fenn is too good to have been wasted in this movie. Kate Nelligan and Sean Young, however, with their annoying portrayals of lifeless characters, belong exactly where they are.
Personally, if I see another send-up of Sharon Stone's character in BASIC INSTINCT, I think I'll walk out of the theater. It wasn't funny the first time it was done, and by now it's gotten downright annoying. Who cares if she uncrossed her legs without any panties on? Let's move onto something new. Belaboring that issue is like watching this movie or continuing this review: pointless.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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