Thoughts on Compromising Positions

via IMDB

*Judith Singer (Susan Sarandon) has realized she's one of the few women at Dr. Bruce Fleckstein's funeral who didn't have sex with him, let alone allow him to take naked photos of her*

" ... Bruce Fleckstein. A man beloved. A man involved."

*Judith gives a "you're telling me!" look*

I can't decide if Compromising Positions was helped or hurt by the fact that I ended up not caring about who killed Dr. Fleckstein (Joe Mantegna) and why. That's not to say that the movie is boring, although I'm obviously biased. I got a big kick out of Judith, a Long Island housewife and former reporter, investigating, feeling the thrill when new information is discovered and generally doing things more exciting than baking cookies. Early on, she tells neighbor Peg Tuccio (Mary Beth Hurt), "Once a journalist, forever doomed." It's a good line, but we knew that already when Judith subtly became an expert while talking with the policeman at her door. 

That's my biggest problem with Positions. It doesn't take too long for the characterizations to become stagnate. It's acceptable with Judith, straight woman to all the craziness, but less so with the people she interacts with. I couldn't get into the will they or won't they dynamic between Judith and Det. David Suarez (Raul Julia), both because there wasn't much chemistry and because we didn't get a chance to see David existing outside his law enforcement role. There's an especially awkward scene where Judith and David go for a walk, alternating between talking about each other and the Fleckstein case.

"Uh, the mob?"

"The mob, yeah. *tries to hold Judith's hands, which she doesn't like* Nothing's wrong. Why are you so sensitive?"

"You're so goddamn insensitive. Look, I said I can't, alright? Don't you understand? *he tries interrupting* I've got a family, I've got a husband."

"You think all I want from you is a quick hump? I'm no Bruce Fleckstein. I don't go around trying to score with every woman I meet. I don't care if you believe it or not. I don't give a damn. *starts walking away*"

"Yes you do."

"Yes I do."

Written by Susan Isaacs from her novel, Positions was directed by Frank Perry. Dysfunctional relationships seem to be part and parcel with the whole shady suburbs milieu, but I wish the powers that be would have worked harder at establishing that at some point, Judith and her workaholic husband Bob (Edward Herrmann) actually loved each other. If not, then make it clear they're doomed. Herrmann, like Sarandon and Julia, gave his all to such an off-putting character -- Bob's the type who would treat his home like a hotel, then complain about neglect - but any moment where I could connect with him just never happened.

Sarandon's best co-star is Judith Ivey, who plays sculptress, adulterer and champion wit Nancy. The performance is a little too big for my liking, but I can't deny it made an impact. As David Denby wrote, Ivey turned "every wisecrack into a little aria (the night I saw the movie, the audience could hardly wait for her next entrance)." If Positions has a cult following, I'm convinced it's due to Isaacs' brazenly unnatural dialogue and the meals women like Sarandon, Ivey, Hurt, Deborah Rush, etc. make of it. 

"He just said there was only one way to prove I was a natural blonde. I mean, what do you say to that?"

"Give me two weeks, I'll come up with a spontaneous answer. ... What did you say to him?"

"Nothing. I kinda went *fake laugh*."

*Pat reveals she said something incriminating to a fellow suspect, Fleckstein's nurse, but also that she knows the nurse and Fleckstein had sex.*

"Did you tell this to the police?"

"No. ... *appraises a plant, then cuts off a dead part* I don't like to spread rumors." 

SPOILERS

Dr. Fleckstein does not appear beyond the opening sequence. He's revealed to both photographed the women he had sex with, most if not all of whom were married, and have been involved with illegal pornography distribution. Fleckstein's dupe was his brother-in-law, printer Dicky Dunck (Josh Mostel). When Fleckstein feared Dicky would testify against him before a grand jury, he seduced Dicky's wife, Brenda (Rush). Judith is able to identify Brenda's body (they previously chatted in a sauna), as well as the Fleckstein's furniture and dog. Pat, Fleckstein's last patient, didn't see Dicky's face outside the office, but could tell there was a bald man there. It was Phyllis Fleckstein (Anne De Salvo) who killed Bruce with his scalpel.

END SPOILERS

I didn't mind the structure of Positions' mystery, but the execution was lacking. Few suspects matter and the whole affair threatens to be overshadowed by the love triangle. Still, the movie has some can't lose aspects, like Sarandon's performance and the non-stop bitchiness.

*Nancy is informing Judith about suspects*

"The third is a Junior Leaguer with bleeding gums who broke down when the police paid a visit and told 'em all about the photo taking sessions. Apparently Miss Junior League was quite an earth mother. She liked having her picture taken in the kitchen, you know with carrots and cucumbers sticking out, oh ... *grimaces* ... If ever I meet her, I must remember not to try her coleslaw."

Recommended with reservations.

Thoughts:

-- "You know what they say about friends: 'A friend in need ...'" "Is a pain in the ass."

-- Box Office: Grossing $12.5 million on a $6 million budget, this opened at No. 6 and came in at No. 68 for 1985.

-- Critic's Corner: "Has such a bitter core, such a distaste for its characters, that I ended up feeling uncomfortable in its company," Roger Ebert wrote. Variety: "A silly little whodunnit that's a mild embarrassment to all involved." Other critics had more praise. "Nastily funny," Vincent Canby wrote. Denby: "A gossipy and pleasantly nasty movie that entertains us well enough as long as it stays light and dry."

-- Hey, It's ...!: Joan Allen, Jason Beghe, Jack Gilpin, Bill Cobbs and Jon Polito. I thought that was Sydney Pollack as the rabbi, but it's actually Timothy Jerome (Me and My Girl, Grand Hotel).

-- Cast and Crew Connections: This was Herrmann and Rush's second joint movie of 1985, after The Purple Rose of Cairo. Executive producer Salah M. Hassanein, Isaacs, Ivey and Kaiulani Lee, meanwhile, all returned for Perry's next movie, Hello Again. Speaking of Salah, he produced another movie on the viewing schedule, Day of the Dead. Years later, Position's cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld directed Julia in The Addams Family. And I'm pretty sure most of the ensemble acted opposite at least one other member on stage, whether on Broadway, off Broadway or regionally.

-- Let's go back to Denby for a moment. He outdid himself with these lines: "Edward Herrmann works himself into a high state of Edward Herrmannism -- he gives a definitive performance of his standard role, the dense, unromantic, put-upon hubby. Free Edward Herrmann! He's suffered enough for the sins of the husbands!"

-- I didn't especially like the ending, where Judith and Nancy share a few jokes about Bruce in hell before Judith goes back to work. It's true to life, but I think there should have been more of a button. Perhaps when Nancy leaves, she could have run into Bob, who's puttering in the garage. It turns out he was the one who spray painted "MYOB" in the Singers' kitchen, but now accepts that he just can't keep Judith from reporting. Then we cut back to Judith, back to doing what she loves. Or how about a here we go again ending, with Bruce or David seeing his dentist, who turns out to be a flirtatious female?

-- "A dentist. God, I'd love to kill a dentist."

-- Next: Crossover Dreams. On deck: Creator. Coming soon: Mishima: A Life in Five Chapters, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ran.