Bad Influence (1990)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Curtis Hanson

Writer (WGA):

David Koepp (written by)

Release Date:

9 March 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Michael, a wimpy young executive, is about to get pulverized by a jealous boyfriend in a bar when a handsome...

Plot Keywords:

Executive | Psychopath | Finance | Sadomasochism | Cynicism

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Rob Lowe	...	Alex
James Spader	...	Michael Boll
Lisa Zane	...	Claire
Marcia Cross	...	Ruth Fielding
Rosalyn Landor	...	Britt
Tony Maggio	...	Patterson
Palmer Lee Todd	...	Naked Woman
Kathleen Wilhoite	...	Leslie
Sunny Smith	...	Waitress
Susan Lee Hoffman	...	Karen, Woman in Bar
Jeff Kaake	...	Willie, Man in Bar
Christian Clemenson	...	Pismo Boll
Charisse Glenn	...	Stylish Eurasian Woman
Jay Della	...	Chez Jay Bartender
Inger Lorre	...	Band Member

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Norway:15 (DVD rating) | Norway:18 (original rating/video rating) | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (cut) | USA:R | West Germany:16 | France:Unrated | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

George C. Page Museum - 5801 W. Wilshire Blvd., Hancock Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Epic Productions

Trivia:

David Koepp wrote his screenplay on spec at a time when he didn't even have an agent.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the tar pits as seen from above, we see a yellow or lime-green fire truck (ladder truck). When the camera comes back as the fireman descends it (the ladder), we notice the truck is now red.

Quotes:

Alex: [picking up his knife] Now I'm going to show you

Movie Connections:

References Strangers on a Train (1951)

Soundtrack:

SPIRITUAL HEALING

...just OK

Decent, well-directed and, at times, frightening tale of friendship with a psychopath gone terribly wrong.

Rob Lowe is not bad as the creepy, highly intelligent psycho. James Spader is very good as a decent working stiff, caught up in a world that, at first, excites and energizes him, but goes horribly wrong.

However, Lowe really can only take the character so far. He reaches about as far a psychopath as he is capable. Then, the movie gets a little dull. The tension should slowly accumulate in a movie like this, as the villain reveals more and more of his pathology. Lowe never seems to go much beyond a sinister grin. Spader's passive yuppie character finally finds the rage and the courage to finally take matters into his own hands. However, it seems forced. Lowe's character has a point: You knowingly and enthusiastically took part in robberies and beatings. It isn't that easy to now claim enraged, moral high ground. What are you truly capable of if the right opportunity presented itself? Spader finally gets the message: this guy set you up, and he isn't going anywhere until he is eliminated, either through death or incarceration.

Someone else mentioned that the casting was reversed. I am reminded of James Spader's cool, creepy, menacing "Rip" character in "Less than Zero". That's an interesting point. Turn the casting around, and you may very well have an above average movie.