Fatal Attraction Ep. 02 - Bad Influence / Consenting Adults

Hello and bonjour to you fair podcast listeners! it’s time to grab a Narragansett Beer and climb into your anti-shark cage as we explore the films that followed in Jaws’s considerable wake. This week we kick things off with Steven Spielberg’s classic that started it all: JAWS (1975) starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw. Written by Carl Gottlieb, based on the novel by Peter Benchley. Then we really get in the swing of things with TINTORERA (1977) starring Susan George, Hugo Stiglitz, and Andrés García in a tale of shark hunters finding love in a throuple.

Yakmalaaaa! Join us for GYMKATA (1985), a martial arts movie about a gymnast who plays a deadly game to secure a “Star Wars” earth station for the U.S.A. It stars Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas, and is directed by Robert Clouse (Enter the Dragon) from a screenplay by Charles Robert Carner (Blind Fury).

Put down the peace pipe and make a video run with us to the teenage end of the Fatal Attraction series as we discuss: FEAR (1996) starring Reese Witherspoon as a teen girl who rebels against her family by dating the baddest of boys, played by Mark Wahlberg. SWIMFAN (2002) starring Jesse Bradford as the guy who gets mixed up with Erika Christensen’s absolute supervillain, Madison Bell (the titular Swimfan). This episode is a must listen if you ever wanted to hear Chris say, “I was expecting Hoobastank.”

Jen Howell of the Every Rom Com podcast joins to help us answer the quesion: What if the dangerous stranger who is going to wreck your life…is a kid?  Go grab Mr. Highway and strap in for THE GOOD SON (1993) starring Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood, written by Ian McEwan and directed by Joseph Ruben. https://www.everyromcom.com/ https://www.instagram.com/everyromcom/ https://bsky.app/profile/everyromcom.bsky.social

We’re under a strict “return to office” mandate as we look at two films where the danger is in the workplace: THE TEMP (1993) starring Timothy Hutton and Lara Flynn Boyle trying to make that cheddar in the world of cookies, and DISCLOSURE (1994) where Michael Douglas and Demi Moore deal with Malaysian supply chain issues.

Things get a little sleazy this week as we take a look at two movies where the dangerous stranger... is a teenage girl.   First, we’ll explore 1992’s POISON IVY starring Drew Barrymore, Sara Gilbert and Tom Skerritt. Then we’ll follow that up with THE CRUSH (1993) featuring Alicia Silverstone and Cary Elwes.

Erin Dawn of the Manic Movie Monday Podcast joins us to explore one of the most memorable erotic thrillers of the ‘90s: SINGLE WHITE FEMALE (1992) starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh.    Along the way we discuss New York architecture, lost ‘90s cable TV series and Kenny Loggins.   https://rss.com/podcasts/manicmoviemonday/     https://www.instagram.com/manicmoviemondaypodcast/      

This week we explore two movies where danger comes not from a stranger, but someone much closer to home.    First, Julia Roberts must escape the “Husband from Hell” in SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY (1991).   Then we encounter the “Nanny from Hell” in Curtis Hanson’s THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE (1992) starring Rebecca De Mornay, Annabella Sciorra, Matt McCoy and Ernie Hudson.

When dangerous strangers wreak havoc on yuppie couples — the police protect the stranger! How’s a yuppie supposed to guard their investment in decorative glass blocks? This week's episode has the answers as we watch: PACIFIC HEIGHTS (1990) starring Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine, and Michael Keaton as the con man who’s one step ahead. UNLAWFUL ENTRY (1992) starring Kurt Russell, Madeleine Stowe, and Ray Liotta with an electric performance as an obsessed, psychopathic cop.

This week we have a pair of thrillers about guys who meet a “New Friend from Hell” and pay the consequences.  Explore the dark side with BAD INFLUENCE (1990) from writer David Koepp and director Curtis Hanson, starring James Spader and Rob Lowe.  Then it’s time to get way to close to the creepy new neighbors in CONSENTING ADULTS (1992) starring Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Kevin Space, and Rebecca Miller.