The Bedroom Window (1987)

Paging Brian DePalma!
Isabelle Huppert and generic Steve Guttenberg prove incompatible costars in "The Bedroom Window," a cockamamie mystery that finds these bi-continentals drawn together like refrigerator magnets to styrofoam coolers.

The lovers are supposed to be absolutely crazy about each other, sick with lust even, but Guttenberg's merely more blah than usual and Huppert, in her first English-speaking role, seems to be translating as she goes. It may not be all their fault. Both were saddled with a pre-L.A. Confidential. Curtis Hanson. Up to this point, Hanson's previous directing credits included such immortals as "The Arousers" and "Losin' It," He had no business at the helm of a Hitchcock rip-off. (Was Brian DePalma unavailable?) Curtis' copycat pacing was as wrong-headed as his care and feeding of the actors -- (an area in which he seemed to favor starvation.)

Hanson's screenplay, however, isn't half bad. It's about a Baltimorean (Guttenberg) who pretends to witness a crime to conceal his affair with his boss's wife (Huppert), and then becomes a suspect in the case himself. Cherubic Elizabeth McGovern as the victim teams with Guttenberg to trap the real rapist, who gets off scot-free on one of those pesky technicalities. To bait the psycho killer, McGovern disguises herself as a floozy and slithers off to a working man's bar on the wrong side of Baltimore. She looks like a cross between a female impersonator and Alvin the Chipmunk as she wiggles on her bar stool. She makes an utter fool of herself. Where was Hanson, for instance, when she licked her forefinger and caressed the tip of the pool cue? Even Carl Lumbly as a detective -- the same Carl Lumbly who played a detective on "Cagney & Lacey" every week -- doesn't come off convincingly here.

Of course, we have to suffer through more romance when McGovern recovers her libidinal urges in the company of the scintillating, hopelessly attractive, Nautilus-improved Guttenberg. And they make Huppert and Guttenberg look like "Caligula."

Yes, it's Bad Movie magic.

A Forgotten Gem From Curtis Hanson
Sitting down to watch a suspense film with a title like "Bedroom Window" led my movie addled brain to start looking for connections to Hitchcock's "Rear Window." And they are there, from the crime witnessed through a window with limited information to the directing of Curtis Hanson that relies heavily on techniques that were used throughout "Rear Window." You know, shot of voyeur watching somebody suspicious, cut to suspicious guy doing something, cut back to voyeur for reaction shot. The Hitchcock references do not stop there however, rather the entire film is a cornucopia of homages. We have a psycho killer who lives at home with his faceless, controlling mother. Plus the main storyline is that of a man, a Wrong Man if you will, who falls under the hostile eye of the police for a crime he did not commit. So yes, you have seen it all before, but I happily gobbled it up all over again, and then realized that what I had just consumed was actually better than most of Hitchcock's oeuvre.

The plot is one of those that motors along solely because nothing ever goes right. All of the twists are perfectly thought out and it makes for a delightfully messed up tale, but it all totally unrealistic because, come on, who is ever really that unlucky? Terry (Steve Guttenberg) is having an affair with his boss' blonde, accented wife when she spies an assault outside his apartment. The next day a different girl turns up dead a few blocks away but Sylvia (Isabelle Huppert) can't go to the police because that would expose their little tryst. So Terry, trying to be a hero, takes her place and reports the crime. Soon after he is convinced that he has found the real killer himself which leads to him chasing this man, Carl Henderson (Brad Greenquist), around town until his suspicions are verified. One thing leads to another and the next thing you know Carl is running free and Terry is the main suspect. Of course it is all his fault, trying to impress the lady and all that, but this film makes a strong case for not doing your civic duty.

I really have almost all good things to say about this film. It is basically a movie about lying, and how the lies build upon themselves until your normal life is obliterated and you're wanted for murder. But we've all been in similar situations before which is what makes this film so powerful. The courtroom scene in which Wallace Shawn plays a defense attorney who dances rings around the mealy mouthed Terry has no more style than a typical "Law and Order" episode, but is just as engrossing. I was surprised to see Carl Lumbly show up as one of the lawyers because I was under the impression that his career began and ended with "Alias." Brad Greenquist does a superb job at being the frighteningly anguished suspected killer as he comes off as a Good Little Nazi with red hair. As a counterpoint to Spike Lee this film could have been called "Don't Do the Right Thing", as it may win you the approval of some girl and the police but ultimately it is a bad investment. Soon all parties involved think that they can dictate your next move to you only so that a few days later they can start to wonder if it was really you who did the killing. Hanson has done marvelous work since, but "Bedroom Window" sits near the top of his career. It has Hitchcock on the brain, but so do we, and Hanson knows how to tap into our darkest fears and serve up a pulpy thriller that gripped me from the first scene. ***3/4

Guttenberg Great
This is indeed Steve Guttenberg's best drama. Being a huge fan of Hitchcock's works and other suspense movies like "Along Came a Spider" and "Body Double", I found this movie pretty good. I personally think Steve is a decent actor, just limited in roles suited to him. This role was suited to him as was "Cocoon". Purest may not be impressed by this movie, but those not so demanding should find this worth their while.

The story in a nutshell is Guttenberg is sleeping with the bosses wife so when she sees an attempted murder she can't report it so Steve does instead. Since it is a man reporting they are more suspicious of him thinking either he's a voyuer or worse yet perhaps the perpetrator. Things get tense as he tries to prove his innocence and the real culprit is aware of the bosses wife and him. Is this a ripoff of the Hitchcock movie. A little, but the update and slight story change make it interesting and different enough that I found it entertaining.

By the way don't buy this DVD from a scalper for a ridiculous price. It is being redistributed in November 2006. I pre-ordered mine for $9.99.