Woman Undone (1996)

I actually thought it was a parody at first... the people in it are pretty good actors. I could not stop watching because it was hard to believe it was continuing to be so bad... dialog stiff, strange, odd... story line pretty close to a laugh...but never quite made it...oh, I'm lying, maybe when we found out she shot her husband to keep him from suffering when he got stuck in a burning car... that was so far-fetched, esp. since she was cheating on him with a young hottie and planned on getting a divorce... wish the writer had dared to take this one over the edge. With more work, it might have been a great parody. Unless you're desperate or a movie masochist, skip this one.

A good cast is wasted on what might have been an intriguing story. Unfortunately, it is hurt by the execution. This slow-moving film looks like it was made on the cheap - in fact, parts of it appear to have been filmed at a motel. Mary McDonnell, a wonderful actress and a beautiful woman, is miscast as a femme fatale. Her hair is unnaturally dark and apparently the cameraman despised her. How she tells Benjamin Bratt (wasted in a poorly-defined role) that she's 36 with a straight face is a tribute to her acting. It's a shame because the story was an interesting one, not going exactly the way one expects. But I wonder how many people stuck with it long enough for the plot to unfold. However, miscast or not, it's always a pleasure to see McDonnell, and great to see Sam Elliott.

Teri Hanson(Mary McDonnel)is definitely undone. Teri and Allan Hanson(Randy Quaid) have just moved to California to make a new start and to try and save their failing marriage. Allan is really angry and abusive. Teri is very lonely and she meets Jim Mercer(Benjamin Bratt), a life guard at the pool where she swims. Now Jim is a gorgeous, be-still-my-heart man. He is a gigolo though. Soon things heat up. The story twists and turns from there through out the movie. (Sam Shepard is a handsome lawyer, who's wife has died recently.) It's an okay movie. The twist at the end leaves you with your jaw on the floor and some unanswered questions. I would watch it just for that reason.If you are a Benjamin Bratt fan, you have to see it just cause he is drool worthy as the sleazy lover. There are some steamy scenes between him and Mary McDonnel.

Very minor variations on the age old lovers triangle. There was a bit of hope, but uninspired writing provided cardboard, two-dimensional characters. Even Sam Elliott, who I usually enjoy, comes off flat. To me, the movie was in large part a waste of time UNTIL the last few minutes when a bit of an interesting twist on the ending was somewhat redemptive, moving my 2/10 to 4/10.