Basic Instinct (1992)

Thirty years ago, director Paul Verhoeven followed up his modern action classics Total Recall and Robocop with this erotic mystery thriller starring Michael Douglas as a troubled San Francisco police detective investigating the grisly murder of a former rock star.  The chief suspect is a famous author who was dating the victim played by Sharon Stone in what was a genuine star-making performance.  Of course, the police detective falls for the chief suspect while other folks are murdered and……chaos (or hilarity?) ensues!  

WARNING: ADULT CONTENT AND LANGUAGE

Host: Geoff Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

BASIC INSTINCT - 1992

Directed by Paul Verhoeven (Audio clip)

Starring Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, Jeanne Tripplehorn, George Dzundza, Leilani Sarelle, and Denis Arndt

Genre: Erotic Mystery Thriller

There are mainly two things which really make this movie stand out almost three decades later: Sharon Stone's iconic go-for-broke performance and that AMAZING score from the late, great Jerry Goldsmith. (Audio clip) 

Stone plays Catherine Trammell, a famous author who is accused of murdering a former rock star who was found naked in his bed, bludgeoned to death with an ice pick.  Even though Michael Douglas is TECHNICALLY the star of this movie as Nick Conklin, the disgraced San Francisco detective hot on her trail (in more ways than one), it’s actually Stone who justifiably became a star after this.  She just DEVOURS the screen with every glance, every smirk, every line reading, every smug laugh, and of course...every outfit. From the sweaters to the yoga pants to the sequin dresses, everything she presents just displays sexy confidence and icy cool.  Catherine has been accused of murder and is under investigation….but you wouldn’t know it watching her as she’s too busy toying with everyone around her while actively doing “research” on her next novel which is about…..you guessed it…..a murder investigation where a troubled detective pursues the accused murderer.  Regardless of whatever occurs on screen, this film is endlessly watchable and seeing Stone demure her way through every situation as she elegantly puffs her cigarette is certainly a hoot. (Audio clip) 

And yeah calling this film a "hoot" pretty much describes it best...it's not meant to be taken seriously, its story makes no sense, most of the characters don't make any sense, and much of the dialogue is laughably bad. SO bad that there can only be ONE culprit...the million dollar screenwriter of this era....the legendary purveyor of upscale soft-core....the inventor of the modern day crime scene where EVERYONE shows up from the DA to the Assistant DA to the Mayor to the Commish to the lead detective's ex-wife to the CSI's AA sponsor....the man who single-handedly raised the murder rate in San Francisco more than 80% from the late '80's to the late '90's....you know him, you love him....there can only be one.....ESZTERHAS!!! (Joe Eszterhas of course) Joe Eszterhas literally became one of THE most famous screenwriters of the 1990’s thanks to notable films like this one….. (Audio clip)

Yup his fingerprints are all over this and it certainly blends in well with the rest of his screenwriting ouvre from this time period including Jagged Edge, Jade, and Showgirls. It's a shame too because he was apparently paired with the perfect director...Paul Verhoeven. Sadly….as gorgeously shot and breathlessly paced as this is, the screenplay genuinely drags it down....even drags down some strong actors like Jeanne Tripplehorn but we’ll get to her a bit later.  

So what results is just over two hours of generally watchable, often unintentionally funny trash...Douglas is of course playing Douglas but he plays him well, the sex scenes are certainly not dull to watch, and there are still small joys to be found throughout....from George Dzundza sporting a cowboy hat to that AWESOME pouty-fighting dance done by Roxy during the club scene! (Speaking of which , why didn't Leilani Sarelle have a bigger career by the way?) See Basic Instinct for Stone and the score if for nothing else. ;)

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Regarding Jerry Goldsmith’s score, it resembles the kind of brash orchestral score Bernard Herman used to do for Hitchcock but takes the brashness further as we hear the orchestra apparently climaxing when our main character does…..or when a victim is brutally stabbed to death at the height of said climax…..or both? Seriously this is just go-for-broke music with an explosive torrent of brass and strings augmented by snare drums and electronic beats – it just gets louder and LOUDER and more bombastic as the theme cresendo’s towards the end – I can remember that hearing this in a theater at piercing high volume was just such a kick!  It remains one of THE best scores of the ‘90’s…..just fun, crazy stuff! 😊  (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

Now back to Jeanne Tripplehorn…..she’s a genuinely good actress who just a year later would have the chops to almost out-act Hackman in The Firm. She even convincingly plays a relatable female in a relationship with Tom Cruise in that film...no small feat! But not here - her character of the psychologist/ex-girlfriend/alleged stalker in this film is just ridiculous - she basically just says and does whatever random goofy stuff the screenplay needs her to do just to move the story forward. And it's not really Tripplehorn's fault, I highly doubt that even Cate Blanchett on her best day could sell a line like, "She's EVIL.....she's BRILLIANT!!!" (Audio clip) 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie): 

There can be only one and it has to be the now famous interrogation scene – we watch as several law enforcement officials and lawyers (because why not?) question Ms. Trammell over her involvement with Johnny Boz, the murder victim who she had a relationship with.  Like virtually every other scene in this movie, this sequence is utterly ridiculous on paper….and yet, Verhoeven and DP Jan de Bont bring SUCH a flair to it!  There are pans to each person speaking, zooms and even several close-ups.  Literally every third shot seems to be a close-up of Wayne Knight's sweaty face.   Oh and of course, there are some genuine whoppers of dialogue which have to be heard to be believed, my personal favorite being when we hear Catherine utter “I like hands and fingers.”  Hands AND fingers mind you. (Audio clip) 
 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film): 

Basic Instinct lives in the world of Sharon Stone’s Catherine Trammell and every one else is just visiting – she just dominates this movie with sheer charisma and with a genuinely interesting performance.  And I can say that even as some one who finds the ending of this movie utterly ridiculous….even random.  According to the screenplay, the whole question becomes as to whether Catherine is the killer or not but…..does it even matter?  There are no real moral questions being posed in this movie nor compelling mystery elements – every other character in this movie BESIDES Catherine is either bland or reprehensible.  Well maybe Roxie isn’t but she’s just not given enough screentime to really develop.  The point is that the REAL point of this movie is how the character of Catherine Trammell draws us in at the expense of everyone around her and that is only made possible by the genuine tightrope which Sharon Stone is walking with this performance – balancing high camp with cool precision - for that reason, she is your MVP! (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

Despite my relatively low rating, I would still recommend this as a pure guilty pleasure watch and if you haven’t seen it, just a warning as there are absurd levels of nudity and violence throughout.  It’s far from Verhoeven’s best film but it’s ALL him at his most shameless.   

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