Fatal Attraction was a remake of a circa 1971 movie, "Play Misty For Me".

It's a movie, Hollywood movie at that.

Glenn Close character was mentally unstable from jump, I think the picture let's use in on this

when Mr. Douglas's character searchers her flat only to find out her father had died of a heart attack when she said he hadn't . . . in a practical joke scene.

Do I think it make women look bad? No.

As Ottensen mentioned, having a career, a well paying job, and being independent doesn't have anything to do with anyone being emotionally unstable. I'm not sure for some, it heightens more anxiety for those who are the brink because some think "they have everything " going for me, why can't I be or why aren't I in relationship?

As I said it's a movie, Hollywood always appears to take a black and white, good or bad, simplistic way out about talking about the human condition. The fact that at the end, the left you think they shut the damn door (after his wife had to kill his paramour) and lived happily ever after, speak to this b.s. What was interesting about that movie, Mr. Douglas character does what everyone has done, participate in something they knew was wrong but followed through because they didn't think they would get caught. Like most people didn't think about the possible consequences or how they could lose control over the situation or how it would effect those around them.

The more I look at this movie, it's turned into a comedy.

crazydoctor said:

I miss Sieskel & Ebert. They were so great together

chocolate1 said:

Ottensen said:

Girl, we then wouldn'na had no movie!

Was Beyonce's movie supposed to be an updated twist on the Fatal Attraction theme? I only saw the commercials (cause I'm not giving away my hard earned cheddar to watch Beyowulf throw out her script lines like she has a wad of cow-cud in her mouth).

Hahahahaha!

I was just about to mention Beyonce's mess...

It's on cable now. I didn't pay for it either.

I watched that over the weekend too. Ali Larter is a more than crazy ass in that movie. She was checking ole dude's calendars and emails and showing up to his off-site business meetings then druggin' ole dude so she could get in his bed. It was just wayyy too much fixation in that movie.

I still giggle when I think of Bey yelling "GET OUDDA MAH HOUSE!!"

Genesia said:

Genesia does not see films about out-of-control animals or people.

What, you mean to tell us that you actually missed the greatness that was Cujo???

chocolate1 said:

Oh Gurl, no she was not standing up on a hill spying out from behind the trees

Ottensen said:

chocolate1 said:

Oh Gurl, no she was not standing up on a hill spying out from behind the trees

He & Donna Mills were on a picnic...

1971.

Today the Internet makes all of this a lot easier!

Ottensen said:

chocolate1 said:

Oh Gurl, no she was not standing up on a hill spying out from behind the trees

Thanks for posting that Chocolate1.

Ya know....

why are there so often films made about a chick going nutso over a dude but not the other way around? In reality, more women are victims of jealous obsessive men than men are of jealous obsessive women right? statistically?

Movies about women with unhealthy fixations on male crushes:

Fatal Attraction

Play Misty for Me

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle

Obsessed

The Crush

Swimfan

Gone With The Wind (come on....the whole movie Scarlett is pining for Ashley)

Movies about men with unhealthy fixations on female crushes:

Sleeping With the Enemy (although she was his wife)

Fear

Kiss the Girls (although it was more masochistic with dude kidnapping all those women and keeping them in his cellar before ultimately killing them)

DesireeNevermind said:

Ya know....

why are there so often films made about a chick going nutso over a dude but not the other way around? In reality, more women are victims of jealous obsessive men than men are of jealous obsessive women right? statistically?

Movies about women with unhealthy fixations on male crushes:

Fatal Attraction

Play Misty for Me

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle

Obsessed

The Crush

Swimfan

Gone With The Wind (come on....the whole movie Scarlett is pining for Ashley)

Movies about men with unhealthy fixations on female crushes:

Sleeping With the Enemy (although she was his wife)

Fear

Kiss the Girls (although it was more masochistic with dude kidnapping all those women and keeping them in his cellar before ultimately killing them)

I think all those missing films about men obsessed with women are shown on the lifetime channel.

DesireeNevermind said:

Ya know....

why are there so often films made about a chick going nutso over a dude but not the other way around? In reality, more women are victims of jealous obsessive men than men are of jealous obsessive women right? statistically?

Movies about women with unhealthy fixations on male crushes:

Fatal Attraction

Play Misty for Me

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle

Obsessed

The Crush

Swimfan

Gone With The Wind (come on....the whole movie Scarlett is pining for Ashley)

Movies about men with unhealthy fixations on female crushes:

Sleeping With the Enemy (although she was his wife)

Fear

Kiss the Girls (although it was more masochistic with dude kidnapping all those women and keeping them in his cellar before ultimately killing them)

There are a few of those crappy TV-One movies...

