Fatal Instinct (1993)

A spoof of the late '80s and early '90s suspense thrillers and murder mysteries, including Basic Instinct, Sleeping With The Enemy, and Cape Fear. A cop/attorney (yes he's both) is seduced ... See full summary »

Director:

Carl Reiner

Writer:

David O'Malley

Stars:

Armand Assante, Sherilyn Fenn, Kate Nelligan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Armand Assante	...	Ned Ravine
Sherilyn Fenn	...	Laura Lincolnberry
Kate Nelligan	...	Lana Ravine
Sean Young	...	Lola Cain
Christopher McDonald	...	Frank Kelbo
James Remar	...	Max Shady
Tony Randall	...	Judge Skanky
Clarence Clemons	...	Clarence
Michael Cumpsty	...	Laura's Husband
John Witherspoon	...	Arch
Blake Clark	...	Milo Crumley
Edward Blanchard	...	Restroom Patron
David Greenlee	...	Restroom Stall Patron
Tim Frisbie	...	Guy in Bumper Car
Michael MacCleod	...	Freckle-Faced Kid

Storyline

A spoof of the late '80s and early '90s suspense thrillers and murder mysteries, including Basic Instinct, Sleeping With The Enemy, and Cape Fear. A cop/attorney (yes he's both) is seduced by a woman while his wife is having an affair with a mechanic. Lots of other sublots and visual gags in the style of Naked Gun. Check the rating.

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Plot Keywords:

spoof | sweating | slipping on blood | fear of trains | blonde | 

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Taglines:

Sex, murder and revenge were never this funny.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for off-color humor

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Yiddish

Release Date:

29 October 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Triple Indemnity

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$7,852,653

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2018, when rerun on MoviePlex, the songs In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida and Brown Eyed Girl are not played during the bathtub scene and end credits. Instead you hear music from the movie sound track.

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Goofs

When the refrigerator opens to reveal Ned and Lola inside, a crew member's hand can be seen on the right side of the screen to catch the door as it opens.

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Quotes

Laura Lincolnberry: [thinking] I wonder what he's thinking when he looks at me with that goofy smile.
Ned Ravine: [thinking] Boy, does she look stupid in that hat.
Laura Lincolnberry: [thinking] If I told him how I really feel, he'd probably fire me. Oh, what am I saying? He probably doesn't even know I exist.
Ned Ravine: [thinking] Laura's incredible. And so smart. I wonder if she's smart enough to know that that was Lola's lipstick on my collar? And that we spent the night bumping ugly and knocking boots?
Laura Lincolnberry: [thinking] Maybe I should dress more like Lola Cain. ...
[...]

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Connections

Spoofs North by Northwest (1959)

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Soundtracks

The Mighty Bruins
Written by Bill Conti
Performed by the UCLA Marching Band
under the direction of Gordon Henderson

User Reviews

Why the hell is this rated so low?!?

I don't understand how a person can watch a very funny and entertaining movie like this and then go on IMDb and give it a low rating! What is wrong with these people?! Do they have no sense of humor? They are probably the same people who didn't see the humor in Airplane! This movie obviously spoofs, or parodies (please forgive me if I don't know the difference!) noir movies and murder thrillers like Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction, hence the title. Armande Asanti is funnier than most people who are supposed to be funny, like Will Farrell! Also we have the classic beauty Sherilyn Fenn, looking her best as an old fashioned secretary. There are more laugh out loud parts than I can count. They tackle a lot of the clichés that have always bugged me, like when the bad person is "killed", they "come to" and try to kill the good person again, and again! The comedic timing is right on the mark, unlike so many unfunny "comedies" that have come out recently. Also, this movie is light on the violence, language and sexual content, so even easily offended people can enjoy it.