Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2903 in VHS
• Released on: 1996-01-30
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Customer Reviews

Not even Colin can save this one.
OK, here's the plot. A struggling actress hears from her friendly neighborhood bartender that there is this acting coach who helped some well-known movie star to the big time. So, she drives to his sprawling mansion in the Hollywood Hills, and undergoes some rather bizarre exercises to discover her inner talent...or something like that. Colin Firth plays the coach, who moves through rapid mood swings, keeps a mysterious room (complete with red light over the door), and looks great in various stages of undress. The plot gets a little murky after this, but, eventually she is led to believe that he is killing off the young actresses he is supposed to be helping, tries to escape, returns, kills him (she thinks), and is traumatized by the whole experience. Lest you think I am giving too much away, let me assure you, I am not. The problem is, after this, there are more questions than answers, pieces of the puzzle don't ever fit together, and I got the distinct impression that the writer/director simply gave up. Colin Firth does a credible job with characters not quite complete, while the female lead (whose name is not even listed on the video cover) rates a C- in acting ability. Granted, her role is also a bit vague. It is implied that she is an alchoholic, yet she quits drinking cold turkey with no problems whatsoever. At times she is a scared little girl, and others, a seductress. Then there is the confusion of whether the actor, who pretends to be the acting coach, is a sympathetic person or not, and if the acting coach is actually killed and, if so, by who?
I rented this one only because of Colin, and I'm afraid without his presence, it might have been a total waste of time. I would only recommend it if you are, like me, determined to see every film made by this man, good or not. Otherwise stick with Pride & Prejudice, Bridget Jones's Diary, or Fever Pitch.

Turn off the sound
This video is soley for those who enjoy looking at the very handsome Colin Firth. The story is unlikely, confusing and
soon beomes very tiresome. There was not a spark of chemistry between the often undressed leads. If you love Colin Firth as
I do, I suggest you turn off the sound and just enjoy the images of this beautiful man.

Playmaker
Well, this is not Colin's best. It is dangerously close to a thrown-together Hollywood hills soft core film. It is rare to see him play nasty. (He plays two characters actually, so his nastiness turns out not to be his real self.) There's some mystery, some twists and turns, some skin. The other actors are wooden, plot is thin.