Page 8
Lowe's influence
not always bad
by Rob Farnham
Collegian Staff Writer
The stars of Bad Influence
nave provided the film with an
interesting publicity angle. While
ames Spader is trying to live up
'o his superb performance as
Graham in last year's critical
favorite, sex, ties, and videotape,
Rob Lowe is trying to live down
the notoriety of his leading role
in an Atlanta home-video project,
which, though untitled, seems
also to deal largely with sex and
lies. Coincidentally or otherwise,
deception, sex, and camcorders all
figure prominently in the plot of
Bad Influence.
This new film is a glossy
thriller about Michael (Spader), a
successful but stressed-out market
analyst whose life is changed
drastically with the appearance of
an enigmatic stranger, Alex
(Lowe). Michael is prosperous
and upwardly mobile, but isn't
enjoying any of the expensive
toys in his sterilely stylish
apartment and is developing an
ulcer from the infighting with a
rival at work.
When Alex comes to his aid
in a dispute at a bar, Michael is
impressed with his casual bravado
and allows himself to be drawn
into unaccustomed territory. Alex
leads him through shadowy after
hours clubs and to a gallery
opening where the crowd is
almost as avant-garde as the
disturbing artwork on display.
Michael follows, fascinated by
the chameleonic nature Alex
displays as he shifts smoothly to
a different identity for each new
set of surroundings.
Having won Michael's
confidence, Alex persuades him
to confess his secret ambitions.
"Tell me what you want, and tell
me what you fear,” he insists,
promising to make things happen
for Michael. As he takes care of
Michael's problems, the implied
menace of Alex’s character
becomes more apparent. Tension
begins to build as the plot gears
Review
I l
up from moody wish-fulfillment
to tightly-focused suspense.
Michael, as he learns more
about Alex's methods, must
make a decision about the lengths
to which he's willing to go for
what he wants. When he does,
events take a turn into the realm
of psychological terror.
Events in Atlanta aside, Rob
Lowe is perfectly cast in the role
of Alex. His intentions
unreadable behind a disarming
grin, it's easy to understand how
this seemingly amoral drifter
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takes people in. Though the
script never makes Alex’s
motives clear, Lowe plays him as
someone who chooses to
manipulate people simply
because he can.
James Spader is becoming
continually more accomplished as
a dramatic actor. He more than
holds his own as Michael, even
opposite Lowe's effortlessly
Mcphistophclian performance. He
comes across well as a man who
finds that getting what he wants
can be very costly.
Also notable is the
performance of Lisa Zane as
Claire, the woman with whom
both men are somehow involved
and who figures prominently in
the film's strange voycurism-by
videotape subplot. Zane does an
excellent job in a difficult role,
making her presence felt despite
only having a fraction of the
screen time given the two leads.
Director Curtis Hanson (The
Bedroom Window) and
screenwriter David Koepp
(Apartment Zero) have distilled a
variety of influences, from
Hitchcock's classic "wrong man"
thrillers to the casual perversity
of David Lynch's Blue Velvet to
the slick, surface-oriented visuals
and pop-culture vocabulary of
MTV, into a well-crafted, if not
innovative, vehicle for their
actors. Lowe, Spader, and Zane
take full advantage of the
opportunity to make Bad
Influence a good movie.
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The Collegian Wednesday, March 28,1990
36 Relevant
39 Meadow
Aeriform fluid 40 Oegree
Ancient chariot 4 1 Period of time
ACROSS
43 Railway: abbr
44 Article
Offspring
Eve'vone
Prophets 45 Sharp
(»r?e* letter 47 Suds
Edible seed 50 Fruit seeds
Projecting tooth 51 Conducted
54 Beam
55 Military student
56 Deface
57 Consumed
Direction
Vegetable: pi
Deciliter 30br
Symbol tor glu-
58 Winter vehicles
59 Pigpen
DOWN
cinium
Southern black
bird
Shade of brown
1 Opening
2 Saloon suds
3 Thick slice
Knock
Market places
The sweetsop
4 Ancient Hebrew
ascetic
Sea eagle
Birds beaks
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Feeling
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Symooi for
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The
Weekly
Crossword
Puzzle
9 Health resort
10 Forerunnei
of CIA
11 insect egg
'7 Fairy
'9 Babylonian
deity
20 Click beetle
21 Fruit
22 Rubber mgred
■ent
24 Joined
25 Coal or oil
26 Red-hot piece
at coal
27 Composition
29 Saucy
31 Prefix before
33 Vapor
37 Hostelry
38 Has confi-
dence m
42 Near
45 Assistant
46 Shade trees
47 Monk s title
48 Grain
49 Affirmative vote
50 Crony: colloq
52 Ome
53 And
55 Symbol for
cesium
(solution on page 9)