Despite girls going wild, 'Obsessed' packs little punch
"Obsessed" - The trailers for "Obsessed" hinted that it might be a classic guilty pleasure, a neo-exploitation flick highlighted by an all-out catfight between Beyonce Knowles and Ali Larter. The catfight is here, but there's virtually no pleasure to be had watching this generic, boring thriller.
A repackaging of the "Fatal Attraction" story, "Obsessed" introduces us to Lisa (Larter), a lithe temp at a posh Los Angeles investment firm who develops an unhealthy fixation on Derek (Idris Elba), one of the firm's heavy hitters. Lisa stalks Derek, her behavior getting increasingly twisted and criminal, until Derek's wife Sharon (Her Majesty, Ms. Knowles) decides enough is enough and takes the matter into her own butt-kicking hands.
Nothing much works in this mishmash of overacting, bad dialogue and recycled story beats from every "crazy stalker woman" flick that has come before. Even the Knowles/Larter title bout, where Knowles tries hard to release her inner Pam Grier, feels lame. Knowles might have the skills to be a solid dramatic actress, but if she continues to pick films like these, we'll never know.
The movie looks great on this DVD, which also offers a handful of behind-the-scenes featurettes. Most of these go a bit overboard with the Beyoncé worship, but there is an interesting piece on the reasons behind the costume decisions. (PG-13; Sony, $28.96 or $39.95 on Blu-ray)
"The Soloist" - This uneven but compelling drama works best when it focuses on its two main characters. It falters when it tries to tackle Issues (note the capital "I").
The great Robert Downey Jr. plays Steve Lopez, a Los Angeles Times columnist who discovers Nathaniel Ayers, a gifted musician, living on the grimy city streets. Nathaniel (Jamie Foxx) studied at Juilliard, but mental illness left him homeless. Lopez, struck by Nathaniel's talent, tries to bring his music to the world by coaxing him back into mainstream society, whether Nathaniel wants to go there or not.
Downey and Foxx bring their characters to life beautifully. Downey is particularly good, using his expressive eyes and attention-deficit speech patterns to convey the pain and doubt inside his character's mind. Foxx occasionally goes overboard with his homeless schtick - the unkempt hair, the stream-of-consciousness muttering - but when his character either plays or listens to music, the simple look of joy that Foxx puts on his face is heartbreaking. The film becomes shrill and preachy, though, when director Joe Wright tries to comment on issues like homelessness and America's treatment of the mentally ill. My advice is to tune out the pontificating and focus instead on the beautiful music Downey and Foxx make together.
Paramount gives "The Soloist" a nice DVD release, packaging the film with a Wright commentary, deleted scenes, a nicely understated behind-the-scenes featurette and a couple of sobering items about homelessness. The Blu-ray adds a trailer and an additional piece on Nathaniel. (PG-13; Paramount, $19.99 or $29.99 for Blu-ray)
Also out this week - HBO brings us "The Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Second Season." Kino delivers the acclaimed documentary "Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29" and Disney offers "Escape to Witch Mountain," starring professional wrestler-turned-action-hero Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.