Bad Influence [1990] Rob Lowe James Spader

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Bad Influence (1990)


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099091/

Bad Influence is a 1990 American film starring Rob Lowe and James Spader. In this noirish film, Spader plays a yuppie who meets a mysterious stranger (Lowe) who encourages him to explore his darker side.


Rob Lowe ... Alex
James Spader ... Michael Boll
Lisa Zane ... Claire
Marcia Cross ... Ruth Fielding
Rosalyn Landor ... Britt
Tony Maggio ... Patterson
Palmer Lee Todd ... Naked Woman
Kathleen Wilhoite ... Leslie
Sunny Smith ... Waitress
Susan Lee Hoffman ... Karen, Woman in Bar
Jeff Kaake ... Willie, Man in Bar
Christian Clemenson ... Pismo Boll
Charisse Glenn ... Stylish Eurasian Woman
Jay Della ... Chez Jay Bartender
Inger Lorre ... Band Member

Basic thrillers are just not made anymore. Everything needs a gimmick or a twist ending. Hollywood tends to forget that human nature is one of the most compelling things to watch. Maybe this was the theory behind reality TV. Of course, reality TV doesn’t work because it either deals with the lowest form of scum or celebrities that are pretending to be real (and do an awfully bad job of it). Real human nature can be examined through the works of Rod Serling or classics like the original Stepford Wives, and surprisingly this little known gem.

Bad Influence is simple and straightforward. The reason it strikes such a chord is because of how basic it is. Now, that isn’t to say that the film takes the audience for fools. Unlike today’s motion pictures, Bad Influence doesn’t diminish dialogue or dumb down the wording to attract the weakest minds. Instead, the creators understood what a thriller was supposed to be and allowed the two main characters to build the tension.

Bad Influence was written by David Koepp and directed by Curtis Hanson, and is a much superior exploitation of a theme that Koepp used in his screenplay for last year's Apartment Zero: A passive hero falls for the spell of a virile man who enters his life under false and deadly pretenses. Apartment Zero was lurid and overwrought, almost a self-parody, while Hanson's direction of Bad Influence makes it into a sombre, introspective study of the relationship. Perhaps it says something about our times that when strangers meet in movies these days, one of them is almost always operating out of some kind of secret depravity.

SOUNDTRACK:

SPIRITUAL HEALING
Written by F. Hibbert
Performed by Toots
Produced by Chris Blackwell and Sly Dunbar
Courtesy of Mango Records, An Island Records Company

CORRUPTION
Written, Performed and Produced by Thomas Mapfumo
Courtesy of Mango Records, An Island Records Company

HE GOT WHAT HE WANTED
Written and Performed by Gavin Friday and The Man Seezer
Produced by Hal Willner
Courtesy of Island Records

THE HIGHWAY
Written by Inger Lorre and Jet Freedom
Performed by The Nymphs
Produced by Earl Mankey
Courtesy of David Geffen Company

OUT OF THE RAIN
Written by Tony Joe White
Performed by Etta James
Produced by Barry Beckett
Additional production: Kim Buie and Etta James
Courtesy of Island Records

BIRD BOY
Written by Don Charry and Nana Vasconcelos
Performed by Nana Vasconcelos and The Bushdancers
Produced by Gragg Lunsford and The Bushdancers
Courtesy of Antilles/New Directions, An Island Records Company

ALMOST LIKE HEAVEN
Written and Performed by Scott Cossu
Produced by George Winston
Courtesy of Windham Hill Records

ORANE
Written and Performed by Les Negresses Vertes
Produced by Clive Martin and Sodi
Courtesy of Sire Records/Off the Track Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

N'SEL FIK
Written by C. Sahraoui, Fadela and R. Baba-Ahmed
Performed by Chaba Fadela
Produced by Rachid Baba-Ahmed/A Rashid and Fethi Production
Courtesy of Mango Records, An Island Records Company

DOWNTOWN
Written by Lloyd Cole and Blair Cowan
Performed by Lloyd Cole
Produced by Lloyd Cole, Fred Maher and Paul Hardiman
Courtesy of Polydor Ltd./Capitol Records

WHO'S LAUGHING NOW
Written and Performed by Skinny Puppy
Produced by David Ogilvie and Cevin Key
Courtesy of Nettwork Productions Ltd./Capitol Records