Jade

This unanimously panned film in the erotic thriller sub-genre marked both the beginning and the end of David Caruso's career as a leading man in feature films, and turned out to be among director William Friedkin's biggest commercial flops. There's no doubt that this is a flawed film with a cluttered Joe Eszterhas script that doesn't really hold up, but it's a lot better than its reputation would suggest. Friedkin himself was saddened by the film's lack of success, citing it as his favourite movie. And one can see why, because there are some portions of crisp filmmaking in here which are as edgy and emphatic as Friedkin was in his New Hollywood films of the 1970s, such as The French Connection. In particular, there's a car chase segment which stands out, directed with an old-fashioned craftsmanship that makes most of today's modern action sequences look inorganic. For as long as he is able to veil the script's obvious plot holes, Friedkin along with an industrious and fairly believable David Caruso make this an enjoyable thriller.

I think this movie has the lowest IMDB user vote rating of any movie that I like. It is really an entertaining movie and I am not sure why it is getting such poor ratings here. It is not perfect and may have a few plot holes, but it is definitely worth seeing. There must be an anti-Caruso IMDB splinter cell operating in cyberspace and conspiring to drop the IMDB user rating for all his movies about 2 to 3 points. Check it out and see what you think. Linda Fiorentino is truly hot and well cast as the steamy babe. Caruso's performance is very believable. Richard Crenna is underrated and good here too. Angie Everhart and Donna Murphy are pleasing to look at and also give good performances in smaller roles. Ignore the anti-Caruso crowd, who must be a band of closet NYPD Blue freaks that are still upset that he left that show to make films.

Jade got a bad rap when it showed in theaters and still appears to be getting one now from the comments here, so I didn't expect much when I caught it on cable. It never hurts to have low expectations, but I was quite pleasantly surprised and have watched it a few more times since then.

No, the plot isn't especially tight nor the story original, and it can be hard to follow at some points, but it's still an exciting, kinky, disturbing ride nonetheless.

I think the main reason I enjoyed it was the actors involved - Caruso and Palminteri were both very skilled (and surprisingly sexy - I hadn't found either to be that way in any roles I had seen them in previously, including NYPD Blue). And most of all Fiorentino smokes up the screen whenever she's on it. Sensual, damaged, brilliant. She's amazing when given a good script like the Last Seduction, but even with a flawed effort such as Jade, she still sets the house on fire.

The cinematography and art direction were the other thing that made this film. I loved the lavish sets and especially the eerie lighting during the final scene.

And as far as the comparisons to Basic Instinct, I see it as being about equal, suffering from the opposite problems as Jade; while the story was far more interesting the acting was pendantic at best. But maybe that's just my personal bias; I find Michael Douglas pompous and annoying and Sharon Stone shallow and vain.

Don't believe all the negs about this pix. It's not just another "Basic Instinct," either. Chaz and Linda are the consummate couple. V-e-r-y classy. The set decorations are fantastic. I absolutely vote Linda the quintessential queen of soft porn (or was it "hard"--I haven't yet seen the uncut version). Was it Linda or was it Memorex? Whoever it was, her legs are fabulous! Angie Everhart's sultry soliloquy describing her passion for LF (Trina) was like butter melting on a hot lobster. I found myself replaying that scene over and over just to capture the full essence of the moment. The hit-and-run scene was extremely graphic, (wow,what a stunt!) except to Friedkin fans who expect a certain amount of gratuitous violence. The final scene with CP and LF was perfect. I could feel the sexual tension jump out from the screen. The beautifully haunting song, "Mystic Dream," by Loreena McKennitt fit the dark mood perfectly. I still don't know why I love this movie; to borrow a line from the film, it must be "hysterical blindness." Go see this movie with a date, and have a great time together afterwards!

To say Friedkin's career has had its ups and downs is an understatement, his eighties filmography inarguably has enough bombs to sink a oil tanker. Yet eschewing their performances at the box office, many of his films yearn to be rediscovered, from "Cruising" to "Deal of the Century" to "Rampage". Let's not kid ourselves, "Jade" is not a great film, and this is the fault of one man and one man alone - Joe Esterhas. If trash had a messiah, it would be him. For a fleeting moment in the nineties, Esterhas was paid by the bucketload to write formulaic movies for guys, and the erotic thriller has him to thank for its continuing lugubrious existence. "Jade" is interesting however, it is an erotic thriller without the erotic part. While Paul Verhoeven filled "Basic Instinct" chock full of the sleaze he had become renowned for, Friedkin's films are notable for primarily dealing with male characters, and are subsequently about as erotic as as a bowl of cereal. "Jade" is not about sex; it is about sexual jealousy. The talent of Linda Fiorentino cannot be underestimated here, giving depth to a part that amounts to no more than a typical male fantasy - part good girl, part whore - that's right, it's "Crimes of Passion" without Anthony Perkins and his bag of dildos. The leads are well cast and all give adequate performances, and Friedkin throws in all his usual directorial touches (subliminal images and, you guessed it, yet another bloody car chase). "Jade" is an enjoyable film, with delightfully silly twists and over-the-top violence (come on, you know you want to see Angie Everhart get run over again), and is given some class from it's cast and director, but, in the end, proves itself to be a guilty pleasure that makes one feel more guilt than pleasure.