Bad to the Bone (1997)

Better Late Then Never

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

At first, I thought BAD TO THE BONE was an awful title for this made-for-TV movie. It's raunchy, tawdry, sleazy, tacky, and all the other adjectives you'd associate with a Times Square peep show. But then I actually watched the film (fascinating how often people don't do that, isn't it?), and now I can say without a doubt that the title is the perfect analogue for our villain protagonist here, Francesca "Frankie" Wells (Kristy Swanson) - not just because Frankie is, well, exactly what the title says, but also because, like her, the title is two-faced. (Speaking of which, I am reminded here of Marilyn Monroe's observation of "If you're gonna be two-faced, at least make one of them pretty." Both of Frankie Wells's faces are pretty.) You immediately see the title and you assume you're about to watch some tasteless B-movie: a Quentin Tarantino sort of potboiler, perhaps spiced with John Waters's grotesque brand of humor. That's certainly what I assumed. And I was dead wrong.From the very first shot, where the hard iron door of a prison cell is opened onto the title credits and a nervous young man in a blue jumpsuit (Jeremy London) is ushered out, it becomes clear that BAD TO THE BONE is not going to be light entertainment, or even black comedy. Genre-wise, it's pretty much film noir: a remake of sorts of Billy Wilder's DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) with teenagers instead of adults. But it's also a Shakespearean tragedy without the Bard's poetic language. And, for once, George Thoroughgood is nowhere to be seen (or, rather, heard).The nervous lad in the opening scene is Danny Wells, and he is Frankie's brother. The two siblings had entered into a pact to murder Frankie's boyfriend (David Chokachi) in order to take control of his luxurious apartment and nightclub - and also to cover up the boyfriend's role in another murder plotted by Frankie, wherein the Wells siblings' mother was killed so that Frankie and Danny could cash in on her life insurance. Yes, it definitely rings of DOUBLE INDEMNITY, with Frankie as Phyllis Dietrichson and Danny as Walter Neff. But it also reminded me of some of Shakespeare's plays, especially his most ominous: MACBETH.Frankie Wells is a late-20th-century Lady MacBeth, no joke. She wants it all, but is more than willing to have some you-know-what-whipped male fetch it all for her at tremendous personal cost to himself. He (Danny/MacBeth) is a cringing tool afraid of his own shadow, while she is smug and calculating - until her world really begins to come apart. And that brings up this film's most transparent allusion (as transparent as anything this exploitative in content can get, that is): Frankie swimming in the ocean during the movie's final half-hour, wondering if being immersed in seawater can wash all her sins away. (One wonders if immediately after that scene she went inside to drench herself in "all the perfumes of Arabia.")Perhaps the most Shakespearean aspect of Frankie Wells, however, is the utter despicability that resides beneath her glamorous and (perversely) appealing exterior - in her bones, so to speak. She is certainly winning as a gorgeous and naughty blonde, but that's about it for her in the plus column. Her intelligence is barely above average at best (and moronic at worst); and in terms of morality she's an unrepentant cobra with nihilism in her eyes and a stubborn pride at having already outlived her conscience by her late teens. Her depravity almost literally knows no bounds. But the cobra soon becomes defanged, if not devenomed. Frankie is at her core a pathetic being who is too weak to commit her own crimes; even Phyllis Dietrichson knew how to fire a gun, which Frankie Wells, with her freshly painted fingernails and color-coordinated outfits, would find repellent. Her lone asset is summed up early in the picture, and it's something that can barely be depicted on network television: "There's only one thing I know how to do, and they don't teach it in school." Frankie knows full well she's damned, but lacks even the guts to admit that until the very end.But film noir is this drama's true pedigree, and as the story winds up it heaps on the genre's time-honored voyeurism, as we get to watch this grotesque amalgamation of Ted Bundy and Kelly Bundy run in a blind panic all throughout America, wriggling like a drowning fish as the FBI's net tightens. It's all the shameful fun of watching a smarmy bad girl's misdeeds finally catch up with her and bite her in the ass, coupled with the equally shameful hope that she manages to keep her buttocks clear of the fangs just a little while longer so that the thrilling chase can continue as long as possible. It's not the healthiest kick - but hey, if the Romans could have lions... As she is finally nabbed by the police and hauled off to a fate she unquestionably deserves for being so "incredibly guilty" (as Mel Brooks might put it), Frankie pretends to be mad. She does so perhaps to purposely get herself committed to an asylum, perhaps to slither her way out of a trip to prison where she'd almost certainly be beaten - or worse - by hardened female convicts appalled by her spoiled suburban arrogance. (The wormy Danny could probably expect equivalent treatment in the men's prison.) But then again, perhaps Frankie really is insane. Perhaps evil itself is insane - a ghastly abomination that most of us reflexively shun out of our inherent goodness. At least, I can only hope.

