Description

Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) directs this erotically charged love story that explores the passion and betrayal of a one stand. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

the best role of wesley snipes' career...
i think wesley is a much better actor when he's playing sensitive ,intelligent males. not just guys who live by their guns. the supporting cast is also very good. notably robert downey, jr. as a dying gay man. natsssia kinski looks lovely as always. there was some controversy when this film was released about wesley's wife being an asian woman instead of white woman. he said they didn't want to offend the black females who would be watching this movie.and cheating on an asian woman with a white woman would make black women less offended? go figure. still a good film. i pity the reviewer who made the "mandingo" remark a few reviews back. only an insecure, jealous white male would say something like that. people should be free to love who they want.

Snipes Deserves a Better Movie
The ever-cocky, sometimes-impressive Wesley Snipes--who probably will be best remembered for snatching second-rate shoot-em-up scripts from the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger--this time tackles something that relies less on guns and knives (though, alas, there is a knifepoint mugging scene). Too bad he picked a script that meanders between "9 1/2 Weeks" and any evening soap, never getting much deeper than an episode of "Red Shoe Diaries." Snipes is the typical Hollywood everyman--young, buff, wealthy, professional and with a picture-perfect family, right down to a boy, a girl, and a dog. He has the ubiquitous dream job, advertising bigshot (where, of course, he never does any real work), and tons of free time to devote to, among other things, an affair with emotionally-fragile--get this--rocket scientist Nastassja Kinski, who specializes in roles requiring a smoldering "European" look and little or no clothing. Thrown into the fray is a dying friend, played by the overrated but bafflingly lucky Robert Downey, Jr., and a princess of a wife, played by "ER"'s resident whiner, Ming-Na. The story? Well, there isn't much of one. Trapped temporarily in New York City, Snipes has a brief affair with Kinski, then returns to LA supposedly haunted by what happened. Stuff--some of it played with a somber tone that is supposed to pass for drama--happens in creaky episodic form, with Snipes' narration trying to bridge the wide gaps in time and plot, and the movie concludes with an ending that is at least as fantastic as anything in Snipes' action pictures. Director Figgis also seems almost grimly determined to avoid acknowledging the interracial dynamics of the relationships; as someone who is bi-racial, I have mixed feelings. For instance, I want to applaud its rather matter-of-fact sensibility that an African-American man can be with any woman he wants--but at the same time, I'm left deploring the old stereotype the film supports--that an African-American man can be with any woman he wants. I guess we've come a long way from Sidney Poitier stirring things up at dinner but not too far from Superfly rolling up in a flashy car. At least the movie looks good, though at times everyone's ages show a bit.

Really Shallow
When it comes to this movie, my talent for cinimatic analysis goes right out the window. Yeah, it has a quiet intensity that I enjoyed. It also has some good acting, although at times it seemed a little contrived. The script was good, but also at times it seemed like it had written it's self into a corner. Nastassja Kinski is as beautiful as ever and deserves far more camera time than she get's. Those are all good, but.....the absolute greatest, quintessential, worhwhile reason for owning this movie and watching this movie over and over again is that Ming Na appears nearly naked and is absolutely gorgeous.

spectacular drama
Wesley Snipes(superb) and Nastassja Kinski(superb and sexy and you get to see her boobies in this one, hooray) have a one night stand, beacuse its the movies title after Kinski and Snipes get mugged and Snipes also visits his dying gay friend played nicely by Robert Downey Jr. Snipes goes home with his with Ming Na Win(you see her boobies too, hoorah). one year later he comes back because Downey's on the death bed and his brother, Kyle Maclachlan is there as well, Maclachlan introduces Snipes to his wife, Kinski(bum, bum, bummmmm) and then things start to heat up. Downey finds out then dies and then theres that scene where Kinski and Snipes are getting their groove on up against the wall and then they stop and turn and see Maclachlan and Win on the couch getting their groove on as well. then they switch partners and its a satisfying end.

Beautiful, quietly subversive, Existentialist Masterpiece
In order to truly appreciate this film, you really need to compare it to another film on the same subject of random one-time infidelity that came out ten years earlier: 1987's "Fatal Attraction."

