Compromising Positions (1985) Paramount/Comedy RT: 99 minutes Rated R (sexual references, nudity, language, brief violence) Director: Frank Perry Screenplay: Susan Isaacs Music: Brad Fiedel Cinematography: Barry Sonnenfeld Release date: August 30, 1985 (US) Cast: Susan Sarandon, Raul Julia, Edward Herrmann, Judith Ivey, Mary Beth Hurt, Anne De Salvo, Josh Mostel, Deborah Rush, Joe Mantegna, Joan Allen, Kaiulani Lee, Tanya Berezin, Jason Beghe, Amanda Lyons, Chris Cunningham. Box Office: $12.5M (US)
Rating: ***
It was Labor Day 1985. My dad and I were on our own for the day. My mom and little brother went to a Scottish festival with other family members. We decided to catch a matinee. I really wanted to see 9 Deaths of the Ninja, but the closest theater showing it was too far away and I couldn’t talk Dad into a road trip. I settled for Compromising Positions, a comedy-mystery about the murder of a lecherous dentist. I wasn’t thrilled about the lack of Sho Kosugi power, but I ended up enjoying it anyway.
I was still something of a novice in ’85. I didn’t yet realize that late August was a dump period for studios looking to take out the trash before releasing the more prestigious fall movies. All I knew is that Compromising Positions was directed by Frank Perry, the guy responsible for trashy delights like Mommie Dearest (1981) and Monsignor (1982). That, along with the whodunit’s stellar ensemble cast, intrigued me. It may not be Agatha Christie nor is it as trashy as Perry’s previous films, but it works on a level of its own.
Dr. Bruce Fleckstein (Mantegna, House of Games), a known womanizer with possible underworld connections, has been murdered. It intrigues bored Long Island housewife Judith Singer (Sarandon, Atlantic City), a former Newsday reporter who left her job after marrying Bob (Herrmann, The Lost Boys), a lawyer too preoccupied with his work to pay much attention to her. She starts going around asking questions which arouses the suspicions of investigating detective David Suarez (Julia, Kiss of the Spider Woman).
The suspect list is long. It could have been anybody. It turns out Fleckstein had in his possession Polaroids of some of his female patients in [wait for it] compromising positions. He slept with many women which makes for a lot of irate husbands. The police seem to think it’s Judith’s flaky neighbor Peg (Hurt, The World According to Garp) as she was the last person to see him alive. Judith starts looking into the murder on her own despite the objections of both Suarez and Bob who just wants her to stay at home so he doesn’t have to worry about her while working on an important case (yep, typical 80s male chauvinist!). Eventually, she and Suarez combine forces to solve the case.
Perry introduces to several characters, some of them suspects and others not so much. Judith’s closest friend is Nancy (Ivey, The Woman in Red), a sculptress with an overactive libido. She has a habit of dropping by at the wrong time (or right time depending on how you look at it). We also meet the victim’s family; wife/grieving widow Phyllis (De Salvo, D.C. Cab), her brother Dicky (Mostel, Billy Madison) and his wife Brenda (Rush, The Purple Rose of Cairo). All of them fall under suspicion at some point.
Compromising Positions doesn’t get talked about at all anymore. It wasn’t even part of the conversation when it came out. It didn’t do too badly at the box office making twice its budget. Still, it was largely forgotten by the end of September. I haven’t thought about it too much over the past 40 years. My rewatch of it this past weekend is the first time I’ve viewed it since the 90s. It’s still pretty good albeit shallow. It has so much missed potential.
Perry, working from a screenplay by Susan Isaacs who also wrote the novel on which it’s based, misses a golden opportunity to skewer suburban life and the ennui that defines the lives of some residents. Judith plays detective not because she’s looking for justice but because she’s bored with her life. She needs some excitement. This is the stuff of good dark comedy, but Perry decides to take a safer route through mainstream territory.
The cast does a fine job starting with Sarandon who brings her A-game to her character. Judith tries to be a good wife and mother, but she longs for a life outside her mundane daily routine. The problem is hubby isn’t having any of it. More than once, he berates and belittles her for her interest in the murder case. In short, he’s a dick. Herrmann plays the role quite well. Mantegna plays the role of slightly sleazy ladies man perfectly with his gold chains and pinky ring. Hurt has some amusing moments as the eccentric neighbor with a thing for produce. Julia is good as the humorless cop annoyed by and attracted to Judith.
I was entertained by Compromising Positions. Isn’t that what’s most important? Sure, it’s not perfect for reasons I already specified. I do admire Perry for attempting to modernize the murder mystery genre by transplanting it from some exotic location to an upper-middle-class suburban town. If only he had leaned into the whole Stepford Wives-type thing more. Then he really would have had something.
