Classic Movie Review Dream Lover

Dream Lover (1994) 

Directed by Nicholas Kazan

Written by Nicholas Kazan

Starring James Spader, Madchen Amick, Bess Armstrong, Larry Miller

Release Date May 6th, 1994 

Published May 6th 2024 

Okay, so hear me out, this is my secret plan. I saw this guy who is really handsome and rich and has his own business. So, what I am going to do is steal his money. Here's how I am going to do it, stay with me, it's complicated. So, I am waiting for him to finalize his divorce. Then, several weeks or perhaps months, after he's been on a bunch of dates with a bunch of women he's not interested in, I will meet him at this art opening that he's supposed to be attending. 

At the art gallery, while he's talking to another woman he's not interested in, I will position myself behind him with a glass of wine. When he turns around, I will say he spilled wine all over me and then storm out without giving him my name. Then, the next day, I will follow him when he's grocery shopping and approach him. Then, he will follow me and ask me to dinner. I will let him take me to dinner but then, I won't tell him how to get in touch with me for another date. 

My plan indicates that he will be so besotted with me that he will start stalking me, not knowing that I am already stalking him. Then, he will see me come home with another man and when that man leaves, he will find a way to find which speaker is connected to my apartment. And then I will let him come in and somehow, I will have just been in the shower, even though I was just answering my door to let him in my building. Then I will have sex with him after he jealously berates me for information about the guy who just left. I will say that guy's gay, so I save this guy's ego. 

So, we have sex and then several months later of us dating and having sex, we will get married. And then, after we've been married for a few months, I will have a baby. And then, after we've been married a few years, I will have another baby. And then, a few months after that, I will start leaving obvious clues about having an affair. And when he gets super-jealous and punches me in the face, I won't have him arrested, I will have him committed and once he's deemed crazy, boom, divorce, I take his money and the kids. 

What do you think? Don't worry about the hitting thing, he will punch me in the face and slap me and I will still put on makeup to fool the doctors that I was abused. I mean, I will have been abused but I am crazy, so I have to make it look like I am lying for no good reason. Then it will only confuse my husband and father of my children even more. Because I am crazy. It's a foolproof plan, it can't fail unless he somehow tricks me into going to see him at the asylum on the ruse that he's figured out my dastardly scheme and then chokes me to death using the excuse that he's crazy as cover so he can get out of the hospital when he recovers. But really, what are the chances of that happening right? 

That mulit-paragraph plot is the actual plot of the 1994 movie Dream Lover, from the perspective of Madchen Amick's crazy wife character Mina. It's my interpretation of her plan and it hopefully illustrates just how desperately convoluted this plot is. Written and directed by Nicholas Kazan, the character of Mina marries and has kids and builds a perfect upper class New York life with Ray Reardon, played by James Spader, all so that after 5 years of wedded bliss, she can blow up the whole thing to steal his money. 

Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal. 

Movie Review: Enough

Enough (2002) 

Directed by Michael Apted

Written by Nicholas Kazan

Starring Jennifer Lopez, Billy Campbell, Noah Wyle, Juliette Lewis, Dan Futterman

Release Date May 24th, 2002 

Published May 21st, 2002 

For all the jokes about Jennifer Lopez's personal life, singing career, and her backside, one thing people shouldn't joke about is her acting. With her performances in Out Of Sight, The Cell and the very under-appreciated Angel Eyes, J.Lo has proven she can act. Though her latest film Enough isn't as good as her previous films, it certainly wasn't her fault.

Enough is the story of Slim (Lopez), a waitress who while being hit on by a jerk cop named Robbie (ER's Noah Wylie), is saved by Mitch (Once & Again's Billy Campbell). What appears to be love at first sight turns into a marriage gone wrong. Several years after Slim and Mitch get married and have a baby named Racie (Tesa Allen), Slim finds out Mitch is cheating on her. When Slim confronts him, he beats her up. Slim eventually escapes and Mitch goes after her, leading the film from “movie of the week” drama to ridiculous revenge flick.

I saw a preview screening of Enough and I wonder if maybe the film wasn't finished yet. I say this because the first third of the film is such a complete mess your left wondering if a first-year film student high on Jolt Cola and Marlboro Lights edited it. Rather than developing a relationship between Slim and Mitch that makes sense, the film employs silent movie title cards to inform the audience of the stage of their relationship. Thus the audience is left wondering just what each character’s motivation was for being together at all.

The film does have some effective moments, mostly when J.Lo is on the run and training to fight her husband. Director Michael Apted does what he can with the limited script and effectively uses omniscient narration to build tension, especially in the film’s fight scene crescendo. In the end though, Enough is a ridiculous, revenge fantasy meant to appeal to the same girl-power feminists who made Ashley Judd's Double Jeopardy a 100-Million hit. See Enough for Jennifer Lopez's stellar performance, but if your not a fan, skip it.