From: 2fatguys@tdis.icpsr.umich.edu (Too Fat Guys)
Subject: REVIEW: SINGLE WHITE FEMALE
Reply-To: 2fatguys@tdis.icpsr.umich.edu (Too Fat Guys)
Organization: 40 Piece Bucket and a Milkshake Publishing
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 20:20:27 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.movies
Summary: r.a.m.r. #01488
Keywords: author=2FatGuys

			 SINGLE WHITE FEMALE
		    A film review by Too FAT Guys
		    Copyright 1992  by Roger & Me

Roger:  So, another Evil Lesbian movie, Roger?

Roger:	I don't think so.  There wasn't a swarm of gay-rights activists
	bandying about unlabeled spoilers.

Roger:  None that I noticed.

Roger:	SINGLE WHITE FEMALE stars Bridget Fonda as Allison Jones, a
	free-lance programmer.  When her fiance, Sam Rawson (Steven
	Weber) is caught with his drawers down, Allison throws him out
	and searches for a new roommate.  When Hedra Carlson (Jennifer
	Jason Leigh) shows up, Allie knows that she has found her
	woman.  They quickly become best friends, but things begin to
	go bad when Allie forgives Sam's wandering penis and they get
	back together.  Hedy's jealousy over losing Allie to Sam is
	enough to provoke a psychotic episode.

Roger:  As I mentioned earlier, Allie and Hedy's relationship seems
	initially to have strong lesbian overtones.  Fortunately, this
	is no BASIC INSTINCT.  The director, Barbet Schroeder, seems to
	explicitly push the apparently lesbian theme.  However, we find
	out fairly quickly that Hedy is a surviving twin and is using
	Allie as a surrogate sister.

Roger:	Hedy is however a leading proponent of the "men are scum"
	school of thought.  And for the most part, this movie shows her
	to be correct.  All of the hetero men in this film are, in
	fact, relatively scummy.  Certainly, Sam's testicular
	co-processors are alleviating a lot of his CPU's workload.
	Allie's employer, Mitch (Stephen Tobolowsky), is a lecherous,
	condescending, chauvinistic pig.  In fact, the only redeeming
	ornament of manhood is Graham Knox (Peter Friedman), the Nice
	Gay Man.  The NGM is on his way to becoming an accepted
	Hollywood cliche -- as long as he can non-threateningly support
	the female lead.

Roger:  Of course, you're leaving out the really scummy men -- the ones
	responsible for all of the gratuitous nudity in this film.  In
	one scene, Allie walks in on Hedy masturbating.  Far be it from
	me to discourage masturbation, but the point of filming it was
	completely lost on me.  Unless the point was simple
	titillation.

Roger:	Worked for me, but maybe I'm just a scummy man.  The rest of
	the movie worked quite well also.  Except for one unexplained
	intuitive leap on Allie's part, the story held together
	nicely.  I can't say that it ever held me in suspense, but I
	did enjoy watching the plot unfold.

Roger:  Tho suspense is not this films strong point, there were a few
	moments of suspense and some frightening violence.  Leigh's Hedy
	is very convincing, obviously disturbed, and seems a little
	dangerous.  Fonda also is believable as a weak, dependent
	woman.  I think her character was supposed to have grown under
	pressure, but this seems to be somewhat lost.  In all, I didn't
	find the overt sexuality offensive enough to spoil the well
	thought-out and acted plot.  I give this film a thumbs up.

Roger:	The story worked well and stood up to examination afterwards.  I
	enjoyed this film also and give it a thumbs up.

Roger:  So, that's two thumbs up, a first here, for SINGLE WHITE
	FEMALE.  That's all for now -- the tty is closed.
-- 
For the latest review by the Too FAT Guys, finger roger@icpsr.umich.edu.