Home Theater Round Up: Brief Film Reviews

"Basic Instinct"- Growing up, I seemed to stumble upon Paul Verhoeven's "Basic Instinct" every other week on television (and the film seemed to broadcast on WGN every single week). Even as an adolescent, I could tell that the film had been heavily edited for TV because so many cuts were jarringly awkward and this was also back in the days of pan and scan. The movie is strangely well-known especially with film buffs, and the infamous scene of an underwear-less Sharon Stone uncrossing her legs in front of a roomful of men has been parodied several times over (including a skit at the MTV Movie Awards of Florence Henderson re-enacting the no panties scene and a little known feature length spoof titled "Fatal Instinct" from Carl Reiner and Armand Assante). Having seen bits and pieces of the film growing up (which kind of says something about the easy accessibility to adult films and television for children and young adults along with proof that the babysitters I had were not paying much attention to what I was doing or watching), would it even be worth it for me to watch the movie? And if I did watch the film, would I view "Basic Instinct" as the Joe Eszterhas scripted trash so many other critics have found it to be?

I'm a little shocked and even mildly ashamed to say that not only did I watch "Basic Instinct" but I enjoyed the film as well. "Basic Instinct" is actually quite the attractive film. Verhoeven is very much a big picture director; the type of filmmaker who can make small spaces feel big. Whether he is shooting a scene in a narrow bar, a small living room, or even a giant beach house patio overlooking a rocky cliff, Verhoeven chooses interesting angles and consistently shows the eye of an aesthete. Verhoeven's visual skill could easily be compared with the old Arthur Penn film, "Night Moves", which I reviewed a few months ago. Both are "erotic thrillers" about detectives getting in over their heads, but Penn's film looks sloppy and dated for its time. Far from messy, "Basic Instinct" was made in 1992, but it is so visually appealing that its ridiculous story almost feels universal. Even Michael Douglas, an actor who rarely impresses me, gives a strong performance here. His detective character (though the protagonist) is secretly frightened, weak-willed, disdained by many of his fellow cops, and incredibly isolated. Douglas makes this character very human in a film that is almost alien from believability.