Let’s face it; everyone loves a good chick fight. Enter bombshell Ali Larter (“Heroes”) and super-charged R&B songstress Beyonc? Knowles. “Obsessed,” directed by Steve Shill (“Law & Order”), pits these two seductive females in a full on hair-pulling face-off. And what for? An equally sexy piece of man candy in the form of Idris Elba (“The Office”). The first 90 minutes of the flick prove to be nothing more than a flat and badly acted foreword to what theatergoers really want to see: two Hollywood hotties battling it out in ridiculously high heels. Like the icing on a smoldering, delicious chocolate cake, this surprisingly well-choreographed final scene may be the only part of this film worth tasting.
The movie opens with the happy couple, Sharon (Knowles) and Derek (Elba), moving into their new, large home in the suburbs. After this, the focus is shifted to Lisa (Larter), the new gorgeous temp at Derek’s office. With her ridiculously long legs and seductive allure, Lisa sets her sights on Derek. The majority of the film follows Lisa’s increasingly rash attempts to steal Derek from his domestic diva. Stripping down in a men’s bathroom stall, popping some pills and effectively drugging and date raping Derek in a tropical hotel room are just a few things this psychotic temptress attempts. When Sharon finds out that her perfect marriage has been shattered by the steamy homewrecker, well, shit hits the fan. We all know no woman can make a fool of Beyonc?. The voluptuous housewife re-enters the film just in time to kick some white girl ass in the final scene.
As the plot unfolds, the film becomes exhaustingly predictable. A very cheap and blatant ripoff of “Fatal Attraction,” the script is horribly written and the film leaves audiences wanting more. Though Larter delivers a flawless performance as the psychotic and seductive Lisa, Beyonc? may want to rethink her movie career. Her acting is far from stellar, and aside from her obvious sensual allure on screen, she is definitely out of her element. However, when paired with Larter and Elba, the scrumptious love triangle manages to make up for Beyonc?’s lack of acting chops. Each time these three sexy stars share the screen, there is more steam billowing out than from a forest fire. Elba, a fairly unknown actor, delivers a surprisingly warm and entertaining performance as the dashing Derek. Had the role of Sharon been given to another more well-rounded actress, rather than a terribly inept R&B diva, the film may have been a complete hit.
In the end, the movie serves as a trashy — albeit entertaining — guilty pleasure. Just having the chance to see 20 minutes of this full-blown, steamy catfight might be worth the $8 movie ticket. “Heroes” fans are sure to find Larter’s performance heroic in its own right. Any guy who’s been in Derek’s position, and we all know who you dogs are, can surely relate. Likewise, any girl who’s ever had to — for lack of a better phrase — “fight a ho” over her man will be rooting for Beyonc? all the way. The chemistry between the three leading actors is just plain hot, and with a stronger, well-developed director, the movie may have been near perfection. Shill should probably stick to directing TV shows, and Beyonc? should stick to the music scene. However, if viewers are simply looking for a provocative, entertaining way to pass a few hours, “Obsessed” might be just the film to deliver.
3 stars out of 5.
