Weekly Review -- Copies galore

Obsessed (2009) -- Boy meets girl, boy has affair with girl, boy breaks up with girl, girl goes psycho. The story is a staple of the thriller genre and has been directed, dissected and shape-shifted to the limits of audiences' endurance. First came Clint Eastwood's chilling Play Misty for Me; then Adrian Lyne's cautionary yuppie tale Fatal Attraction; then John Polson's milquetoast teen version Swimfan. The latest in the string of repeats is the interracial -- are we not past this already? -- melodrama Obsessed, that pushes the concept all the way into Lifetime TV territory. Derek Charles (Idris Elba) is a successful asset manager with a beautiful wife (Beyoncé Knowles) and son, an epitome of the American dream who just moved his family into a luxurious house after receiving a promotion. When he meets new temp Lisa (Ali Larter), she starts taking his friendly gestures a bit too seriously, leading to her fixation and to his world crumbling down. The movie reeks of cheese. From its stilted dialogue to over-the-top acting to uninspired turns of events, it is a predictable piece of work that can be seen simply by watching the trailer. The two actors that are the saving graces are Elba, whose refined authority occasionally compensates for the thankless screenplay, and Christine Lahti, whose artful intellect is wasted in the minuscule role of a detective. Knowles is adequate as the beleaguered wife; however, once the credits start rolling, accompanied by one of her songs, we are reminded of where her undisputed strength lies. Larter camps it up as the unhinged Lisa, traversing the not-so-convincing road from flirting to pushing to full blown obsession. What she lacks the most to make the insanity effective is the carefully calculated sophistication that gave Glenn Close a creepy edge in the 1987 film, to name an obvious example. The main problem with Obsessed is that it never even attempts to be at least a little different from the story's previous incarnations. All right, so there is no actual affair this time, but that is far from enough to make the story fresh or exciting. There are no twists, no surprises, no red herrings, merely an intention to cash in on a familiar tale, while giving Knowles a chance to have a long-awaited non-singing role, which she has stated in some interviews was the type of role she was looking for. Given that Knowles and her father are two of the executive producers, the movie is a convenient bet. Still, given its doltish blandness, it is not a safe one. There is nothing here to become obsessed about, folks. Move on.

3/10