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23 reviews in total

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24 out of 29 people found the following review useful:
A wonderful, overlooked suspense film, 13 October 2000

Author: briscojr from Arkansas, U.S.A.

It's too bad that bigger budget Hollywood fare often obscures movies that are far better such as this. I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this film as I'd not heard much about it, but was totally captivated by it.

The performances from James Spader and the achingly beautiful Mädchen Amick are first rate, and the script is flawless. A lot of the plot feels like a rehash of Hitchcock, but it's done incredibly well, and hey, if you're going to steal from someone, might as well steal from the best.

The twists and turns really work, and take the viewer along for the ride as well. You'll find your own mind working along with the script, trying to unravel the mystery.

It's a shame this film didn't receive more publicity, as all the elements are there for this to have been a real hit. Instead, it remains one of my favorite little gems of a film... one of those that few people know about, but when they see it they think it's a great film as well.

An added bonus is that the home video version contains a few minutes of extra "steamy" scenes that were cut from theaters.

I think this film is an underappreciated modern-day classic, and I urge everyone to check it out.

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19 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
An intriguing psychological melodrama., 5 August 1999

Author: Pinback-4 from Stockton, California

DREAM LOVER is a nicely made, well-acted little film about a man who meets and marries the girl of his dreams but begins to wonder who she really is. This film marks the directorial debut of screenwriter Nicholas Kazan, the son of Elia Kazan. He did a very impressive job. The cleverest touch is having a framing device which has a crazed clown at a carnival who explains the major plot developments to James Spader's character and to us as well. Spader plays a very successful businessman who just got a divorce and is very lonely. But a chance encounter with a beautiful young woman named Lena (Madchen Amick in a very incisive performance) changes that. She is perfect in every way. I can't reveal much more story than that. The plot twists and turns like a pretzel. It's not always plausible, especially the ending, but it is entertaining all the same.

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17 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Great thriller, 5 April 2001
Author: brendonm from Los Angeles, CA

Perhaps the allusions to Hitchcock are not warranted, but the first time I saw this I was knocked out. DREAM LOVER has a tightly wound plot and fine performances by the entire cast. Nick Kazan has some great dialogue in here like "What you think is paranoia is heightened awareness." Some folks might fault Spader's character as very stupid (really, you should find out as much as you can about a potential mate before marrying them!) Still, this a great neo noir thriller that really goes to show that beauty is often skin deep. Definitely worth a rent.

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16 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Tightly wound and suspenseful, 30 July 2002

Author: Agent10 from Tucson, AZ

A late night boredom trip became quite a spectacle. Not only did the performances from Madchen Amick and James Spader feel realistic and genuine, the actions of the two seemed based more in reality as opposed to the Hollywoodized version of revenge and anger. While some might call this senseless trash, I call this a spectacle of the human condition, one that portrays the hidden evils within every person. With a solid B-cast, this film was certainly worth the time and money put into it. Also, the ending proved to be one of the best `revenge of the cuckold scenes ever.'

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12 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Incoherent but somewhat worthwhile thriller, 30 November 2006

Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

Dream Lover is one odd little film. On one hand, it's a Neo-Noir style mystery romantic thriller, but for some reason; supernatural themes are constantly hinted at through the tone, title and dream sequences featured throughout the film. I have to say that it really looks like director Nicholas Kazan wasn't really sure what he wanted the film to be, and what we've ended up with is a disjointed blending of a few different genres, which hasn't come out all that well. Still, Dream Lovers does manage an interesting story in spite of this; and while I'm biased because I love a good mystery thriller, I'd say it's just about worth seeing. The plot focuses on Ray Reardon (not the snooker player), a man who has just split with his wife. It's not long before he meets the beautiful Lena Mathers, whom he falls in love, marries and has kids with...before realising that he doesn't really know anything about her. Oops! Around the same time, strange events transpire and it becomes obvious to Ray that Lena isn't who she appears to be, and so he endeavours to get to the bottom of who she is.

