Halle Berry Movie:

		List Price: $28.95		Label: Sony Pictures Salesrank: 48657 Released: August 21, 2007
		Our Price: $13.46
		Used Price: $6.39
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
When her friend’s affair with married ad exec Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis) ends in the woman’s murder, investigative reporter Rowena Price (Academy Award® winner Halle Berry; Best Actress, Monster’s Ball, 2001) vows to bring the killer to justice. Suspecting Hill of the crime, she goes undercover by posing as two highly alluring women: Katherine, a sexy temp who works within his agency, and Veronica, a seductive temptress he chats up online. Engaging in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, both Rowena and Hill begin to realize things may not be what they seem. For some people will go to great lengths to protect their secrets, even if it means risking everything.

Description of Perfect Stranger [Blu-ray]:
Perfect Stranger is saved from conventional starlet-in-distress mediocrity by a certain refreshing unwholesomeness, a tawdry strain that runs all the way through its climactic series of kickers. Halle Berry plays a "gotcha" reporter, currently undercover to nail a famous advertising tycoon (Bruce Willis)--not for a story, but because Berry thinks he might be involved in a friend's murder. The distasteful nature of Berry trying to seduce the married exec adds some spice, and so does her pervy assistant (Giovanni Ribisi), whose voyeuristic tendencies indicate more than customary comic relief--at the least, he's a hefty red herring. There are other red herrings, mostly beginning to smell, in the rather ramshackle script. Director James Foley, who has a talent for hothouse intensity (Glengarry Glen Ross, At Close Range) gives this material more edge than it probably deserves, although he can't make Berry convincing, and she and Ribisi are completely wrong as simpatico best friends. Willis looks good by comparison, turning a one-note role into a subtle act of professionalism. --Robert Horton

Perfect Stranger [Blu-ray] Reviews:
What was the point of this movie?
2009-12-07 - I don't even know where to begin. My brother suggested I watch this movie as he said it was really good. I found myself bored for the first half hour. Just when I thought things were finally starting to pickup I was let down. This movie was all over the place and made no sense whatsoever. WHAT EXACTLY WAS THE POINT??? There were several unnecessary scenes that added no value at all, and some scenes the writers could have elaborated on. There was a twist at the end but that confused me even further. This movie is not worth the money or the time. At the end of the movie, as the credits rolled, I was sitting there clueless ... scratching my head ... looking at my brother ... and wondering, "so, this is what you call a really good movie?"

love it
2009-10-17 - This is a terrific movie. Halle Berry & Bruce Willis are awesome in this movie. i recomend it to everyone

america's critic
2009-09-12 - ahh ooohh!!! boo!!! so boring i napped during it got this one for $5 and still felt robbed a class actors in a remake that sucks---- i got it sit on ur hand and thats the perfect stranger!!!!

Hack this movie
2009-07-25 - Is hacking computers really this easy?

In Perfect Strangers, Giovanni Ribisi can hack employee files from a high powered New York advertising agency with ease, and manipulate AOL accounts with about three strokes of his keyboard. So I guess that's why he has enough time to build a kinky photo shrine to Halle Berry in a secret back closet in his lime green apartment.

Which sounds fun. But this movie takes itself too seriously.

***SPOILERS***

Basically, Halle Berry's character is a b!tch. She's an investigative reporter. And uses her colleague (Ribisi) as her pu$$y whipped intelligence expert. He's (not so secretly) in love/lust with her. Which creates some decent tension. He's believable. And Berry exploits his obsession. She's quite the domme, ordering him to hack files and fetch coroner's reports. But every time he fulfills her demands, she gets irritated and plays a mind game, mentally beating him into submission (which he seems to get off on.)

The plot...

really doesn't matter. Halle goes undercover as a temp at Bruce Willis' ad agency. One of her duties is stuffing pink gift bags for a Victoria's Secret event. She's really sloppy, getting the bags and delicate tissue paper on top all wrinkled. And thank goodness the office gossip is helping her. This colleague gives Berry a rundown on the entire office, including who the boss (Willis) has been sleeping with. For an esteemed investigative reporter, Berry seems to get all her info handed to her on a silver platter.

Not that any of this starts to add up to anything.

***THE REAL SPOILERS***

Much later in the movie, thru flashbacks, you learn that Berry was molested by her father (or possibly stepfather), a white man. Her black mother finds out, and kills the man with a fireplace poker. Berry and her mother bury him in their backyard. And Berry's friend witnesses it from her window.

Near the beginning of the movie, the friend, who has grown up to be a trashy Melanie Griffith prostitute/drug addict/swinger type, tells Berry she's been sleeping with the married Willis. And that he's a kinky SOB. Then the friend is found murdered.

So the movie is all about finding out who killed the friend.

Is it:

WILLIS (motive: didn't want his wife to know about affair)
WILLIS' WIFE (motive: jealousy)
RIBISI (had secret s/m sex with the victim)
BERRY'S BLACK BOYFRIEND (had impregnated the victim three months earlier)

But no. HALLE BERRY DID IT!

Why?

Because she was afraid the friend would tell everyone about Berry and her mom burying the father in the backyard.

This all could have been a fun plot. But the movie doesn't take it far enough. And it denies us scenes. With all the build up between Berry and Willis, they should have had a sex scene together. A playing out of the father/daughter dom/sub thing. They hinted that Willis, the powerful businessman, liked to be dominated in the bedroom.

In one of her flashback/dreams, from the child Berry's point of view, she imagines her molesting father to be Willis. They really could have played this up. Her subtext could have been that she sees Willis (and all men) as molesters. Which is why it was easy for her to set up the innocent Willis for the murder rap. And why it was easy for her to stab and kill Ribisi at the end when he discovered Berry was the murderer.

There's also a tall, severely beautiful woman who plays Willis' assistant. I kept mistaking her for Milla Jovovich. Her character is a lesbian. Her primary function is to make sure Willis doesn't have affairs with women in the office. So you'd expect a great catty scene with her and Berry. But it never happens.

Oh, and there's a scene where Willis picks up Berry to take her to work. And remember, he thinks she's just a temp. But her apartment building looks like the Waldorf Astoria. But it didn't raise any red flags for the shrewd Willis. Weird, huh?

I would definitely watch a sequel. A lower budget, direct-to-video production. But who would replace Berry? Tyra Banks? Vivica Fox? Or better yet, a no-name actress with a lot of spunk. And a director with no shame.




Surprise
2009-07-06 - I was very surprised that I really enjoyed this movie, don't ask why, I just was, anyway it was very good, definitely one for the movie volt, to be watched over and over again