Fatal Beauty (1987) MGM/Action-Comedy RT: 104 minutes Rated R (pervasive strong language and violence, sexual references, drugs) Director: Tom Holland Screenplay: Hilary Henkin and Dean Riesner Music: Harold Faltermeyer Cinematography: David M. Walsh Release date: October 30, 1987 (US) Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Sam Elliott, Ruben Blades, Harris Yulin, John P. Ryan, Jennifer Warren, Brad Dourif, Mike Jolly, Charles Hallahan, David Harris, James LeGros, Neill Barry, Mark Pellegrino, Clayton Landey, Fred Asparagus, Cheech Marin. Box Office: $12M (US)
Rating: ***
Fatal Beauty, an action-comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg as an undercover LAPD narcotics detective, is an odd duck of a movie. If I was a psychiatrist, I’d diagnose it as bipolar given its tonal highs and lows. Its sudden shifts between comedy and brutal violence are jarring. One minute Goldberg’s character scolds her cat for stealing the ham from her sandwich, the next she’s riddling a drug-crazed criminal with bullets. The screenplay, by Hilary Henkin and Dean Riesner, is a mess too between the convoluted plot and dangling story threads. It looks like it was edited by somebody who was unclear about the plot. It has the air of a movie that fell victim to last-minute post-production cutting. The only consistent thing about Fatal Beauty is its inconsistency.
Detective Rita Rizzoli (Goldberg) wants to put an end to the drug trade in L.A. For her, it’s personal. She believes the man behind it all is wealthy businessman Conrad Kroll (Yulin, Scarface), but her commanding officer (Ryan, Death Wish 4) won’t let her act on her hunch without concrete evidence. Naturally, Kroll is connected politically.
Our tale begins with a robbery that takes place shortly after Rita botches an operation by blowing her cover to save an informant from a beating by her pimp. Two psychopathic hoods, Nova (Dourif, Dune) and Skinner (Jolly, Sister Act), burst into a drug warehouse, kill everybody in sight and steal all the drugs. There’s just one problem; they’re instantly fatal to users due to a dangerously high concentration of cocaine. Known as “Fatal Beauty” on the street, Rita has to track it down before it claims too many lives.
The two robbers make arrangements to sell the stolen deadly dope to an effeminate dealer named Denny (Barry, 1987’s Heat). Meanwhile, Rita defies orders and confronts Kroll at his mansion. Worried she’s getting too close, he sends one of his security guards, Mike Marshak (Elliott, Road House), to follow her. She has no intention of backing down from the case. She’s determined to find the bad drugs and prove they belong to Kroll.
Directed by Tom Holland (Fright Night), Fatal Beauty is entertaining but flawed. Several characters who initially appear significant disappear by the midpoint mark. Take Rita’s CO. We’ve seen his character type before. He’s a grouch who strongly (and loudly) disapproves of Rita’s methods. After his introductory scene, we never see him again. The same goes for a pair of rival cops who exchange insults with Rita in a few scenes. They disappear from the story too. At the very least, Ryan’s CO should have had a few more scenes. Then there’s Rizzoli’s partner Jimenez (Blades, Predator 2). He only shows up when the script demands it; otherwise, he doesn’t serve the plot in any way.
Fatal Beauty has as many plot holes as several characters do bullet holes. When looking into a drug buy house, why would Rita wear the exact same hooker disguise as she did when she blew her cover at the bar? Isn’t it possible- nay, likely- that somebody will recognize her and blow the whistle? Speaking of the drug buy house, I’d like to know how it even operates out in the open in a major city. The cops know it’s there; the thugs guarding the place with automatic weapons should be a major tip-off. And what’s the deal with the socialite (Warren, Slap Shot) Rita questions about her case. They end up in a fist fight. Rita gets hell for it from her CO (over her answering machine). A scene or two later, the two women are on good terms. I know what’s behind the sudden attitude change on the socialite’s part, but it still doesn’t make a lot of sense. And what about Marshak? What’s his story? He seems like a decent guy. Why is he working for Kroll who typically hires ex-cons? Is Marshak an ex-con? We’re given no background on his whatsoever. To be fair, Fatal Beauty isn’t the first movie to substitute loud action scenes for character exposition and it surely won’t be the last.
Despite its many, MANY flaws, I like Fatal Beauty. It has a goodly amount of action and violence. It uses up more ammo than the two Beverly Hills Cop movies combined. Why stop at simply shooting a perp when you can turn them into Swiss cheese? No, there’s nothing wrong with shooting up a high-end clothing store where a drug buy is going down. Shoot a guy in the ass to elicit information about his suppliers? Sure, go right ahead! It’s an 80s cop movie. EVERYTHING is allowed!
Goldberg has a few funny moments, but I don’t believe her character. With her past issues, I’m not sure how she even got into the police academy in the first place. On the upside, Goldberg’s is the only truly defined character in the movie. She has a dramatic scene opposite Elliott in which she explains why she’s so vehemently anti-drug. On the downside, their relationship isn’t clearly defined. Do they really like each other or is he just playing her to get what she has on Kroll? Elliott is one of my favorite actors; he’s always a welcome presence. If only the writer developed his character more. I like it when Dourif shows up in a movie, especially when he plays a villain. He’s totally believable as a psycho. Yulin gets too few scenes to make much of an impression. He’s a forgettable bad guy.
I’m sure you’re wondering why I like Fatal Beauty. Unfortunately, I don’t really have a good answer for that. It’s not a well-made movie. It leaves out too much crucial info like how Kroll’s operation works. It also leaves unfinished business like the rival cop (Hallahan, The Things) who constantly taunts Rita with remarks that are racist and misogynistic. There should be a scene where she finally turns around and decks him. PLUS, I hate that the studio felt it necessary to cut the sex scene between Goldberg and Elliott. Preview audiences objected to it and it was removed. I call BS! Interracial love affairs exist, people. Get over it already!
In any event, Fatal Beauty is a fun if muddled entry in the 80s action-comedy canon replete with a funky score by Harold Faltermeyer (Beverly Hills Cop). It might have done better had the makers taken the time to tell a more cohesive story.
