MovieChat Forums > Body Double (1984) Discussion > Forgotten how truly bad this movie is!

Forgotten how truly bad this movie is!

posted 9 years ago by engle_james
4 replies | jump to latest

But thanks to cable, I was reminded. I actually saw this movie in the theater when I was 13 and thought it was ok, I mean the whole scene with the drill was scary. Seeing it again on cable, I'd forgotten how phony and unbelievable the movie was. Specifically, the idea that Jake would just happen to come across a commercial with Holly Body in it and somehow recognize her from the dance was ridiculous. The whole movie absolutely falls apart at that point. Even the dance itself doesn't make sense- Holly uses her hands to play with her long, luxurious hair... when she doesn't even have long, luxurious hair! Since we know Sam/Alexander also saw Holly's movie and hired her based on her dance routine to imitate his wife, who had long, luxurious hair, he had Holly wear a wig. So in her original dance, why would Holly play with her hair like that, when her hair was so short?

On top of that, Sam needed 1) a heterosexual 2) pervert 3) with no job 4) or girlfriend 5) or place to live 6) who suffered from claustrophobia to set up as his pasty, which he finds in ONE day and then hires Holly IMMEDIATELY to start dancing in his house, while somehow GUARANTEEING that Gloria will ALWAYS be out of her own house for an hour or two every night. And Sam does this all in one day!

[–] Craftsman1800 9 years ago

Has DePalma ever made a good film? I have seen most of his films, and each time I say it will be the last. But like a train wreck, I can't look away!

[–] piggoli-imdb 9 years ago

Brian De palma has done some good movies in 80s like Scarface, Untouchables etc, but that was because the scripts were so good. This one just blows. I could not find one ounce of sympathy for the guy, either for his cheating girlfriend - which is saying something because it is highly unusual for me (in fact in case of this movie I felt happy for her, she seems to have gotten a much better deal for herself than this lousy guy who can't even put his *beep* together) or his claustrophobia. The movie was more of a cheap funny piece of turd than a suspense thriller aka Hitchcock. I felt genuine sympathy for the protagonist in both Vertigo and Rear Window though the latter is my fav. A high quality director does not depend on cheap thrills like sex or lots of hot women or a confusing storyline to keep the audience hooked; he uses his directing SKILLS, none of which De Palma ever had; he was and is still very good with the camera, but not much else. In contrast Days of Heaven had none of the glitz and glamor, it was a pretty ordinary story set in a country farm but I felt genuine sympathy for the character of the farmer whose wife was cheating with her ex bf (and I felt nothing but disgust for the cheating wife). Yep the story is different and so is the genre, but the point is: one story's characters does not gain my sympathy and the other one's does, and that has nothing to do with genre as I have eclectic tastes. It is all a matter of fine storytelling, or in other words, DIRECTION. I guess it is just a bad idea to watch De palma after watching movies of auteurs like Hitchcock, Godard and Malick. I was not expecting much from the movie but was at least hoping it would be somewhat entertaining. What suspense? I was pretty bored.

[–] ramcamcole 8 years ago

Specifically, the idea that Jake would just happen to come across a commercial with Holly Body in it and somehow recognize her from the dance was ridiculous.

I don't think it's too ridiculous that he'd recognize her dance and realize it's identical to the one she was doing as the body double. I mean the have the exact same body. Plus, I think it was more than that. I think he also recognized the tattoo on her butt.

On top of that, Sam needed 1) a heterosexual 2) pervert 3) with no job 4) or girlfriend 5) or place to live 6) who suffered from claustrophobia

It's not hard to find a heterosexual. Most people are. I don't think the person necessarily had to be a pervert, and how would Sam know who's perverted and who's not? I think most males would watch through that telescope. It's Hollywood, there's probably no shortage of struggling actors with no job, girlfriend, or place to live. And for the last one, why is being claustrophobic necessary?

[–] eelb53 (36) 5 years ago

If one takes the exploration of the porn industry, and the dated pop music out of it, it's a pretty good film. The movie depends too much on being contemporary, perhaps to appeal to a younger crowd. This is what causes it to seem campy decades later. If DePalma had done a straight up homage to Hitchcock, he would've fared better.

It's arguable as to the realism of the plot elements. None of them were too far fetched as to be totally unbelievable. I think Sam had been scouting out a subject among the actors community for sometime. He obviously already had the house in place, and the Indian disguise figured out. He may have made arrangements with Holly to make an appearance at a later date to be determined. When everything else was in place, he gave her a call. As for the timeliness of the wife not being home, perhaps she has an organized routine, when he's reasonably assured she won't be there.