by Sonia Mansfield
Guilty As Sin
Starring Rebecca De Mornay, Don Johnson, Stephan Lang, and Jack Warden
Written by Larry Cohen
Directed by Sidney Lumet?!
Rated R for violence, language, really big scrunchies, and some sexuality
Tagline: She's finally met her match. He's handsome, wealthy, seductive. A Real Lady Killer.
Welcome to Thrill Seeker, in which I watch thrillers from the '80s and '90s. This month, I watched 1993’s Guilty As Sin, starring Rebecca De Mornay and Don Johnson.
I decided to move this one up the list because it stars Rebecca De Mornay, who, between Guilty As Sin, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, and Never Talk To Strangers, was the Ashley Judd of early '90s thrillers. (Ashley Judd was the Ashley Judd of late-'90s thrillers.)
And then I realized that Guilty As Sin is directed by Sidney Lumet. Whaaaa? Serpico (1973), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976), Prince of the City (1981), and The Verdict (1982): You know, real garbage. Guilty As Sin is a glossy Hollywood thriller. It’s not really his style, but by 1993 his career had hit an, ummm, quieter stretch.
I saw this in the theater when it came out. I was working at the theater at the time, which meant I got to see it for free, and of course, I brought my mom, because it had Don Johnson in it. All moms loved Don Johnson back then. It’s a psychological condition known as the Miami vice. There are certain actors that moms of a certain age love: Don Johnson, Tom Selleck, and Mark Harmon.
OK, let’s run through the plot, no spoilers.
The plot: Rebecca De Mornay plays Jennifer Haines, and like so many characters in these thrillers, she’s a big-time Chicago defense attorney. The movie opens with her in court, getting some mobster acquitted, because she’s just that good. And there in the courtroom is Don Johnson.
“Your biggest fan is back. He’s gorgeous, and he can’t keep his eyes off you,” Jennifer’s assistantexplains to viewers tells her.
Jennifer celebrates her big win by rushing into her boyfriend’s office, stripping off her legal briefs, and … cut to them eating Chinese food. Did I mention that the boyfriend is a curly-haired Stephen Lang with a porn stache? I kinda think the movie is worth it just for that.
The next day, Jennifer’s biggest fan strolls into her office without an appointment. Rude.
Don Johnson plays David Greenhill, a handsome man accused of pushing his wealthy wife out a high-rise window and making it look like a suicide. We know he’s handsome because everyone tells us repeatedly throughout the movie. I actually double-checked to see if Don Johnson has a cowriting credit on this movie. He doesn’t.
We’re also repeatedly told that he’s charming, but the movie never shows us that. David tells Jennifer that he doesn’t have a job. He just lives off rich women and cheats on them. If this movie were remade now, David would be a podcaster in the manosphere.
She hears all that and thinks, “Yeah, he’s innocent. I’m gonna help him.”
In the first few days after taking the case, Jennifer realizes she’s made a big mistake. The dude flakes on the legal bills, harasses Stephen Lang, starts insinuating to people that they’re having an affair, and makes a sandwich in front of her in a threatening manner.
Jennifer gets her private investigator/father figure, Jack Warden, to do some digging, and well, David has a history of dating older women who disappear or die. You don’t say.
David knows that she knows the truth, but he doesn’t care. It makes it clear that he’s going to take full advantage of the whole attorney-client privilege thing.
Finally, Jennifer is like, “Fuck this shit,” and tries to quit, but the judge is like, “You broke it. You bought it,” and won’t let her resign from the case.
So, she puts on the world’s biggest scrunchie and heads into court. Seriously, look at that thing.
And here’s where my plot summary ends, thrill seekers. Just know there’s another murder, monologuing, and (my favorite) a bat shit ending.
Is it a thrill? Sadly, no. Guilty As Sin wants to be trashy fun, but that’s not Lumet’s style. The movie plays it too straight. It’s not until the end that it gets over the top, and that’s when you get just a little taste of what it could’ve been all along.
The movie is written by Larry Cohen, best known for low-budget genre films, but he also worked as a screenwriter-for-hire. This is obviously one of those jobs.
Johnson is fine in the movie. His character is supposedly so charming that women can’t help but want to support him, but we never see that. Instead, he’s just a handsome creep. Since we never see that side, the performance feels a little one-note.
But De Mornay is terrific. A year earlier, she was doing the menacing in The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, and she’s really good at being menaced here. I don’t think we appreciated her enough back in the day. She always commits, and she’s so good even in movies that don’t deserve her.
Rating: I really wanted to love this movie, but instead I’m giving it 2 bunnies in a boiling pot out of 5.