That film provided us with graphic voyeuristic pleasure alongside moralistic self-satisfaction, titillating us with a sensationalistic view of adulterous casual sex which leads to divine/karmic retribution as the spurned One-Time Other Woman morphs into a vengeful psycho. The message of "Fatal Attraction" was crystal clear and clicked with Reaganite America: stick to the safe and narrow, or terrible things will happen to you!

In contrast, 1997's "One Night Stand" implies the opposite: let things flow and DIVERGE from the safe, familiar everyday even just once...and incredible personal and interpersonal transformation blossoms. For many, it's a disturbing subtext: take a chance, walk on the (somewhat) "wild" side, and your bliss just might follow!

It's easy to see why this film got such mixed reviews here in the States, and such good reviews in Europe: it bravely refuses to follow the standard American cliches about sexuality, marriage, materialism, "success," AIDS, death and life itself.

And there's a brilliant unspoken reversal of popular racial stereotypes and typical Hollywood stock roles: a Chinese-American woman (Ming-Na) is loud, aggressive, and sexually voracious while her African-American husband (Snipes) is quiet, introspective, intellectual, and sexually subdued in comparison. A beautiful blonde woman (Kinski) is actually a super-intelligent astrophysicist. A straight black man and a flamboyantly gay man (Downey Jr.) are longtime best friends. The gay man is dying of AIDS but refuses to engage in regrets or self-pity. And the sex scene between the two initial adulterers, Snipes and Kinski, is actually very restrained, non-sensationalistic, and emotionally substantiative---not the frantic animal lust portrayed in "Fatal Attraction" but two fragile human beings taking blessed refuge in each other during a passing fortuitous moment.

And that's what this film is really all about: life as a series of passing moments, which must each in its own turn be honored and lived as fully as possible. The cinematography and score are seamlessly stunning, so the DVD format should serve well.

Granted, there are a few contrived plot turns, the dialogue does sound a bit written in two or three places, and it does put a LOT of things on your plate. Bittersweet and poignant and a feast for both eyes and ears and even the gray matter between the ears. This is not some simple-minded, focus-group-pandering, saccharine feel-good Hollywood schmaltzfest but a mature, subtle, and passionately challenging film that Mike Figgis probably would never have had the chance to make were it not for the success of his "Leaving Las Vegas" which preceded this movie. Too bad for Hollywood... ... Read more

Reviews (27)

the best role of wesley snipes' career...
i think wesley is a much better actor when he's playing sensitive ,intelligent males. not just guys who live by their guns. the supporting cast is also very good. notably robert downey, jr. as a dying gay man. natsssia kinski looks lovely as always. there was some controversy when this film was released about wesley's wife being an asian woman instead of white woman. he said they didn't want to offend the black females who would be watching this movie.and cheating on an asian woman with a white woman would make black women less offended? go figure. still a good film. i pity the reviewer who made the "mandingo" remark a few reviews back. only an insecure, jealous white male would say something like that. people should be free to love who they want.

Snipes Deserves a Better Movie
The ever-cocky, sometimes-impressive Wesley Snipes--who probably will be best remembered for snatching second-rate shoot-em-up scripts from the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger--this time tackles something that relies less on guns and knives (though, alas, there is a knifepoint mugging scene). Too bad he picked a script that meanders between "9 1/2 Weeks" and any evening soap, never getting much deeper than an episode of "Red Shoe Diaries." Snipes is the typical Hollywood everyman--young, buff, wealthy, professional and with a picture-perfect family, right down to a boy, a girl, and a dog. He has the ubiquitous dream job, advertising bigshot (where, of course, he never does any real work), and tons of free time to devote to, among other things, an affair with emotionally-fragile--get this--rocket scientist Nastassja Kinski, who specializes in roles requiring a smoldering "European" look and little or no clothing. Thrown into the fray is a dying friend, played by the overrated but bafflingly lucky Robert Downey, Jr., and a princess of a wife, played by "ER"'s resident whiner, Ming-Na. The story? Well, there isn't much of one. Trapped temporarily in New York City, Snipes has a brief affair with Kinski, then returns to LA supposedly haunted by what happened. Stuff--some of it played with a somber tone that is supposed to pass for drama--happens in creaky episodic form, with Snipes' narration trying to bridge the wide gaps in time and plot, and the movie concludes with an ending that is at least as fantastic as anything in Snipes' action pictures. Director Figgis also seems almost grimly determined to avoid acknowledging the interracial dynamics of the relationships; as someone who is bi-racial, I have mixed feelings. For instance, I want to applaud its rather matter-of-fact sensibility that an African-American man can be with any woman he wants--but at the same time, I'm left deploring the old stereotype the film supports--that an African-American man can be with any woman he wants. I guess we've come a long way from Sidney Poitier stirring things up at dinner but not too far from Superfly rolling up in a flashy car. At least the movie looks good, though at times everyone's ages show a bit.