DesireeNevermind said:

Ya know....

why are there so often films made about a chick going nutso over a dude but not the other way around? In reality, more women are victims of jealous obsessive men than men are of jealous obsessive women right? statistically?

Movies about women with unhealthy fixations on male crushes:

Fatal Attraction

Play Misty for Me

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle

Obsessed

The Crush

Swimfan

Gone With The Wind (come on....the whole movie Scarlett is pining for Ashley)

Movies about men with unhealthy fixations on female crushes:

Sleeping With the Enemy (although she was his wife)

Fear

Kiss the Girls (although it was more masochistic with dude kidnapping all those women and keeping them in his cellar before ultimately killing them)

You make me smile.

Most movies in most era's the wayward woman was the root of all problems. Yes woman get way more orders of protection and/or restraining orders not only men who they know and knew but men they don't know.

crazydoctor said:

I think all those missing films about men obsessed with women are shown on the lifetime channel.

Yes!

crazydoctor said:

DesireeNevermind said:

Ya know....

why are there so often films made about a chick going nutso over a dude but not the other way around? In reality, more women are victims of jealous obsessive men than men are of jealous obsessive women right? statistically?

Movies about women with unhealthy fixations on male crushes:

Fatal Attraction

Play Misty for Me

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle

Obsessed

The Crush

Swimfan

Gone With The Wind (come on....the whole movie Scarlett is pining for Ashley)

Movies about men with unhealthy fixations on female crushes:

Sleeping With the Enemy (although she was his wife)

Fear

Kiss the Girls (although it was more masochistic with dude kidnapping all those women and keeping them in his cellar before ultimately killing them)

I think all those missing films about men obsessed with women are shown on the lifetime channel.

So true . . . quite of few of those shows are based on real life events. Even so it's hard for me to watch that network. The story-lines tick me off.

I can't watch that Lifetime mess....I....I just can't. My self-esteem, my intellect, my precious time just won't allow it.

I mean really...how many movies about your best friend's husband/intriguing stranger/controlling boyfriend/kidnapper/identity thief/daughter's stalker/mobster lover/abusive husband/psycho lawyer/younger lover/student turned rapist can one person tolerate?

DesireeNevermind said:

I can't watch that Lifetime mess....I....I just can't. My self-esteem, my intellect, my precious time just won't allow it.

I mean really...how many movies about your best friend's husband/intriguing stranger/controlling boyfriend/kidnapper/identity thief/daughter's stalker/mobster lover/abusive husband/psycho lawyer/younger lover/student turned rapist can one person tolerate?

Giiiiirllll... during all that snow last winter I got hooked!

There's Lifetime AND LMN!

Then one day I thought, "Did I see this?" It dawned on me they were all the same.

DesireeNevermind said:

I can't watch that Lifetime mess....I....I just can't. My self-esteem, my intellect, my precious time just won't allow it.

I mean really...how many movies about your best friend's husband/intriguing stranger/controlling boyfriend/kidnapper/identity thief/daughter's stalker/mobster lover/abusive husband/psycho lawyer/younger lover/student turned rapist can one person tolerate?

Come on DesireeNevermind, less watch Maid of Honor tonight 7:00 pm central time. It's about a woman who harbors a crush on her unrequited widowed bother-in -law.

chocolate1 said:

DesireeNevermind said:

I can't watch that Lifetime mess....I....I just can't. My self-esteem, my intellect, my precious time just won't allow it.

I mean really...how many movies about your best friend's husband/intriguing stranger/controlling boyfriend/kidnapper/identity thief/daughter's stalker/mobster lover/abusive husband/psycho lawyer/younger lover/student turned rapist can one person tolerate?

Giiiiirllll... during all that snow last winter I got hooked!

There's Lifetime AND LMN!

Then one day I thought, "Did I see this?" It dawned on me they were all the same.

and Oxygen network tries to sneak in them hot mess love-gone-wrong stories too. Society just can't get enough of the "woman in distress" storyline.

But uh....