James Spader takes the lead role and both acts and looks the part that he is playing. He is joined by the suitably sexy Mädchen Amick, who is both sultry and seductive in her role. The leads do have chemistry together, and while the film is in no way as sexy as Nicholas Kazan obviously thinks it is, there are no problems on the acting front. The plot really is all over the place, yet somehow it still manages to be rather predictable and despite being a mystery, Dream Lover soon sets itself into a rhythm. I don't like the title very much, as it gives the complete wrong impression of the film - and while it sort of makes sense given what happens, it could have been marketed better. It all boils down to a decent enough ending which, while not very clever, manages to make sense in spite of the fact that it's all a little bit silly, and the final sequence is by far and away the most powerful in the film. Overall, I can't really give Dream Lovers high recommendations, but it's enjoyable and I think the majority of negative comments directed against it are unfair.

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13 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
A man peels layer after layer from his seemingly perfect wife, to discover she's not what he thinks., 11 December 1998

Author: Juliet Violette (julietv@email.com) from Las Vegas, NV

Aesthetically beautiful to watch, this Hitchcock-type thriller is facsinating. A husband discovers that his gorgeous, seemingly perfect "Dream Lover" of a wife has many hidden secrets, and could turn out to be more of a Nightmare.

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13 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
Great acting and atmosphere, with plot twists right till the end, 5 December 1999

Author: eulogy1 (eulogy1@prodigy.net) from Boston, MA

Slickly made overall. Great acting, interesting characters and a tight plot that keeps twisting right through the very end. I highly recommend this film for anyone looking for a psychological thriller. It'll help if you like James Spader, as he is the protagonist. The movie does a great job of being unpredictable. Don't miss this one!

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
For Richer Or Poorer, 26 April 2009

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

For you classical movie fans and fans of the Fifties music scene, this film Dream Lover will not contain a note of either Jeanette MacDonald's first film hit song from The Love Parade or will you hear Bobby Darin's hit from the Fifties, both entitled Dream Lover. Neither song while different in style is positive in nature and wouldn't be right in this very downer of a thriller.

James Spader can't believe his luck in finding Madchen Amick, she's the perfect beautiful woman. He must feel like Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell Smith when they created Kelly LeBrock in Weird Science. This woman is an eleven plus and after a divorce from Bess Armstrong, Spader's in need of reassurance that he's still got it.

They marry and have children, but gradually he starts noticing little things that she always has a perfect explanation, but rattle Spader beyond the point of endurance. When he starts investigating his wife, Spader finds a lot of things just don't add up.

Dream Lover is a neat little thriller that will keep you guessing right to the end who is going to come out on top. In fact neither of them really do, or at least that's how I view the film.

Spader, Amick and the rest of the cast respond well to writer/director Nicholas Kazan's script and guidance. When Spader starts investigating the past of his wife and finds she's just a down home girl from Texas instead of what she puts out, he meets up with William Shockley her old boy friend. His one scene in the film with Spader will leave an indelible impression.

In fact Dream Lover will leave an indelible impression on you.

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12 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Great-looking stars in a thoroughly predictable film., 3 May 2004

Author: gridoon

Another one of those "if you've seen the video cover, you've seen the movie" thrillers. Quite honestly, I can't understand where some people saw the "twists" here; "Dream Lover" is as predictable as yesterday's news and as obvious as its overwrought dream scenes. Essentially this is nothing more than a more expensive, better acted and directed version of those Shannon Tweed/Andrew Stevens straight-to-video soft-core thrillers. But Spader and Amick do make an attractive couple, and there are some genuinely erotic moments in the early parts of the film, so as long as you know why you're watching the film (it's certainly not for the "twists"), you'll probably be satisfied. (**1/2)

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3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Dream Lover Has Dream Script, 9 June 2004
Author: (ddickerson) from Huntington Beach, CA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Dream Lover is about a man who marries a woman and then has questions about her past. Dream Lover features a fine performance by James Spader, one of my favorite actors and a good comic relief performance by Larry Miller. But if you venture into this film you'll have to also believe that a wife with only the word of her private psychiatrist can have her husband committed to an insane asylum. At the hearing the husband does not document her infidelity, her lies or her hidden past. Otherwise fine performances by the cast members. And is that some cheap location shooting I saw? Looks like the wedding reception was held on the sidewalk in front of the studio. And tight shots around the limo looks like they didn't rent it long enough to cover the scene. Anyway, it was nicely photographed but will require some vivid imagination on the part of the viewer to go along with the concept.

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