Touches You

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

****SPOILERS**** When Angie Anderson, Sharon Stone, was attacked in the elevator of her apartment building by this red bearded and scuzzy looking man all her fears of men as well as her childhood started to resurface with shocking clarity. It was in fact the pretty and very attractive Angie's first experience with a man sexuality that screwed up her head in her not having any normal relationships, sexual or otherwise, with members of the opposite sex. It's Alex Morgan, Steve Railsbeck, Angie's next door neighbor who took the time to help her out in this crisis that had Angie eventually fall in love with him. This had Alex's live-in twin and wheelchair bound brother Cole, also played by Steve Railsbeck, develop a deep resentment of Alex since he was having his eye as a peeping Tom on Angie since she moved into her apartment.It's when Angie sought help from her psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Carter, Ronnie Cox, that by trying to help her overcome her phobias about men as well as her recent attempted rape experience he brought out things about her past, or childhood, that started taking over her life in her for so long suppressing them. This lead Angie to slowly lose control and becoming paranoid in both her private as well as public life. This paranoia lead her, after getting an invite, to the Bailey Building where she sought, I would assume, to get a job there as Mr. Bailey's private secretary. It's there that Angie found herself locked in with what seemed like real-estate developer Mr. Bailey found stabbed to death, with a scissor, lying in the bedroom! With his pet black bird Jimmy accusing Angie, over and over, that she's the one who killed him!. ****SPOILERS*** Almost the entire second half of the movie has to do with Angie locked in the Bailey Building with Alex desperately trying to save her. It's then that Alex's twin brother, the evil twin, Cole shows his true colors as well as his ability to walk,It's a Miracle! It's a Miracle! he screams, and clobbers him and leave him unconscious as he then joyfully takes off to celebrate his getting even with his twin brother to the nearest ginmill in order to get himself smashed. That in his twin brother Alex ending up getting the better things in life, like Angie, compared to failed artist Cole getting the sh*t end of the stick. It's at the very end of the movie with Angie by now almost completely insane that the truth comes out to who's behind this plan in driving her off her rocker. And it didn't have anything to do with her at all but the real-estate developer Mr. Bailey. And he, Bailey's killer, had a big surprise coming himself when he tried to pin Bailey's murder on Angie that ended blowing up in his face!

During the opening credits, creepy music plays. It sounds like a giant music box with an orchestra, giving the impression of a children's story, but with an evil twist.Angie buys the scissors, a style used to cut fabric (but which can also be used for more sinister purposes). Then she visits Mr. Kramer's thrift shop to buy a doll that needs repairing. She doesn't make a living fixing up dolls, because she needs to get jobs through a temporary agency as well, and she says dolls are only a hobby. Quite a hobby--there are so many in her bedroom it looks eerie, and she says she doesn't have room to sleep there. It is never explained how she can afford an apartment in a nice building, though rich parents are mentioned--by someone who doubts they are real.When she gets back to her building, Angie is greeted by the security guard. A lot of good he does: Angie gets on the elevator and is nearly raped. She stabs the attacker with her scissors, but he leaves with them--and her purse, which has her apartment keys.Angie goes to her neighbors, who she has never really gotten to know. Alex Morgan is a soap opera actor and really nice. His identical twin brother Cole is a portrait artist and confined to a wheelchair. He seems weird, and so are his paintings, which border on pornography. At one point, Cole confesses that Angie leaves her blinds open.Throughout the movie, Angie is having difficulty coping with her recent attack. She is already in therapy. Again, someone like her should not be able to afford this. Dr. Carter can do hypnosis and seems like he would be very expensive. Yet Angie sees him a lot and makes very little progress. She is frustrated that he believes she makes up a lot of things.One day Angie gets a job interview in a building that is mostly under construction. A sign in the elevator directs her to the top floor apartment apparently belonging to the developer. Angie goes in and finds herself trapped inside with no way to communicate (she can't even be heard yelling through the windows, and the two dog walkers who can see her ignore her). That's not all. There's a dead man with what appears to be her scissors in his back, a creepy talking doll, and a bird who keeps saying, "You killed him!" Sharon Stone shows what she is capable of. Angie shows a wide range of emotions, though someone like her wouldn't be expected to experience pure joy or excitement. Not that she couldn't have, but the writers chose to make her mostly troubled.Steve Railsback does a very good job as well. I didn't realize the brothers were twins, because to me they didn't even look alike. For one thing, Alex wears glasses. But it is Cole that really shows Railsback's talent.Ronny Cox also does very well as the therapist. And you have to like the folksy Mr. Kramer, who is only in a couple of scenes. And Midnight, Angie's cat, is so sweet and playful!This isn't really my kind of movie. But it has an interesting mystery and a very strange ending. It's not too violent but almost always slightly on the eerie side. At least the weird music gets replaced with pleasant music in the romantic scenes. I won't say who, but there are several couples and one slightly naughty bedroom scene. Having seen this on broadcast TV, I don't really know how explicit the movie gets.It's a good thriller for those who like that sort of thing.

Possible Spoilers I saw this movie several years after "Basic Instinct" came out, and this movie, although it has its flaws is interesting. It is intriguing to watch Ms Stone play a sweet, shy child woman as opposed to a sexy killer as in Basic Instinct. The apartment she is trapped in is very curious and weird, the setting keeps you wondering what will happen next. The script could have been better and the plot should have been "filled out" a bit, but overall this is a very strange and intriguing flick that stays with you. This movie is currently showing a lot on showtime, usually late at night, I would say that this flick is the perfect "late night" flick to catch on the cable.

Warning Possible Spoiler! This movie was so bad I finally took the time to register just so I could complain about it. It looked dismally cheap and the only thing frightening was how sordid the Sharon Stone character was to watch. While Basic Instinct showed a smart, funny & ok violent exhibitionist, here the character was a mentally ill woman constantly being infantilized and shown with her legs spread & breasts falling out of her clothes. Add to that the completely absurd plot -- how does a semi-employed shizophrenic afford a deluxe apartment and a private psychiatrist? While the suspense was probably supposed to be which male character trapped her in an apartment, the only thing worth caring about was who was finally going to feed her poor cat.