I wouldn't be opposed to a Fatal Attraction television series. It could be kind of like 24. Every week you got this crazy bitch plotting and scheming on how to set up or take out some dude she banged all cuz he didn't love her and was tryna work things out with his wife. The twist would be that his wife and his best friend are helping ole psycho bitch cuz wifey is tryna get at that divorce settlement (on lockdown via an iron clad prenup that just happens to omit putting one's life in danger) and best friend secretly pines for psycho bitch cuz unbeknownst to hubby - best friend and psycho bitch were lovers once upon a time and he never got over losing her nor the fact that she gave his baby away. Then there could be the peripheral players like the lesbian police officer who's been helping psycho bitch keep tabs on married dude because she's being blackmailed, and the psychiatrist who knows psycho bitch isn't going to stop but he can't say or do anything on the count of patient-client privilege so like a do-nothing lazy ass he just counsels her through all her crazy scheming, then you could thow in some random muslim terrorist dude cuz these days every show has to have one. And the only one who knows what's really up is the Indian dude at the Visa call center cuz ole psyho bitch always has questionable charges on her credit card like duct tape, machetes, horse tranquelizers and shit like that. But he can't do shit neither cuz he's in India.

lawd jeebus!

DesireeNevermind said:

chocolate1 said:

Giiiiirllll... during all that snow last winter I got hooked!

There's Lifetime AND LMN!

Then one day I thought, "Did I see this?" It dawned on me they were all the same.

and Oxygen network tries to sneak in them hot mess love-gone-wrong stories too. Society just can't get enough of the "woman in distress" storyline.

But uh....

I wouldn't be opposed to a Fatal Attraction television series. It could be kind of like 24. Every week you got this crazy bitch plotting and scheming on how to set up or take out some dude she banged all cuz he didn't love her and was tryna work things out with his wife. The twist would be that his wife and his best friend are helping ole psycho bitch cuz wifey is tryna get at that divorce settlement (on lockdown via an iron clad prenup that just happens to omit putting one's life in danger) and best friend secretly pines for psycho bitch cuz unbeknownst to hubby - best friend and psycho bitch were lovers once upon a time and he never got over losing her nor the fact that she gave his baby away. Then there could be the peripheral players like the lesbian police officer who's been helping psycho bitch keep tabs on married dude because she's being blackmailed, and the psychiatrist who knows psycho bitch isn't going to stop but he can't say or do anything on the count of patient-client privilege so like a do-nothing lazy ass he just counsels her through all her crazy scheming, then you could thow in some random muslim terrorist dude cuz these days every show has to have one. And the only one who knows what's really up is the Indian dude at the Visa call center cuz ole psyho bitch always has questionable charges on her credit card like duct tape, machetes, horse tranquelizers and shit like that. But he can't do shit neither cuz he's in India.

lawd jeebus!

You put a lot of thought of into this...

chocolate1 said:

DesireeNevermind said:

and Oxygen network tries to sneak in them hot mess love-gone-wrong stories too. Society just can't get enough of the "woman in distress" storyline.

But uh....

I wouldn't be opposed to a Fatal Attraction television series. It could be kind of like 24. Every week you got this crazy bitch plotting and scheming on how to set up or take out some dude she banged all cuz he didn't love her and was tryna work things out with his wife. The twist would be that his wife and his best friend are helping ole psycho bitch cuz wifey is tryna get at that divorce settlement (on lockdown via an iron clad prenup that just happens to omit putting one's life in danger) and best friend secretly pines for psycho bitch cuz unbeknownst to hubby - best friend and psycho bitch were lovers once upon a time and he never got over losing her nor the fact that she gave his baby away. Then there could be the peripheral players like the lesbian police officer who's been helping psycho bitch keep tabs on married dude because she's being blackmailed, and the psychiatrist who knows psycho bitch isn't going to stop but he can't say or do anything on the count of patient-client privilege so like a do-nothing lazy ass he just counsels her through all her crazy scheming, then you could thow in some random muslim terrorist dude cuz these days every show has to have one. And the only one who knows what's really up is the Indian dude at the Visa call center cuz ole psyho bitch always has questionable charges on her credit card like duct tape, machetes, horse tranquelizers and shit like that. But he can't do shit neither cuz he's in India.

lawd jeebus!

You put a lot of thought of into this...

I was trying so hard to hold my laugh in I nearly peed just now

I swear....sometimes this mysterious heffa just up and parks herself at my laptop.

TD3 said:

DesireeNevermind said:

I can't watch that Lifetime mess....I....I just can't. My self-esteem, my intellect, my precious time just won't allow it.

I mean really...how many movies about your best friend's husband/intriguing stranger/controlling boyfriend/kidnapper/identity thief/daughter's stalker/mobster lover/abusive husband/psycho lawyer/younger lover/student turned rapist can one person tolerate?

