Obsessed Review

I didn’t walk into "Obsessed" expecting an Oscar-caliber movie. In fact, I don’t even think I was expecting a "good" movie.

I mean, how COULD it be good? Its plot was straight out of the type of 90’s thriller they stopped making a decade ago, Beyonce Knowles AND Jerry O’Connell looked like they had a decent amount of responsibility in terms of carrying the film, and it had a hideously generic title. Honestly, just sitting in the theatre waiting for the movie to start, I came up with two better titles off the top of my head - "Tempted" or "Crazy in Love" (Beyonce reference!)

The story - which you can pretty much guess from the delightfully campy commercials - follows successful asset manager Derek Charles (Idris Elba of "The Wire" and "The Office", two of my seven favorite shows from the past decade). Derek just got a major promotion - and an attractive new temp ("Tempted"!) played by "Heroes’" Ali Larter, who immediately arouses the suspicion of Derek’s wife Sharon (Knowles).

I went to see the movie because I happen to be a big fan of the type of campy 90’s thrillers they stopped making a decade ago. (Brief tangent: Another 90’s movie staple that’s gone away is courtroom dramas - did Hollywood run out of John Grisham novels to adapt?)

My other concern - the one about Knowles being prominently involved - proved to be mostly unfounded, since she doesn’t actually have all that much to do for a good portion of the movie.

That’s because (in a pleasant surprise to me), Elba is allowed to drive the story for the first 3/4 of the movie. It’s not that I didn’t think he can carry a movie (I think he’s a brilliant actor), it’s just that the promos had hyped this as sort of "The Beyonce Show." Since he’s given the opportunity, Elba creates a character - he’s suave yet kinda dorky; a loyal husband but a bit of a flirt - that had the potential to be Blandsville.

When I first heard about this flick, I thought it would’ve been more interesting if Knowles and Larter switched roles. However, I’m ultimately happy with the way things stayed, since Larter delivers a strong, sexy (for a PG-13 movie), scary (if you’re a guy) performance as an unstable young woman while mostly avoiding going over the top.

Still, I couldn’t fully understand why Knowles would take such a relatively-thankless role. To her credit, she overcomes an underdeveloped character (we know that she also used to be Derek’s temp, that she wants to go back to school and not too much else) and some questionable line readings to exude a strong presence in the stock wife role. Even O’Connell adds a dash of genuine relish in playing the stock role of douche-y best friend. On the other hand, I’m waiting for the day when we get a STRAIGHT male office assistant in a movie or TV show, though Matthew Humphreys DOES get some chuckles in that role.

Eventually, we got the blockbuster final sequence of the movie and - without giving too much away - I finally understood why Beyonce wanted to play the wife. The much-hyped catfight is so deliciously absurd (credit to director Steve Shill from not cheating us out of a good smackdown) that you’ll find yourself laughing as you chant "Fight, fight, fight!"

I realize that the amazing fight is sort of the centerpiece for the movie’s marketing campaign (as is the idea of kicking the ass of the woman who’s trying to steal your man), but "Obsessed" actually explores some interesting themes.

Though Larter’s temp is clearly mentally unstable, the movie brings up interesting ideas about a married man’s relationship with other women (when does "being friendly" cross over into "flirting"?) and I appreciated the fact that the characters’ race was never an issue. There’s also the never-ending issue of "how much do I tell my wife"? (Women’s answer: "Everything." Men's answer: "Enough not to get yelled at." Additionally, there’s, oh who am I kidding?!

If you’re going to see "Obsessed", you know you’re going to see a bad-yet-entertaining crowd-pleaser and it delivers in that regard. It’s a very solid B movie, so...

Obsessed...B