Her Secret Life (1987)

Truly Dreadful Film

Fantastic!

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

I saw this by chance while channel flipping one winter night. What caught me was the opening title sequence: a series of puzzle pieces "falling" into view from a point behind the camera. The pieces slowly built up the lead character's face, wearing a somewhat serious (or perhaps harried) expression. That was it, I was intrigued.I like complex plots, it keeps me focused on the story and allows me to overlook any of the less glaring errors. So I probably would have liked this in any event. But there was nothing to gloss over; for a TV movie the production quality was excellent, the timing perfect, and the direction almost perfect. The "secret life" plot line has been done to death, especially around this time with the cold war winding down. But this movie managed to put a fresh twist on it, and it's not really part of the plot other than framing. The story is the story, and it's a good one.But as others have said, it's really Capshaw's performance that makes this shine. It's perfectly in tune with the story, a performance that never left me wondering about motives or second- guessing the underlying setup. Throughout, she simply *is* the character, far more convincing than Matt Damon's unconvincing superman, for instance. The lack of ridiculous fight scenes helps pull this off, but it's certainly not the only reason.The ending was a little disappointing, and somewhat predictable. But there was little else they could do with it; the story came to its natural conclusion and all that was left would be to roll the credits. It certainly didn't distract from the enjoyment.So if you like thrillers, especially in the vein of No Way Out, I think you'll be very happy with this movie.

I saw this movie when it first came out and talked my way into getting a VHS (it wasn't yet common). I just saw it again yesterday, while seeing what I wanted to copy over to DVD. Really great, a nice TV movie - and based on ending, an unsold pilot. Since then Kate Capshaw married Steven Spielberg and Jeroen Krabbe went on to appear in many high-budget films. As a bonus I wrote Krabbe a fan letter and he sent me a very nice note on a postcard showing one of his paintings - he's quite talented. I became a fan and still am.Her Secret Life aka Code Name: Dancer is terrific entertainment. Who doesn't love a great spy movie with romance?

I purchased several DVDs from an overstock store for less than two bucks apiece. The back of the cover for this DVD promised a Cuban spy story. I did not realize until later that this was a TV movie. I think it was shot directly to video because the projected image (6' horizontal, 4:3) was quite poor and did not compare to the image from a DVD made under more modern processes. The poor quality of the video was overshadowed by an excellent cast, a very decent story line and great direction and production. This reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock's "Topaz" where the American agent goes into Cuba to get information on the Russians. He has to depend on an old flame to help him out.If you like spy stories and watch this on a screen no larger than 27" you will probably enjoy it as well as I did if not more. There seems to me that there is a real shortage of spy stories out on DVD. I eat them up.

This movie is billed as a thriller but it has everything except comedy. I've always been fascinated by Cuba and am a die hard romantic. With the excitement of the CIA, thrill of a double cross, suspense of who & why, and the sexual tension between the two main characters that leave you wanting more, this movie just has it all. Kate Capshaw is beautiful & becomes the character she's portraying. Jeroen Krabbe is as handsome & rugged as his character & perfect in the role. There isn't a lot of blood & guts, foul language or even big crash scenes but you don't need them. The plot & the acting says it all. I can't say enough about this movie & the actors. I saw it when it first aired on TV & thought for sure it was a pilot & kept waiting for the series. I searched for about 10 years to find a copy & just got mine today. It was even better than I remembered.