I want to hear from y’all. What '80s-'90s thrillers do you love? What should I cover next? I love requests.
Starring Rebecca De Mornay, Don Johnson, Stephan Lang, and Jack Warden
Written by Larry Cohen
Directed by Sidney Lumet?!
Rated R for violence, language, really big scrunchies, and some sexuality
Tagline: She's finally met her match. He's handsome, wealthy, seductive. A Real Lady Killer.
Welcome to Thrill Seeker, in which I watch thrillers from the '80s and '90s. This month, I watched 1993’s Guilty As Sin, starring Rebecca De Mornay and Don Johnson.
I decided to move this one up the list because it stars Rebecca De Mornay, who, between Guilty As Sin, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, and Never Talk To Strangers, was the Ashley Judd of early '90s thrillers. (Ashley Judd was the Ashley Judd of late-'90s thrillers.)
And then I realized that Guilty As Sin is directed by Sidney Lumet. Whaaaa? Serpico (1973), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976), Prince of the City (1981), and The Verdict (1982): You know, real garbage. Guilty As Sin is a glossy Hollywood thriller. It’s not really his style, but by 1993 his career had hit an, ummm, quieter stretch.
I saw this in the theater when it came out. I was working at the theater at the time, which meant I got to see it for free, and of course, I brought my mom, because it had Don Johnson in it. All moms loved Don Johnson back then. It’s a psychological condition known as the Miami vice. There are certain actors that moms of a certain age love: Don Johnson, Tom Selleck, and Mark Harmon.
OK, let’s run through the plot, no spoilers.
The plot: Rebecca De Mornay plays Jennifer Haines, and like so many characters in these thrillers, she’s a big-time Chicago defense attorney. The movie opens with her in court, getting some mobster acquitted, because she’s just that good. And there in the courtroom is Don Johnson.
“Your biggest fan is back. He’s gorgeous, and he can’t keep his eyes off you,” Jennifer’s assistant
Jennifer celebrates her big win by rushing into her boyfriend’s office, stripping off her legal briefs, and … cut to them eating Chinese food. Did I mention that the boyfriend is a curly-haired Stephen Lang with a porn stache? I kinda think the movie is worth it just for that.
Don Johnson plays David Greenhill, a handsome man accused of pushing his wealthy wife out a high-rise window and making it look like a suicide. We know he’s handsome because everyone tells us repeatedly throughout the movie. I actually double-checked to see if Don Johnson has a cowriting credit on this movie. He doesn’t.
We’re also repeatedly told that he’s charming, but the movie never shows us that. David tells Jennifer that he doesn’t have a job. He just lives off rich women and cheats on them. If this movie were remade now, David would be a podcaster in the manosphere.
She hears all that and thinks, “Yeah, he’s innocent. I’m gonna help him.”
In the first few days after taking the case, Jennifer realizes she’s made a big mistake. The dude flakes on the legal bills, harasses Stephen Lang, starts insinuating to people that they’re having an affair, and makes a sandwich in front of her in a threatening manner.
Jennifer gets her private investigator/father figure, Jack Warden, to do some digging, and well, David has a history of dating older women who disappear or die. You don’t say.
David knows that she knows the truth, but he doesn’t care. It makes it clear that he’s going to take full advantage of the whole attorney-client privilege thing.
Finally, Jennifer is like, “Fuck this shit,” and tries to quit, but the judge is like, “You broke it. You bought it,” and won’t let her resign from the case.
So, she puts on the world’s biggest scrunchie and heads into court. Seriously, look at that thing.
Is it a thrill? Sadly, no. Guilty As Sin wants to be trashy fun, but that’s not Lumet’s style. The movie plays it too straight. It’s not until the end that it gets over the top, and that’s when you get just a little taste of what it could’ve been all along.
The movie is written by Larry Cohen, best known for low-budget genre films, but he also worked as a screenwriter-for-hire. This is obviously one of those jobs.
Johnson is fine in the movie. His character is supposedly so charming that women can’t help but want to support him, but we never see that. Instead, he’s just a handsome creep. Since we never see that side, the performance feels a little one-note.
But De Mornay is terrific. A year earlier, she was doing the menacing in The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, and she’s really good at being menaced here. I don’t think we appreciated her enough back in the day. She always commits, and she’s so good even in movies that don’t deserve her.
Rating: I really wanted to love this movie, but instead I’m giving it 2 bunnies in a boiling pot out of 5.
I want to hear from y’all. What '80s-'90s thrillers do you love? What should I cover next? I love requests.
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