James Spader is affable as an architect named Ray, who divorced his first wife after she fooled around. Then a new woman comes into his life: the enticing, gorgeous Lena (Madchen Amick), and he soon becomes smitten, to the point of marrying her and fathering children with her. Then he realizes how badly he's screwed up by marrying a woman to whom lying is second nature. She's a master manipulator with a personality for different occasions.
Although not altogether satisfying (especially the ending), "Dream Lover" is a decent suspense-thriller. It treads on pretty familiar ground overall, but writer / director Nicholas Kazan (son of the legendary Elia Kazan) tells a reasonably entertaining story. It spices things up with a bit of sex and nudity (there is an unrated version of this that was released on laserdisc), and Kazan is capable at continuing to throw twists and turns at us. His framework is the most interesting, original element, as it contains scenes of Ray at a carnival where the workers accost him with details of the plot.
The truth is that you can't feel too much sympathy for Ray, as he buys all this trouble by getting involved with a stranger without bothering to learn very much about her. But Spader is good as always, and is surrounded by good actors and familiar faces: Fredric Lehne, Bess Armstrong, and comedian / actor Larry Miller (the main source of comedy relief, obviously) play his friends, and other actors and actresses like Scott Coffey, Clyde Kusatsu, William Shockley, Irwin Keyes, Janel Moloney, Robert David Hall, Paul Ben-Victor, and Erick Avari comprise a solid supporting cast. Still, Madchen is the compelling primary asset of "Dream Lover": looking delectable throughout, she's a treat to watch as she switches on a dime when it comes to her personality shifts.
Kazan does come up with some good dialogue, especially that "paranoia is actually heightened awareness" line. And he & his cast keep this engrossing most of the way, even though that resolution is bound to leave viewers wanting.
Seven out of 10.