Come on DesireeNevermind, less watch Maid of Honor tonight 7:00 pm central time. It's about a woman who harbors a crush on her unrequited widowed bother-in -law.

borderline incestuous.

The woman in The Hand That Rocks The Cradle wasn't really obsessed with the husband, moreso the family. The way I saw it the husband was just a bonus but always replaceable.

chocolate1 said:

Ottensen said:

Girl, we then wouldn'na had no movie!

Was Beyonce's movie supposed to be an updated twist on the Fatal Attraction theme? I only saw the commercials (cause I'm not giving away my hard earned cheddar to watch Beyowulf throw out her script lines like she has a wad of cow-cud in her mouth).

Hahahahaha!

I was just about to mention Beyonce's mess...

It's on cable now. I didn't pay for it either.

I thought the chick fight alone in this movie made it worth the rental fee. I liked it

Not to mention I know what it's like to be cheated on and Beyonce whooping that ass is a fantasy of mine I'd like to carry out........

[Edited 8/23/10 15:02pm]

Yeah...unfortunately once in a blue moon and red sun, theres dick that comes along that makes a woman mad when it's withheld. Kinda like a drug, she keeps seeking it and will need to have it by any means necessary. Destroys her sanity until she is finally able to "get a damned grip".

In this movie she was so over the top, it was obvious that she had some problems. She had no friends, no family, just a job. Then comes along Mr. Super Dinger and he rocks her world and that's all she can think about ......forever.

Sad thing, there were some parts of the movie that I could really "get". I mean, I've never wanted to break into anyones house boil their bunny, and take their kid on a joyride, but the scene where she was flicking the light off and on in the dark, thinking about him while he was out having fun wiht his wife and friends, I've been there (minus the married man and my flicking a light on an off). I could totally understand thinking about someone who is no longer thinking about you.

But that woman was a crazed manaic. Boiling that damned rabbit, kidnapping his daughter, and attempting to murder his wife. But in reality ALL of these things have happened by jilted women (not sure about the rabbit part) throughout history. I think that movie might have been "loosely based" on someone's real life situation.

It bout took me several viewings to realize that the boiling of the rabbit was symbolic to her unwanted pregnancy and the suggestion of abortion by Dave.

In the old days didn't docs used to feed rabbits women's urine or some shit to see if the woman was pregnant? Isn't that where that saying 'the rabbit died" came from? Shit Idunno.

Pretty sure it had something to do with her being preggers though.

The other fucked up thing is that she's doing all this phone calling, fucking up his car, watching him through windows and killing his pets etc. but you have to wonder...where does she find the time? Don't this chick have a job? Nobody sees her trespassing or pouring acid on his car? She gets in their house so easily too.

The best stalker chick was the lady from Hand that Rocks the Cradle. She was destroying them right up under their noses. Man that was fucked up how she emptied out all of wifey's inhalers. Just evil.

Ottensen said:

uPtoWnNY said:

(from Wiki):

Alex Forrest was originally scripted to commit suicide at the end of the movie by slashing her throat. Her plan was to make it look as if Dan had murdered her, for which he would be arrested. Although Beth saves the day by finding a revealing tape that Alex had sent Dan and taking it to police, test audiences did not respond well.

I saw that on the extras features of the dvd!!! They included the alternate ending with director's commentary

In addition to opening the public forum on adultery (I remember when the movie and the topic made the cover of TIME) the Alex Forrest character became the pop culture poster girl for extreme Borderline Personality Disorder. While many psychiatrists would argue that it's not an appropriate diagnosis because Alex (as a movie character) was so extreme, a lot of research papers have been convincingly written to show how she at least exhibits general characteristics of someone who is afflicted with this disorder ( although yes, they really made her extra wackadoo for cinematic effect). An excerpt from a research paper at papermasters.com:

Personality Disorder found in Fatal Attraction

Several years ago the movie “Fatal Attraction” brought public attention to a specific personality disorder termedBorderline Personality Disorder. In the film starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas, the female character played by Glenn Close suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder. The basic plot of the movie begins with Alex Forest (Glenn Close) and Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) having a weekend affair while Mrs. Gallagher is out of town. When Dan leaves Alex’s apartment at the end of the weekend the first display of Borderline Personality Disorder is revealed. Alex kicks him out in a sudden rage then returns to the doorway completely calm and almost sweet with her wrists cut. Completely consistent with a symptom of Borderline Personality Disorder, fear of abandonment, the afflicted individual will often make desperate attempts to maintain a relationship. By attempting suicide, Alex is able to keep Dan at her place another night.

