Are you discreet? Massage the sploosh related neck injury and pack light with adulterous baggage with the 1987 film, Fatal Attraction. Quid Pro Mo brought to you by Thanks for Coming podcast.

Stats

Released: September 1987

Director: Adrian Lyne

Writers: James Dearden

Stars: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer

Budget: $14,000,000

Worldwide Gross: $320,145,693

Breakdown and Analysis

• Oti enjoyed the film. Revisiting cherished films has been disappointing but going back to watch Fatal Attraction stayed true to form.
• Glenn Close gives an exceptional performance and it is easy to buy into her character Alex.
• KT compares the experience of watching this film to Office Space. It feels more like a blueprint as opposed to a wholly satisfying film. A lot of nod and accolade for the groundwork it laid but not necessarily at the top of this genre list.
• There were themes and storylines being introduced that were never really addressed throughout the film. Example of this is the offhand comment of the author having an affair with a congressman. KT theorises it was Alex but this thread didn’t build to anything.
• Even if the character isn’t on the screen, the world is still going on for them. Building out storylines introduced helps to contextualise their motives.
• Whenever there is hesitancy with the character, it bothers me because there’s some real dimension we can get to however the character was umm’ing and ahh’ing.
• Oti disagrees that Dan was in the world but could not have anticipated  Alex would go as far as she did.
• Dan became the most committed family man after he had the affair. He didn’t seem to care and just going through the motions it was only when Alex would latch her hooks into him.
• The hesitancy continues as Dan lets so much unravel when he should have killed Alex. Every step in her plan reinforced that she could not be reasoned to and would continue until she gets what she wants.
• Neither Alex nor Dan took accountability for their actions.
• Unfortunately infidelity is very common. When you’re in the fantasy of film, cheating is not necessarily a deal breaker in regards to morals. Especially if they’re attractive.
• In regards to Dan, we had a chance to care for him however he didn’t seem to have any internal moral quandary over stepping out of his marriage.
• Dan should have stepped up, stayed out, paid child support and moved on with his merry life.
• KT loves a good sex scene like anyone else but the thirsty sex scene has the energy of a sexually thirsty virgin. If you’ve got a dry ass pussy and you give him tap water it isn’t the same.
• Debt collectors follow you when you don’t pay. Alex is a pussy collector.
• Dan stayed too long entangled with Alex and it was inevitable. Oti says the attachment Alex had was believable.
• KT muses whether someone that is about to step out on their relationship knows at a particular moment.
• When Alex turned up at the house, all real world rules were off yet Dan was still grounded in reality. That building to tension was exactly what KT was hoping for but the anti climax was through Dan’s indifference to the severity of the situation.

Unrelated but vital points

• Shoutout to our patrons for voting on selecting this film to review.
• We love Jane Krakowski.
• Gladiator reference.
• Omar Epps’ eyes are his own entanglement genre.
• Willy Wonka and his elevator reference.
• Oti lays sploosh for 90s Taye Diggs.
• KT proposes creating a TV show called Fuck Court where Judge Oti qualifies when a tryst gone wrong is justified.
• KT & Oti: The Eleven Year Long Affair