Classic Brian De Palma...
...and if you like Brian De Palma films, you will like this one too...'Body Double' features a virtual nobody, Craig Wasson, in the male lead....De Palma might have done the film more justice if he'd gotten a more recognizable star for the part...I'm certain many buffs of the film treasure the seemingly timeless dance floor classic - Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Relax' - segment of the film, which was done in an MTV music videoish fashion...this De Palma thriller also stars a sexy, and often scantily-clad, Melanie Griffith - although Melanie was a little skinny for my taste, and would've looked better to me had she been closer to the weight she was nine years earlier in the superb beauty pageant comedy 'Smile'...and 'Body Double' affords a chance for Melanie Griffith's big fans(AKA; her closet stalkers, of which I'm sure she must have several) to hear her say things she doesn't often say in mixed company, or in other films, or ever...she really got into the whole porn star thing in this film.
Brian De Palma is often criticized for his lack of originality - in that he seems to prefer borrow from other film greats, namely Hitchcock - but not so surprisingly De Palma nearly always delivers entertaining films - some are sleepers - like 2002's not-so-well-known but very entertaining 'Femme Fatale', featuring Antonio Banderas(one of Banderas's best performances, if you asked me...it's a hoot when he is forced to act gay in a certain situation in the film...and he pulls it off perfectly, without ever once going over the top with it or acting too stereotypically 'nelly', like many actors too often do when playing a gay role, especially when they are looking to get a laugh or two), and the beautiful and sexy, even though she's a blonde, Rebecca Romijn(sorry Becky..I prefer brunettes..but you are a top blonde, nonetheless...and she is a brunette in some scenes, and quite possibly in real-life, sans the peroxide, as well) - with a very good performance turned-in by the model turned X-Men film star.
This is a great DVD to have in your collection, to pull out on a rainy day for an entertaining evening's viewing, if only to reminisce a bit...and to get to hear Melanie Griffith go thru her list of THINGS SHE WON'T EVER DO in a movie again(as I alluded to above, it's quite a list of sex acts and things that you won't hear her saying in many of her other films - and good for a few laughs everytime).
'Body Double' is one of my wife's old favorites - she just loves the Frankie Goes To Hollywood 'Relax' segment of scenes, and wants to dance every time she sees it.
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