Bad Influence

Rating

Director

Curtis Hanson

Screenplay

David Koepp

Length

1h 39m

Starring

Rob Lowe, James Spader, Lisa Zane, Marcia Cross, Rosalyn Landor, Tony Maggio, Palmer Lee Todd, Kathleen Wilhoite

MPAA Rating

R

Review

PREFACE:
In the early 2000s, I was writing reviews for an outfit called Apollo Guide Reviews. That website has since been closed down.

Attempting to reconstruct those reviews has been an exercise in frustration. Having sent them to Apollo Guide via email on a server I no longer have access to (and which probably doesn’t have records going back that far), my only option was to dig through The Wayback Machine to see if I could find them there. Unfortunately, while I found a number of reviews, a handful of them have disappeared into the ether. At this point, almost two decades later, it is rather unlikely that I will find them again.

Luckily, I was able to locate my original review of this particular film. Please note that I was not doing my own editing at the time, Apollo Guide was. As such, there may be more than your standard number of grammatical and spelling errors in this review. In an attempt to preserve what my style had been like back then, I am not re-editing these reviews, which are presented as-is.

REVIEW:
A stock broker’s humdrum life becomes more than he bargained for when he meets a psychotic malcontent in Curtis Hanson’s Bad Influence.

James Spader plays Michael Boll, a modestly successful stock trader whose life seems to be going poorly. A competitive colleague (Tony Maggio) is attempting to sabotage Michael’s chances at a promotion. He’s about to marry a refined rich girl (Marcia Cross). Meanwhile, he’s drowning his worries at a bar when he buys a woman a drink and finds that her boyfriend doesn’t much like people hitting on his girlfriend and threatens to maim him. In steps Alex (Rob Lowe), a tough as nails stranger who takes a broken beer bottle and successfully defends Michael’s honour.

An unusual friendship develops and soon Alex is introducing Mick (his new nickname) to a world of decadence and danger. Doing things he never thought he would, Mick soon becomes Alex’s unwitting accomplice in a number of astonishing and gruesome chores. When Mick’s life becomes a shambles, his reconciliation attempts fail as Alex tries to prevent Mick from giving up on him or his lofty ‘goals.’

Spader turns in a credible performance as a down in the dumps loser who has everything he’s ever wanted: success, money and a wife, but lacks the most important thing: happiness. Lowe shows his amazing range as he gives a startling performance as a psychotic with an attitude. Together, the pair offsets the stereotypical performances of the rest of the cast. Bad Influence feels as much like an adventure film as a romance film. Both characters are straight but over time, Alex seems to develop an obsession with Mick that feels like romantic attachment and causes strife between the characters.

Bad Influence is a realistic tale about involving oneself in a platonic relationship with someone who, after being jilted, begins stalking you like a fanatical paramour. While there is never a scene involving gay sex, the tension between the two characters feels homosexual in nature. These are the strengths of David Koepp’s screenplay. Without forcing the audience to believe one certain way, Koepp allows the viewer to form his own opinion about the plot so that the film becomes more personal. Hanson, whose later work on L.A. Confidential earned him an Oscar nomination, gives us an interpretation free of bias. We are shown the antagonist’s evil nature allowing us to form our own opinions while still leading us in a direction of utter distaste.

All that said, there remain serious concerns about the movie’s quality. The film’s look is often dingy and unattractive, much like its characters. The production values give a sense that the movie was quickly and haphazardly put together. The film’s predominant aspects are of high quality but it looks more like a cheap attempt at popcorn entertainment, not a serious psychological thriller.

The overall effect of Bad Influence is a movie that has many connotations but gives the audience a chance to make its own determination. Some will find this movie very shallow and uninteresting. Others will find a captivating film about mixed emotions and unabashed self awareness. No matter what the viewer believes, Bad Influence is a movie worth of attention.

Review Written

July 9, 2003