This is a very good film. Kristy Swanson is great as a seductress man eating money loving party girl. The reviewer on the first page of these reviews is totally wrong about Ms. Kristy Swanson. She is a much better seductress than say Sarah Michelle Gellar ala Cruel Intentions. Though not quite as spectacular as Nicole Kidman in To Die For. I would give her acting a 9/10. In the makeup department I would give her fake hairpiece she wears in scenes where she is a teenager a 0. It is so obviously fake it almost takes you away from her acting. Jeremy London is good as her loose cannon brother. Best scene: When a motel clerk tells Swanson WE DON'T GET A LOT OF WHORES HERE her reply? WELL YOU GOT YOURSELF ONE NOW.

First of all why are there so many flicks about supposedly luscious females on the evil make? And the females aren't that luscious. In this, yet another boring tale of murder and intrigue, we have the likes of a bimbo named Francesca, played by an inept actress by the name of Kristy Swanson. She manages to travel around luring men and then knocking them off. To me, she was so obvious. I thought this actress had nothing to offer in the looks or performance department. She's skinny to the bone, with no chest, no hips, no butt. I think this actress must be anorexic. I suppose the blame should go to the casting people, Penny Ludford and Dan Shaner, one or both of them could have done better in casting the pivotal role of Francesca. The director, Bill L. Norton, couldn't do that much with this actress. It's like he gave up on getting a performance out of her. Along the travels of our little murderess, is her brother, Danny, played on a level of another planet by Jeremy London, who gets sucked into her schemes by murdering her lover, Waldo, played by hunk David Chokachi. Here is where I got sick. Watching this gorgeous guy, who certainly could have done better in getting himself a better looking doll, fall for her phony line and then take the dirt she flung at him. She gets hot and cold with a guy who, in my mind, could have any girl he wanted. Why waste it on her? Casting people take note. Don't ever put such a handsome dude in a role opposite such a not so attractive gal and make us believe this is life. No way. Why are there so many of these grade B made for TV dramas about these pathetic women who fool so many men in believing they mean what they say, and then get away with murder? The only exception was in the movie "Malice". But then, the dame was none other than Nicole Kidman, who makes all these other imitations look like losers. And Nicole had a vulnerability to her that was appealing. And she certainly acted the rings around the others, let alone was also a knockout in the looks department. There was at least a believability in why the male population wanted to get into her bed. I give this film a 4 out of 10, and I'm being nice, for the looks of David Chakachi on film. Let's see more of this hunk! I must also mention the good looks of Ben Browder as another victim to this loser. And the best acting goes to Patti D'Arbanville as the mother who should have slapped the girl's face way back when. I loved it when Victor Ertmanis, the motel manager, called her bluff and sent her packing. The writer, Rob Fresco, needs to give our villain a lot more suffering in the end. Not enough retribution in this view's opinion.

I first saw this film late one night when I was almost falling asleep. I saw that one of my favorite actors was in it so I stayed up. The film starts with the character Danny, sitting in jail ready to go to court. When he arrives at court, he is called up to testify and the film goes backward, and he tells the story. But there is no narration. The film is about Frankie, a young girl of about 19 years of age, who kills her mother because they are always fighting, and so she could inherit all the money. Nobody knows that it was her who killed her mother, because she covers it up. She meets a guy named Waldo, who lies to police for her and they end up living together with all the money. They argue alot because she is spending all the money. Waldo threatens to tell the police that she wasn't really with him, the day her Mom was killed and Frankie gets nervous so she tries to manipulate her brother to kill him. I won't tell you anymore. But it's a great film. Kristy Swanson(from Buffy the film) stars as the manipulative sister of Danny, who has an evil side to her. The film keeps your intrest, because it keeps you in suspense. You are also always wandering how the character of Frankie(Kristy Swanson) can be so horrible and manipulative. The story line was great, and I thought the acting was excellent from Jeremy London(Danny). Kristy Swanson gave a great performance. I really recommend the film, it was great.