Waste of time

Sick Product of a Sick System

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I remember when I first saw this I was high on the love of Charlie's Angels and anything that the actresses from that show did. I thought this was the best thing I had ever seen. And then a few years later I saw it again without the rose colored glasses and was not as enthralled with it.I have also recently leaned or at least reminded of a lesson I have always known -- often these shows are not as good as the books they are based on. Now the book The Users by Joyce Haber is not the greatest book out there, but it is far better than the mini-series they based on her book. Watching the mini-series and reading the book now it is almost as if they took the names from the book and wrote them a totally different story.Forget the series and read the book.

I have never seen a better movie in my entire life, and believe me I have seen a lot!!! You can't put it in words. Just the best of the best. Flawless, Perfect! This has to be one of the top ten best movies ever made (in my opinion). There are very few films that can keep me watching over and over again. I just love this movie. INCREDIBLE is the best word I can use for this movie. Everything in it is perfect. All the actors perform brilliantly, the direction deserved an Emmy and the editing is superb. Basically it's a movie you have to see, over and over again. This movie has everything you could want: compelling acting, brilliant direction, stunning cinematography, and a riveting script. Jaclyn Smith looks sexy, hot and attractive flaunting her beautiful bare back in a variety of sexy backless dresses. The Users is one of the most important movies of all time. Don't miss this one!

This could have really been a tasteless wallow in glitzy sleaze, but, thanks to the fresh-scrubbed, earnest appeal of Smith, it comes off as a nearly chaste account of the behind the scenes world of Tinsel Town. Smith plays a small-town film extra and prostitute who is called into service by movie producer Hamilton in order to boost the ego and morale of his male lead Curtis prior to the filming of a big scene in his comeback vehicle. Smith is happy to oblige since Curtis is her favorite star and she knows all about him. They wind up falling for each other and moving back to Hollywood, but things get rough when the studio decides to cut the running time of Curtis's movie and release it at multiplexes and on network TV. Smith must immediately get to work, maneuvering around town to acquire a choice property for Curtis, but having to dodge various creatures like slimy agent Buttons and cantankerous writer McGavin in the bargain. She is aided by Curtis's grown daughter Phillips, wealthy investor Forsythe and the town's most skilled social maven Fontaine. Sadly, Curtis takes the news of his movie's failure so poorly that it may not matter what Smith accomplishes. Smith is quite good, despite being miscast. She could never convey the cold, common, hard qualities of a social-climbing hooker, so the film-makers wisely focused on her devotion to Curtis. She looks terrific, too, in an assortment of Nolan Miller gowns. Curtis is rather bad, actually. Certain aspects of his role seem to be either beyond him or uncomfortable for him to play. Still, he manages to invest some of his scenes with a nice amount of feeling. Phillips has a fairly colorless role, but brings some knowing attitude to it and a bit of flair. Hamilton looks great and would have looked even better without his ridiculous glasses. He gives as good a performance as this fluffy piece of shiny trash deserves. Chic Fontaine seems to be having fun, Buttons is appropriately cringe-inducing and McGavin does well in a cameo role. This may as well have been Forsythe's audition for "Dynasty", though he inherited that role from George Peppard. It's a glossy, soapy, skin-deep chunk of paste jewelry, the type of tele-film the late-70's and early-80's are noted for, but it's a decent time-waster. Jarre provides a neat score.

Call this one a guilty pleasure. Everything about it is bad - the writing, the acting, the direction, etc. And yet, once you stop taking it seriously, it's a surprisingly entertaining movie.The story centers on Elena Schneider (Jaclyn Smith), a pretty young woman stuck in a small town caring for an ailing mother (Joanne Linville). One day, aging movie star, Randy Brent (Tony Curtis) comes through town. He and Elena meet, fall in love, and suddenly her mother is urging her to marry Randy and head off to Hollywood, which she does. Once there, she gets caught up in the intrigue of trying to revive Randy's career, while trying to start her own. Along the way, she meets Randy's daughter, Marina (Michelle Phillips), who is involved in a dead end affair with Adam Baker (George Hamilton), discovers Randy's bisexuality when she walks in on him and a male lover, and drinks writer, Henry Waller (Darren McGavin) under the table in order to get Randy a part which will give him his comeback. Once Randy is established, she leaves him for dashing Reade Jamieson (John Forsythe), with whom she has somehow fallen in love along the way.Silly story, and little was done with the writing to lend any credibility to it. It's just a Hollywood soap opera presented for the entertainment, and it doesn't pretend to be anything else. It is however, representative of its time in that its attitudes are both sexist and homophobic, but since it wasn't meant to taken seriously, it's a little hard to get too riled up about that.The acting was okay. A good cast tries to rise above bad material, and is only partially successful. Smith's performance is reasonably good, and Forsythe does his usual excellent job. Curtis swishes his way through his part (rather ironic given his outspoken stance again Brokeback Mountain). Phillips and Hamilton both come off as stilted.This is not film making at its finest. Nonetheless, as long as you don't expect that, it is campy fun.