Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Bennyfofennie I first saw Bone aka Housewife back in high school (over ten years ago) after a friend dubbed for me his VHS copy. It was a scratchy print, yet it didn't stop me from being mesmerized by this film. The movie stars Andrew Duggan and Joyce Van Patten as Bill and Bernadette a down on their luck Beverly Hills couple that one day find a rat in their pool. As usual, they have no luck getting a hold of pest control but guess who shows up instead? None other than Bone, played by Yaphet Kotto, a psychotic, intimidating, yet lovable black man with paint stains on his shirt. Bone kindly gets the rat out of the pool and then takes Bernadette hostage. Bill is sent on a mission to withdraw all the money from his account(s) or Bernadette gets it (in more ways than one). To give away anything more would be criminal. Watching the gorgeous new DVD of this was like falling in love all over again. Yet, I couldn't help but think there's no way in Hell a film like this could get made today. Here's why: a) It makes you sympathize with a potential rapist. b) A scene of a woman, Jeannie Berlin, talking about an incident of child molestation before hopping in to bed with Bill is one of the films most hilarious moments. c) Bone's character truly challenges so-called 'racial tolerance' amongst a liberal couple. There's no way you could get a masterpiece of agitation like this released by the P.C. Gestapo that currently runs Tinseltown. Owned! In my opinion this is Larry Cohen's best. God Told Me To comes in a close second. It shows what a truly visionary, subversive director he was before cranking out mediocre works like Phone Booth. What happened Mr.Cohen? Maybe Brain DePalma knows. Yaphet Kotto gives, as usual, a knockout performance. Mr.Kotto is an amazing, underrated actor whom I'd love to see get a starring role again. Oh wait, did I mention how cool the soundtrack is?

princebuster82 This movie didn't have much to offer in the way of well, anything.Everything's kind of played for laughs and made in the semi-surreal documentary style of filming that was sort of in vogue at the time.The acting was OK by everyone except Yaphett Kotto who never has learned how to not overact. You can argue that he's supposed to be playing a maniac, yet he acts the same in every movie he's been in.I had high hopes for this movie, Larry Cohen's directorial debut, Yapphet Kotto playing a racist homicidal rapist, etc. But Kotto seems about as harmless as a parakeet and the story is just very flat. Just mediocre all the way around.

movieman_kev Yaphet Kotto is Bone, a bulky black man, (as well as thief & rapist). He appears in the life of Bill (Andrew Duggan) & Bernadette (Joyce Van Patten), a seemingly rich white couple. Bone is a hodge-podge of a movie with something social commentary to say. That's not to say it's a bad movie (it does have shining spots), but it's just not a terribly good movie either. Some of it is so dull. Expected quite a bit more from Larry Cohen. That being said, Say what you will about Blue Underground released Dvds, but whatever they choose to put out has amazingly good transfers and extras.My Grade: D+DVD Extras: Commentary with Larry Cohen & Bill Lustig; interview with producer; 30 minutes of shots from the aborted first shoot; 2 theatrical trailers (teaser, and under the name of "housewife"); poster and stills galleryEye Candy: Joyce Van Patten gets topless, as does Jeannie Berlin

Tom DeFelice The white middle/upper middle/upper class of America is corrupt, materialistic and empty of all humanity. This is the thesis of a number of films. They come in many flavors including dramatic (ex: "The Swimmer"), funny (ex: "Into The Night") and satiric (ex: "Bone"). The biggest crime this film commits is that it is predictable. It works too hard to get to a place that we've been to too many times. Still, it should not be ignored. Anyone interested in film should see this one once. We've been here before, but it's a nice reference point. The acting actually rises above the script. Two brilliant actresses from the 1970's never reached their potential in Hollywood. They are Kitty Winn and Jeannie Berlin. Both had an extraordinary command of their craft. Whenever one of their films is released on DVD it is a treat. Jeannie Berlin's performance alone is enough to make rental of this film worthwhile.