Salve-me

One of the curses of the night owl life is that movies like this surface on the cables at 3am, and for whatever reason I must watch the whole bleepin' thing sunrise be-darned.

I saw this on, what else, the Showtime Women's channel. I hate to admit it but I agree with the IMDb reviewer from 1999: the only reason to watch this nonsense from start to finish is to see Lysette Anthony naked. Everything in between is the bonehead self-absorbed stuff that burns through the Gross Domestic Product of whole countries in a Hollywood week. I can not believe people get paid to do this stuff.

Whatever else there is to say about this, it is always good to see Steve Railsback on screen, even when his dialogue is worthy of a 7th grade playwright. This is a really stupid movie, full of zero- quality acting.

Here is the short version description of "Save Me." First half seduction and sex. Second half unbelievable contrived plot, with holes the size of truck tires. Basically this is the type of movie that leaves the audience wishing they had never watched it. The film also sees fit to waste the considerable acting talent of Michael Ironside, by keeping him well in the background for the entire interminable 93 minutes. If Lysette Anthony's sex scenes are your sole reason for watching then I suggest hitting the eject button at halftime. You know the type of film where the end keeps getting more ridiculous with each rewrite, well "Save Me" is that film. - MERK

I remember seeing the box cover for 'Save Me' on video store shelves back in the day. It was kind of hard to miss with the featured blonde's boobs popping out. Perhaps that's what kept me from renting this T&A flick because there's no denying that's what it is.

Jim Stevens (Harry Hamlin) is going thru a tough separation and on the spot at work to produce results. Then enters Ellie (Lysette Anthony) a random woman he's attracted to in public. She plants a note within his view with her number as she runs into Oliver (Michael Ironside). Later she tells Jim he's crazy, controlling and she needs his help. She also can't wait to jump Jim's bones.

Have you ever watched a film where a guy can't think with his big brain? Do you know what a red flag from a woman looks like? Taking a page from 'Basic Instinct' & other erotic thrillers someone in a high end car tries to run Jim down multiple times. Takes shots at him. Ironside is usually fun, but doesn't go over the top here. Bill Nunn appears as a police detective while Steve Railsback plays Jim's awful boss.

'Save Me' is the kind of flick I saw thru almost immediately. Maybe you will too. The acting is relatively decent and there's no denying Lysette is a gorgeous woman with an accent, but you'll have to decide if female nudity is enough to sit thru a rehash story with a dumb man & obvious red herrings.

The premise of the film seems very clear-cut, with no surprises to be had. Nonetheless, there was a moment after I discovered the title, and before I began watching, that I thought there may be a possibility of something a bit more noteworthy. After all, there are some solid names in the cast, and surely they wouldn't be dragged into total pablum, would they?

Well. Olivia Hussey has barely any time on screen - a grand total of about 1 minute, if that; I assume her appearance was fulfillment of some contractual obligation, or perhaps a favor owed. Throughout Michael Ironside's career, he has turned in portrayals that have ranged from enthusiastically all-in to perfunctorily phoning it in - and his turn here is on the latter end of the spectrum. I can't say I'm particularly familiar with Harry Hamlin, but I've seen him around; whatever his list of credits may portend, in this instance his acting is less than convincing - generally subdued, and rather bereft of nuance. For what it's worth, Lysette Anthony seems to be the only person in the cast to give a meaningful performance - maybe just as much to the point, hers is the only role written with sufficient complexity to allow her space to emote. As Ellie she ably demonstrates range and nuanced poise to bring the character to life. Unfortunately, for much of the length, opportunities for Anthony to show her skills as an actress are outnumbered by the scenes that merely require her to be unclothed.

I don't think 'Save me' is outright bad. It definitely leaves a lot to be desired, though.

The initial scenes of romance feel forced and inorganic. If not every last one, there are still a few major story beats here are predictable somewhat early on. Though I can appreciate the induction of minor admirable themes at the climax, they make for specious motivation considering how the character in question had been written all throughout the rest of the movie previously, and feel shoehorned in as they are. The very end, the literal last few seconds, are plainly overdone. There's poor balance between the thriller plot, and the steamy romance. Factor in broadly lackluster displays of acting, and it's hard to be truly invested in the movie. It's kind of enjoyable, but only just.

I suppose the technical craft and rounding details are quite fine, including costume design, hair and makeup, sound design, and so on. If unexceptional, and despite the mentioned unbalance, I do think the scene writing from one moment to the next is reasonably strong, and the execution of each, too - love scene, drama, and action alike. Why, there's even a small sense of tension, and suspense; would that I could be more enthusiastic about the narrative overall. Fair as they are, however, these don't truly stand out, nor counterbalance the lack of readily striking construction elsewhere in the film. If not for Lysette Anthony giving an admirable, comparably adept performance (evident even through the constraints of the sultry side of the writing) I don't know that I could say there was much of anything especially distinct about 'Save me.' There's not enough here to distinguish it from similar titles.

In all fairness, if you're looking for a thriller filled with (softcore) eroticism, then this is pretty much exactly the movie you want. And to be clear, I don't dislike 'Save me'; I think there were good ideas here. But the screenplay isn't wholly sound, and its realization is essentially just all around unremarkable. Unless you're a specific fan of someone in the cast, or unless this is precisely what you were seeking in the first place, there's no reason to go out of your way to find this picture. Still, it's not the worst way to pass 90 minutes.

Recommended if you want a passably entertaining thriller without needing to actively engage with it.

No suspenseful music score would be able to save this trashy film and Harry Hamlin made this film just so he could have simulated sex with Lynette Anthony. That about sums up this piece of worthless cinema.

Erotic?

Jessica Rabbit has more sex appeal.

A Thriller?

Don Knotts in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken was more exciting.

Give this clunker a solid pass. Don't waste your time. I give it a less than stellar 4 out of 10 IMDb rating.