BACARDI BLACK
REVIEW FILM
BOUND AND GAGGED: A lOVE STORY
Just when you thought you’d seen every possible variation on the road movie, along comes Bound And Gagged: A love Story, with a kidnap plot that Involves two female bisexuals and a tilted guy still dazed from an unsuccessful suicide attempt. We are not, as you might have realised, on the highways travelled in the typical llollywood pic, but out on an indie detour with its own moral and ethical signposts.
After failing to successfully transfer a bullet from a gun to his head, Cliff (Chris Benton) is rescued from the mess of his broken marriage by his best friend Elizabeth (Elizabeth Saltarrelli), who extends her good deeds for the day by kidnapping her
lover Leslie (Ginger lynn Allen). Convinced that all leslie needs is to
be deprogrammed from her
dependence on violent husband Steve
I l I
5 (Daniel Appleby, US, 1992) Ginger [you 3 3 Allen, Elizabeth Saltarrelli, 5 Christopher Benton. 95 mins. From Fri
(Chris Mulkey), the trio head off in a car, but soon discover that the most obvious solutions aren’t necessarily
the best
Bound And Gagged nicely blends comedy and sex with more serious issues. Whether they realise it or not, everyone here is caught up in some sort of obsessive relationship, but by casting themselves in a new fantasy roles - would-be suicide, kidnapper, faithful wife - they only shift from one obsession to another. With her handcuffs, chloroform et al, Elizabeth : becomes almost as much of a sexual bully as Steve, while Leslie - the . perennial victim - ultimately is able to §
.begin standing up for herself. Overall,
however, it’s a movie that enjoys the dubious taste of a world where
everyone - morals and all - is slightly
out of alignment. (AM) E Bound And Gagged: A Love Story (18)
5 -4; ‘ Bound And Gagged: “blends comedy and sex
with more serious issues' ; salvage. lt’ll go on to do
17: Glasgow Film Theatre.
j surprisingly good box
Malice: ’amusingly predictable‘
IIZIIIIIIIIII MALICE
Andy (Bill Pullman) is a college dean trying to solve a series of nasty
to Tracy (Nicole Kidman) and working on the DIY in the small town of Westerly, Mass. Until, of course, slam- dunkin’, hot-shot surgeon Jed (Alec Baldwin) blows into town and latches himself onto the happy couple . . . Malice is a sort of transported version of Indecent Proposal - your basic ‘ideal pairing under threat’ movie, which wanders off into slasher
dumping genres and taking off with a
sli htl more cerebral thriller lod. ( 9 V) p and ucis.
The switcheroo is handled none too
cleverly and, considering the director i - is llarold Becker (responsible for the excellent Sea Of Love some years back), it comes as some surprise that the resulting twists and turns are of campus crimes; he’s blissfully married amusmg'y pmd'cmb'e p'opomons' Though she’s the star, Kidman is a towerineg unexceptional screen presence — better by far is Bebe lleuwirth (lilith out of Cheers) in an ungenerous role as a local cop. But it’s movies like this that make you wonder if the formula thriller has finally run out of gas. Or maybe they’ve lost the equation. Save your malice for something better. (AP) territory for a while before confusingly “an” (15) ("3mm Beck", us, 1993) Alec Baldwin, llicole Kidman, Bill Pullman. From Fri 7: selected Odeons
.' zinger this time is that
V IN PRINT PETER STACKPOLE
One of the original quartet of photographers for life magazine, Peter Stackpole had a very special access to Hollywood, and was able, in his work, to capture a different side of Tinseltown at work and play during its golden age. Peter Stackpole: life In Hollywood 1936-1952 (Mainstream £20) presents over 350 images of the
greatest stars and directors of the era
in a way that gets beyond the
artificiality of publicity stills, bringing :
a touch of ‘real life’ to the glamour.
A biographical introduction, coupled with a short piece by Stackpole himself, sketches the background of the photographer, the magazine and the studio system of which he was always, in his own words, ‘a determined voyeur, not a fan’. Nevertheless, this beautifully presented book is very much for the fan rather than the voyeur, as it details the private side of llollywood without resorting to the sense of intrusion that many of today’s celebrity photographers carry with them. (AM)
sponsored by BACARDI BLACK
' was a routine buddy cop
, surprisingly well in the
7 from the Touchstone - assembly line. A variation
A as a sequel. it sees the
surveillance mission to
* mob couple (Dennis
seafront hacienda is the
‘ expected rendezvous point for escaped state's witness 3 Cathy Moriarty. lynchpin
in a forthcoming major
j court case. The added
‘ brassy. inexperienced
O‘Donnell is along for the
E threesome should pose as
from this contrived but
f woman and not as hip as our two male heroes. but. sure enough. she turns out
ANOTHER srAxgour
Another Stakeout: ‘exploitable scenario'
John Badham's Slit/(emit
movie. partially redeemed by charismatic playing from Richard Dreyfuss and straight man Emilio Estevez. It went on to do
office. John Badham's Another Sillkt'tllll. on the other hand. is a routine buddy cop movie that even charismatic playing from Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez can't
video charts.
There. in a nutshell. is virtually all you need to know about the latest machine-tooled product
on the first movie as much
amiably bantering central duo on a further
keep tabs on a wealthy
Farina and Marcia Strassman) whose ritzy
assistant DA Rosie
ride. her big idea that during the operation the
a family so as not to give the game away to their unsuspecting neighbours. liiisuing events package sensible proportions of suspense and comedy
dramatically exploitable scenario. There are explosions. car chases. a climactic shoot-out and even a comic dog. We make fun of ()‘Donnell because she's fat and a
a good egg in the end. like a flop pop single where the arrangement is perfectly executed but the tune itsell' resolutely I unn'iemorable. all this I glides along quite capably : until it stops and then you | forget about it. (TJ) l l l
Another Strikeout (PG)
(Jo/m Bur/hum. US, [993) Richard Dreyjiiss, Emilio Es'tei't'; Rosie O'Donnell. [09 mins. F mm Fri 3/: general release.
The List l7 December l993-l3 January I994 29