Really Shallow
When it comes to this movie, my talent for cinimatic analysis goes right out the window. Yeah, it has a quiet intensity that I enjoyed. It also has some good acting, although at times it seemed a little contrived. The script was good, but also at times it seemed like it had written it's self into a corner. Nastassja Kinski is as beautiful as ever and deserves far more camera time than she get's. Those are all good, but.....the absolute greatest, quintessential, worhwhile reason for owning this movie and watching this movie over and over again is that Ming Na appears nearly naked and is absolutely gorgeous.

spectacular drama
Wesley Snipes(superb) and Nastassja Kinski(superb and sexy and you get to see her boobies in this one, hooray) have a one night stand, beacuse its the movies title after Kinski and Snipes get mugged and Snipes also visits his dying gay friend played nicely by Robert Downey Jr. Snipes goes home with his with Ming Na Win(you see her boobies too, hoorah). one year later he comes back because Downey's on the death bed and his brother, Kyle Maclachlan is there as well, Maclachlan introduces Snipes to his wife, Kinski(bum, bum, bummmmm) and then things start to heat up. Downey finds out then dies and then theres that scene where Kinski and Snipes are getting their groove on up against the wall and then they stop and turn and see Maclachlan and Win on the couch getting their groove on as well. then they switch partners and its a satisfying end.

Beautiful, quietly subversive, Existentialist Masterpiece
In order to truly appreciate this film, you really need to compare it to another film on the same subject of random one-time infidelity that came out ten years earlier: 1987's "Fatal Attraction."

That film provided us with graphic voyeuristic pleasure alongside moralistic self-satisfaction, titillating us with a sensationalistic view of adulterous casual sex which leads to divine/karmic retribution as the spurned One-Time Other Woman morphs into a vengeful psycho. The message of "Fatal Attraction" was crystal clear and clicked with Reaganite America: stick to the safe and narrow, or terrible things will happen to you!

In contrast, 1997's "One Night Stand" implies the opposite: let things flow and DIVERGE from the safe, familiar everyday even just once...and incredible personal and interpersonal transformation blossoms. For many, it's a disturbing subtext: take a chance, walk on the (somewhat) "wild" side, and your bliss just might follow!

It's easy to see why this film got such mixed reviews here in the States, and such good reviews in Europe: it bravely refuses to follow the standard American cliches about sexuality, marriage, materialism, "success," AIDS, death and life itself.

And there's a brilliant unspoken reversal of popular racial stereotypes and typical Hollywood stock roles: a Chinese-American woman (Ming-Na) is loud, aggressive, and sexually voracious while her African-American husband (Snipes) is quiet, introspective, intellectual, and sexually subdued in comparison. A beautiful blonde woman (Kinski) is actually a super-intelligent astrophysicist. A straight black man and a flamboyantly gay man (Downey Jr.) are longtime best friends. The gay man is dying of AIDS but refuses to engage in regrets or self-pity. And the sex scene between the two initial adulterers, Snipes and Kinski, is actually very restrained, non-sensationalistic, and emotionally substantiative---not the frantic animal lust portrayed in "Fatal Attraction" but two fragile human beings taking blessed refuge in each other during a passing fortuitous moment.

And that's what this film is really all about: life as a series of passing moments, which must each in its own turn be honored and lived as fully as possible. The cinematography and score are seamlessly stunning, so the DVD format should serve well.

Granted, there are a few contrived plot turns, the dialogue does sound a bit written in two or three places, and it does put a LOT of things on your plate. Bittersweet and poignant and a feast for both eyes and ears and even the gray matter between the ears. This is not some simple-minded, focus-group-pandering, saccharine feel-good Hollywood schmaltzfest but a mature, subtle, and passionately challenging film that Mike Figgis probably would never have had the chance to make were it not for the success of his "Leaving Las Vegas" which preceded this movie. Too bad for Hollywood... ... Read more