Classic Movie Review Intersection

Intersection (1994) 

Directed by Mark Rydell 

Written by David Rayfiel, Marshall Brickman 

Starring Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Lolita Davidovich, Martin Landau 

Release Date January 21st, 1994 

Published January 21st, 1994 

Intersection stars Richard Gere as architect Vincent Eastman. Having recently left his wife for another woman, we meet Vincent just waking up from a night of passion with Olivia (Lolita Davidovich). The two talk about building a new home and Vincent cautions Olivia not to push things too quickly as he still has a daughter with his ex-wife, Sally (Sharon Stone), who is also his business partner. To say that Vincent's life is complicated is an understatement. At work, he and Sally have a chilly relationship where she tries to stay focused on tasks and schedules and he tries and fails to be remote. 

And that's where the story begins. From there, Vincent will wrestle with the idea of fully committing to Olivia, building their dream home on cliff side property he purchased for them, and building a family. But, there is also the pull of a full life he once had with Sally, a history that is still remarkably present due to their business entanglements. And then there is Vincent's daughter, Meagan (future House star Jennifer Morrison), a 14 year old who is struggling with her parents being apart. It's implied that she may have an eating disorder but like the two lead actresses in Intersection, we won't learn much about her that isn't about her feelings for Vincent. 

Do you know what I find impossible to care about or invest in? Whether a rich, handsome, wishy-wash ass man like Vincent ends up with either Sharon Stone or Lolita Davidovich. Truly, do you root for him to win the lottery or win the lottery. He may be conflicted here but that conflict fails to translate beyond the character. None of the three main characters are very interesting. Vincent is a cypher, he's an empty suit. He's a blank behind the eyes guy whose allegiance to one woman or another is based on a whim or which way the wind is blowing. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Classic Movie Review Boiling Point

Boiling Point (1993) 

Directed by James B. Harris 

Written by James B. Harris 

Starring Wesley Snipes, Dennis Hopper, Viggo Mortensen 

Release Date April 16th, 1993

Published June 8th, 1993 

Sometimes the making of a movie is far more interesting than the movie being made. That is unquestionably true of the 1993 crime drama, Boiling Point. The film began life as an independent film character study of a pair of seedy criminals, one striving for a better life, the other a hothead determined to destroy them both. A small part of that story was about the cop searching for both of these criminals as tension reaches a boiling point and they collide in a tragic series of events. 

That's what Boiling Point was meant to be with Dennis Hopper playing a seasoned criminal low life with dreams of getting out alive and making a life for himself. Viggo Mortensen played the doomed hotheaded young criminal whose attraction to violence would be the downfall of both men. Wesley Snipes was to be the cop looking to arrest the two for killing a fellow cop in the midst of a robbery gone terribly, horribly wrong. 

Then, something happened. As the film was being completed, Wesley Snipes became one of the hottest stars in Hollywood. Seeing that they had a chance to turn this cheap independent thriller into a box office bonanza on the back of one of the hottest stars in Hollywood, producers and studio execs demanded rewrites and reshoots to beef up Snipes role from a relatively minor supporting role to a presence they could promote in marketing the film. 

This is all very obvious in the final Frankenstein's monster of a movie that is Boiling Point. Most scenes featuring Wesley Snipes have him interacting with people other than Hopper and Mortensen. Most of Mortensen's performance, including most of the depth of the character, has been excised to make room for more scenes featuring Wesley Snipes. Snipes's reshot scenes are clumsily sewn into the movie and rarely add any depth to the main story which still centers on Hopper's criminal trying and failing to be a better person. 

Rather than the wild-eyed monster that Hopper would play in other villainous roles, his character in Boiling Point is a pathetic, fast-talking sadsack. He's a man who is desperate to escape his circumstances and when he sees a potential payday that could be the key to his happy ever after, he risks everything to get there. It's clear that there was an important subplot involving Hopper and Valerie Perrine who plays his ex-wife. Wanting to win her back, despite a history that includes violent abuse, is a big motivation for Hopper's character. But, as the movie shoved in more about Snipes, we got less of Perrine. 

There are numerous examples of how executives cut up and rejiggered Boiling Point to capitalize on Wesley Snipes. The most glaring example is how Snipes rarely shares a scene with any of the rest of the cast, including Hopper and Mortensen. The only tangible link between Snipes and the rest of the movie comes from a reshot subplot in which Snipes' cop and a sex worker played by Lolita Davidovich, have an affair while she acts as a street informant for Snipes. She's also seeing Hopper's character as a client, but this somehow never becomes important to the plot. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media