Review: Obsessed (2009)

Review Written By: Gaius Bolling

Release Date: April 24th, 2009

So "Obsessed isn't exactly a horror film but the studio did market this as a thriller so I figured it was close enough. Perhaps I just wanted a reason to write about this film because I couldn't resist tackling this train wreck. Lets get that out the way now. "Obsessed" is a mess of a movie and the plot has been recycled many times before (the most successful template being "Fatal Attraction"). It doesn't really try to break any new ground and it solely exist as a star vehicle for Beyonce. She shares a producing credit with her father, Matthew Knowles, so I'm assuming this film was groomed just for her. The film is pure camp and if the filmmakers knew this going in I would applaud them for being clever but there are too many moments in the film where you can tell all involved are taking this premise way too seriously. If anything "Obsessed" is an unintentional comedy, probably not what they were going for.

Derek Charles (Idris Elba) is the Executive Vice President of Gage Bendix and has received a recent promotion from his boss. He is happily married to Sharon (Beyonce Knowles), who is pursuing her business degree. They have a son, Kyle. However, a new temp worker, Lisa Sheridan (Ali Larter) begins to unnerve him. Derek's best friend and co-worker, Ben (Jerry O' Connell), reminds him to be careful because he thinks she has her eyes on him. Lisa eventually attempts to seduce him, but he repeatedly rejects her advances. Lisa becomes obsessed and begins to manipulate Derek and Sharon’s relationship, eventually becoming violent. 

If there is any good news, it's that things do start off on a decent note. The situations are adequately set up and the characters feel like real people rather than caricatures. Even the early flirtation between Lisa and Derek is well played. The script is a bit clunky during these early scenes but the film still maintains a sense of realism.

This all changes once Lisa takes her flirtation into the world of obsession. The character becomes so over the top it becomes hard to take her seriously and since the script doesn't give any reasons for her obsessive nature, it all just comes out of nowhere. Perhaps the filmmakers thought we'd just accept the "bitch is crazy" excuse but I would've liked to have seen some attempt to get into her psyche.

The main issue is the script which is full of cliches. It takes elements from all the films of this nature that has come before it. Lisa gets a little too close for comfort with Derek and Sharons young child ("The Hand that Rocks the Cradle). Lisa claims that she's having guy issues which is the main reason Derek begins to feel sorry for her ("Swimfan"). A little sexual harassment comes into play when Derek wants to tell his bosses about Lisa's advances ("Disclosure) and of course Lisa had to have a knock down drag out fight with Derek's wife ("Fatal Attraction"). You don't even have to watch this thing to the end to know how things wrap up because you've probably seen it all before.

Or maybe you want to ride this thing out to the end just to see the much publicized fight that goes down between Ali Larter and Beyonce. The trailers made no attempt to hide these scenes, in fact it was was films major marketing tool. I'm going to assume seeing these two gorgeous women fight is why the film actually made a decent amount of money ($68 million final gross against a $20 million budget). Is the fight worth the right? I suppose so in a campy sort of way. The film really throws caution to the wind and goes for full silliness at this point. Hearing Beyonce say "I'm gonna wipe the floor with yo skinny ass" is bound to make you laugh (mostly at her). The fight does have a few intense moments but it honestly ends way too fast. Just when I was about to really get into the ring with these girls, it was over. The one positive thing about the fight is that they don't hold back. These girls do indeed throw down. Oddly enough Beyonce does this all in heels but I guess you can do that when you're a bootylicious independent woman who wants all the single ladies to put a ring on it.  

The acting is of the hit and miss variety. I will say that the performers are mostly cheated by the script and the outrageous dialogue. Idris Elba is a very good actor and oddly enough I think this is the third film of his to be released by sony screen gems (He was in "This Christmas" and the almost as abysmal "Prom Night" remake). He's way more talented than the material he is given. I would say that he's the only actor here who plays most of this straight and I have to commend him for keeping a straight face. I have to wonder if he even read the script and just found out Beyonce would be playing his wife and Ali Larter would be the girl stalking him. He simply gets the best of both worlds so why even check if the film will be good?  Ali Larter starts off fine, playing equal parts sexy and mysterious, but once she flies off the deep end, it's hard to really take her seriously. I'm sure this part was fun for her to play but she doesn't give any of the characters insane moments any substance. She just seems to copy elements from other crazy female characters that were featured in other films. Then there's Beyonce. Much has been made about her talent or lack there of as an actress. The truth is she's done some questionable work in the past ("The Fighting Temptations" and "The Pink Panther") and she's shown screen presence and depth in other roles ("Dreamgirls" and "Cadillac Records"). In this film she falls somewhere in the middle. She's actually better performing angry than she is at playing the doting housewife. When the truth comes out about the flirtatious nature of Drek and Lisa's relationship, she actually plays the emotion of reacting to these truths very well. The scenes where she just needs to be happy and and supportive, she falls flat. Perhaps Beyonce is a personality that can't be tamed on film because when she is, she gets lost in the shuffle.  

There isn't much left I can say about this film. It brings nothing new to the table and when it tries to generate tension or suspense it fails on all accounts. If you want to get a laugh and appreciate this film as camp then go for it, but don't even try to take this thing seriously because if you do then you may regret losing that 2 hours of your life for a very long time. 

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