SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Lawbolisted Powerful

GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

chucknorrisfacts This movie was about what I expected it to be like. I thought the premise was pretty good, not completely original or anything, but still enough to make you want to watch it...Basically, Michael (James Spader) is a smart and successful but timid guy who meets up with Alex (Rob Lowe) who is a mysterious drifter who plays by his own rules. Alex sort of takes Michael under his wing and teaches him how to stand up for himself and to not be afraid to go after what he really wants...by any means necessary.At first, Michael is into what Alex is teaching him, but soon he realizes he's gone too far. By the time that happens, it's pretty easy to see where the story's going next...That's right, it's all going to come down to Michael versus Alex at the climax.Fairly predictable stuff here, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it was a bad movie, just not a great movie.If it were on TV, and there was nothing else on, I might suggest watching it...But if you have to go out looking for it, I'd say it's probably not worth the effort.

tpaladino I enjoyed this movie very much, which is why it got seven stars from me, but it's by no means a fantastic or transcendent experience. It does it's job as a thriller ably, and it's worth watching. The good: You do care about the characters, and James Spader and Rob Lowe are both fantastic actors who are on the top of their game here. It's interesting to see Spader play a guy who isn't super cool and self assured for a change, and he handles it well. Lowe channels a bit of Patrick Bateman and creates a great GQ sociopath. The supporting cast is quite good as well, however this could very well have been a two-man film, as you can fit the dialog of all the other characters in the movie combined onto maybe two sheets of paper. The director also had a great eye for style, as the locations, clothing and music were gorgeous and perfectly suited to the era, and gave the film a great deal of authenticity. The bad: I'm not entirely convinced why Spader was so quick to discard his fiancé (who was beautiful, rich and from all indications a very nice person that cared for him a great deal). The film never really sets up any kind of conflict or apprehension between the couple to justify Spader's truly rash behavior. Yes, I get that he wanted a taste of the bad-boy life that Lowe was a part of, but he seemed to throw it all away far too easily and willingly. For the type of character that he was, I'd expect a little more internal conflict, moralizing and apprehension to go along with a decision like that. It just seems like his descent was inexplicably rapid and left a lot of questions unanswered. Beyond that, I think the ending (or last 30 minutes or so) could have been done a little better. The good does really outweigh the bad, and the movie is genuinely worth watching if you're a fan of the genre. Don't expect a Michael Mann film, but you can definitely get some solid entertainment value out of it nonetheless.

sedativchunk I just watched this movie on account of being a big Boston Legal, I am a big James Spader fan, and this movie really delivered!Generally, for those who have not seen the film, it is about a guy named Michael Boll played by James Spader, who gets intoxicated at a party and ends up robbing two places late a night with a psychotic good for nothing named Alex played by Rob Lowe. A colleague at Michael Boll's place of work ended up getting beaten up very bad by some thugs, and and Boll think's he was responsible for it as his knuckles were beaten up and bloody and he cannot remember what happened. Throughout the plot, questions are answered about Boll's involvement with the colleague getting beat up, and eventually the character Alex starts to go loony on Boll and try's to frame him for a crime.The rest of the film is a suspenseful ride in which (the big moment for Boston Legal fans) Christian Clemensen comes into the movie, playing Spader's character's brother. The two of them go through the movie alert that someone may be out to kill them, and they have to get the story straight on the crime(s) committed once and for all. Of course, to make the most sense of the movie, you have to see it, but my debrief of what this movie is about should help you determine if you want to see it or not. I have seen a few other of Spader's films (Pretty in Pink and Secretary) and I think this is my favorite so far. Spader puts on a very convincing performance and one thing I have to say about this film is this; it's an enjoyable suspense movie because it does not drag on for too long. One thing I really hate about modern suspense movies is they drag on for too long. Eventually, the suspense and thrill of a modern suspense movie die off because of the movie being dragged on with special effects and crappy acting. Well Bad Influence has neither one of those attributes to make the movie suck. It focuses on a simple and suspenseful story line with questions of the plot answered fast enough that you don't get bored of the movie. This isn't the best movie in history, but it's definitely one worth seeing whether your like suspense movies or not.

EroticScreenwriter This movie is ranked in my Top 25, Top 30 movies of all-time. I love this movie.Rob Lowe is more believable as Lucifer than Robert DeNiro was in "Angel Heart." His character, Alex, told the truth: The Devil doesn't 'make you' do anything in life that deep-down you don't have a desire to do yourself. That's how he works.James Spader played his role to the tee. A lot of underlying messages in this movie about moral, values, ethics, and priorities. Excellent film. This is the perfect movie for Yuppies, and aspiring Yuppies to see. Is materialism your "God??" Do you marry now and days for true love, or because the woman is beautiful and the man has social status and wealth??Some people have suggested that James Spader should have played "Alex." I totally disagree. Rob Lowe was PERFECT for this role. He had that "pretty boy" handsomeness that made his manipulative ways more disguised. He plays Spader's Character to the tee.Definitely worth viewing....