This episode is congruent with another symptom, which is the inability to control sudden impulses. When a situation appears out of control for the sufferer they will attempt an act of self-destruction such as Alex cutting her wrists. This first episode of Borderline Personality Disorder in the movie also presents unstable emotions, which is another significant symptom. In a matter of minutes, hours or days the sufferer can change emotions from complete euphoria to sudden rage. This was evident in Alex’s fit of anger when Dan said he must leave.

Unfortunately, in the film “Fatal Attraction”, Borderline Personality Disorder is shown to the extreme. For instance, when Dan Gallagher tells Alex Forest that they are through, she begins to stalk and harass Dan by calling him at all hours of the day and at work and home. When she finds out she is pregnant and that Dan wants no part of the baby, her disorder begins to get violent. Individuals suffering form Borderline Personality Disorder rarely go to the violent extremes as portrayed in the movie. Alex kills the Gallagher’s pet rabbit and boils it in a pot in their kitchen. She also attempts to kill Mrs. Gallagher in the final scenes of the movie. Although some sufferers can become violent to themselves or others, the majority of Borderline Personality Disorder patients do not display this extreme behavior. Borderline Personality Disorder is the most common of the Personality Disorders, afflicting at least 2% of the total population. Statistics would point to out of control violence if every Borderline Personality Disorder patient was as violent as Alex Forest in the movie “Fatal Attraction”. In reality most sufferers do not go to this extreme.

[Edited 8/23/10 12:04pm]

I think the diagnosis of BPD is a bit of a stretch based on the limited interaction that Alex had with others besides the object of her affection. Alex' personality could be the result of a multitude psychiatric disorders. She was a bit delusional, and most people with BPD are pretty lucid. Of course there are co-existing disorders but to really determine a BPD dx one would have to see her engage in a relationship with more than one selfish MF'er who took advantage of her. BPD individuals not only lack impulse control and have untameable rage, but they engage in "splitting" (good object vs. bad object) and many other things that we did not see unfold in the movie. Kinda gets me when lay people get a hold of a term that sounds "crazy' and then places that term on everyone who's erratic. Not saying you personally but just in general.

DesireeNevermind said:

It bout took me several viewings to realize that the boiling of the rabbit was symbolic to her unwanted pregnancy and the suggestion of abortion by Dave.

In the old days didn't docs used to feed rabbits women's urine or some shit to see if the woman was pregnant? Isn't that where that saying 'the rabbit died" came from? Shit Idunno.

Pretty sure it had something to do with her being preggers though.

The other fucked up thing is that she's doing all this phone calling, fucking up his car, watching him through windows and killing his pets etc. but you have to wonder...where does she find the time? Don't this chick have a job? Nobody sees her trespassing or pouring acid on his car? She gets in their house so easily too.

The best stalker chick was the lady from Hand that Rocks the Cradle. She was destroying them right up under their noses. Man that was fucked up how she emptied out all of wifey's inhalers. Just evil.

Yep, she was trying to tell him that "the rabbit's dead" by boiling his bunny. They used to inject rabbits with a woman's urine and if they died the woman was reported to be preggers.

^ good post.

And therein lies the problem with this movie. It is hard to believe that a woman like Alex (professional and independent) would just flip out so quickly over a man like Dave (attached and otherwise average). There must have been other factors that contributed to her imbalance but we don't see it. All we see is her going "crazy" and it doesn't make sense. Perhaps it isn't suppose to but in the real world...irrational behavior is exhibited in all aspects of an irrational person's life and also in the real world (absense any mind altering drug or history of violence) people are not apt to flip out over a weekend of sex so much so that they resort to property damage, harassment, animal killing, kidnapping and attempted murder.

It would have been great if they had a scene where Dave finds out that Alex used to be in a mental institution or if he came in contact with another man that she flipped out over. I thought maybe her father passing away could have segwayed into her mental instability but it fell short. You just see that she's a crafty liar/actress cuz she tells Dave in one breath that her papi died of a hear attack right in front of her then in the next breath she laughs it off as a joke.

Poor taste? yes. Bonafide psycho? meh...not quite.

Harlan Ellison wrote a great review of it that changed my mind about the film. He said it was a sexist film. Remember, it was the guy who cheated on his wife, so he wanted to cover it up by not taking into account the woman's feelings. Sure she was batty, but he should have thought about her before acting all nutty. He lead her on.

He comes out the good guy, while she is evil. not good.