Fatal Beauty (1987)

Rita is a tough narc cop with a wig for every occasion. Outside a drug heist scene with several bodies and a hardly cut fatal drug, Fatal Beauty, she finds a Kroll Construction van with a dead Kroll employee in it. Who is Kroll?

Director:

Tom Holland

Writers:

Bill Svanoe (story), Hilary Henkin (screenplay)

Stars:

Whoopi Goldberg, Sam Elliott, Rubén Blades

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Rita Rizzoli
Sam Elliott	...	Mike Marshak
Rubén Blades	...	Carl Jimenez (as Ruben Blades)
Harris Yulin	...	Conrad Kroll
John P. Ryan	...	Lt. Kellerman
Jennifer Warren	...	Cecile Jaeger
Brad Dourif	...	Leo Nova
Mike Jolly	...	Earl Skinner
Charles Hallahan	...	Deputy Getz
David Harris	...	Raphael
James Le Gros	...	Zack Jaeger
Neill Barry	...	Denny Miflin
Mark Pellegrino	...	Frankenstein
Clayton Landey	...	Jimmy Silver
Fred Asparagus	...	Delgadillo

Storyline

Rita Rizzoli is a narcotics police officer with a plethora of disguises. When a drug shipment is hijacked, the thieves don't know that the drug is unusually pure, and packs of "Fatal Beauty" begin turning up next to too many dead bodies. Mike Marshak works for the original owner of the drugs and tries to tell himself that since he does not handle the drugs, he is "clean". Mike becomes Rita's constant companion as the drug hijackers (who are nearly psychotic and very well armed) are hunted, while more and more bodies continue to turn up.

---

Plot Keywords:

woman punches a woman | wound | falling into a pool | drugs | police | 

---

Taglines:

An earthquake is about to hit L.A. It's called Detective Rita Rizoli.

---

Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beleza Fatal

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$12,046,526

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), CST Telecommunications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mike Jolly (Earl) and John P. Ryan (Lieutenant Kellerman) appeared in Three O'Clock High (1987).

---

Goofs

When Rizzoli goes into a shop to buy a sandwich it is nighttime, but when she arrives home with the sandwich you can see through the windows of her house that it is daytime outside.

---

Quotes

Leo Nova: [reveals bulletproof vest after being shot by Rita Rizzoli in the chest] Kevlar, bitch!
Rita Rizzoli: [shoots him again in the throat, sending him crashing into a car windshield] Smith & Wesson, asshole!

---

Connections

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

---

Soundtracks

On The Edge Of Love
Written by Cynthia Weil and Scott Cutler
Performed by Miki Howard
Courtesy of Atlantic Records

User Reviews

Whoopi is fatal for a few

I do love what Whoopi Goldberg does with her character Rizzoli as an undercover narcotics cop. But the term Fatal Beauty is for a certain deadly designer drug that she is tracking down the source of. Nevertheless Whoopi proves to be quite fatal to any number of the characters in the film.

But this film suffers from a really muddled script and the distinct possibility that the several bad guys who want this shipment of this nasty Fatal Beauty stuff are imbibing a bit too much of it themselves. Whoopi's target is Harris Yulin a big New Orleans contractor who is deep in the narcotics trade unofficially. But Yulin himself has troubles in his own ranks.

Sam Elliott's character as Yulin's bodyguard and enforcer is also a mystery. I couldn't figure out what his function is as he keeps saving Goldberg.

Whoopi is fun to watch especially slugging it out with rich society woman Jennifer Warren. But the film is just too murky.