The Fan (1981)
Remember Lauren Bacall’s cameo in Misery? It’s funny when you know she was the lead in the musical adaptation of All About Eve, and it’s even funnier if you’ve seen the tv thriller The Fan. She plays a version of herself, a woman of fifty making her musical theater debut in a less than stellar show. She lives in New York and has her devoted secretary, Maureen Stapleton, take care of her fan mail, never thinking any creeps will track her down. But a creep does track her down, and he starts writing intimate letters.
It's pretty obvious why Michael Biehn’s career didn’t take off after playing a psycho in this movie. This cheap thriller is a typical slasher flick, and he isn’t even given any character development like Anthony Perkins to work with. He’s just an obsessed fan for no reason; for that matter, Lauren doesn’t have any character development either. I don’t really know why she took the part, because the musical numbers she rehearses and performs are just embarrassing. Didn’t she have enough clout as a Tony winner to demand the production pick better songs? And more importantly, didn’t she have enough clout as Humphrey Bogart’s widow to refuse to smoke cigarettes in her movies? I lost track of how many times she smoked, and I was very surprised she agreed to glamorize the activity.
I sat through this movie because I thought James Garner would have a bigger part, as her ex-husband, and it was his highlighted week on Hot Toasty Rag. But unless you love slasher movies, you’ll probably roll your eyes and turn this tv drama off. It’s pretty cheesy, and there isn’t really any acting in it.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
More James Garner movies here!
It's pretty obvious why Michael Biehn’s career didn’t take off after playing a psycho in this movie. This cheap thriller is a typical slasher flick, and he isn’t even given any character development like Anthony Perkins to work with. He’s just an obsessed fan for no reason; for that matter, Lauren doesn’t have any character development either. I don’t really know why she took the part, because the musical numbers she rehearses and performs are just embarrassing. Didn’t she have enough clout as a Tony winner to demand the production pick better songs? And more importantly, didn’t she have enough clout as Humphrey Bogart’s widow to refuse to smoke cigarettes in her movies? I lost track of how many times she smoked, and I was very surprised she agreed to glamorize the activity.
I sat through this movie because I thought James Garner would have a bigger part, as her ex-husband, and it was his highlighted week on Hot Toasty Rag. But unless you love slasher movies, you’ll probably roll your eyes and turn this tv drama off. It’s pretty cheesy, and there isn’t really any acting in it.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
More James Garner movies here!