Search - The Right Temptation on DVD

Rebecca DeMornay tries to catch up with the plot in this one

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 07/07/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In "The Right Temptation" Rebecca DeMornay plays Derian McCall, a former undercover cop who is now a private detective and who is hired by Anthea Farrow-Smith (Dana Delany) to investigate her husband, Michael (Kiefer Sutherland), who she believes might be cheating on her. Anthea insists that she would be more comfortable with a woman doing the job, which is how Derian gets the gig. But from the start we get a bad vibe about this. There is something about Anthea that does not scan right and if Derian is a bit behind us in her suspicions she does her best to catch up. However, that takes a bit of doing in this film.Early on in this 2000 thriller I thought I knew what was going on, but I had about as much trouble as Derian did in catching up with what is going on. In fact, at some point Derian passed me, which is where I ended up liking this film more than I had thought I would. Every time you think you know what is going on you have no faith in your guess, and that is part of the fun. In a world where too many thrillers are stupidly predictable "The Right Temptation" defies you to figure out what is going on. The script by Larry Brand ("Halloween: Resurrection") might not qualify as being brilliant gamesmanship, but it is at least moving in the right direction. DeMornay does a good job in the lead role. Her character keeps having flashbacks as we see what happened that made her quit being a cop, and we pay attention because we know it has to have something to do with how this storyline is going to get resolved. We know not to trust Delaney's character from the start and every time she smiles you just know it is not a good sign. Sutherland is rather disappointing in that he brings so little to the role, especially compared to what we have seem him do as Jack Bauer on "24." But overall the acting is competent enough as it Lyndon Chubbuck's direction. The question is whether you like movies that are like Russian nesting dolls (aka Matryoshka), where inside each doll there is another one. "The Right Temptation" is at least above average and worth a look for thriller fans."

Innovative story that unravels at the end

flickjunkie | 04/23/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This film has a good story that unravels at the end. Still, for a small independent film, it is intriguing, handling the mystery element well. Derien (Rebecca De Mornay) is a former vice cop now working as a private detective. Anthea (Dana Delaney) hires her to follow her husband Michael (Kiefer Sutherland) to see if he is cheating on her. After a few uneventful days of surveillance, Anthea is still not satisfied, so she adds a new dimension to the assignment. She proposes that Derien try to seduce her husband to test his fidelity. His response is predictable; the rest is not.The story has some interesting and innovative twists, but becomes incongruous at the end. Without giving away the ending, all I can say is the director needed to do more research on forensics, because a suspect who is arrested for murder in the film would have been cleared 30 minutes after being detained in the real world.The cast gives a solid performance. Kiefer Sutherland has played so many demented characters in his career that it is something of a shock seeing him in so normal a role. His character is no angel, but at least he isn't a sociopath. Sutherland gives a good performance but makes his character almost too nice. Rebecca De Mornay is back in shape, after a flaccid performance in "A Table for One". This is actually the best I can remember her in quite some time. She is effective at rendering a character that is tough on the outside and tortured on the inside, with more than one weak spot in her psyche. Dana Delany is devious and duplicitous as the scheming wife.Overall, this B movie could have been better, but it is far from bad. I rated it a 6/10. If you enjoy mysteries, it might be worth a try."

Not sensational, not bad

T. Murray | Cleveland, OH | 03/09/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I got this because I'm a Kiefer Sutherland fan. Rebecca DeMornay was in this much more than Kiefer - that was a little disappointing because he had lead billing. It was kind of an odd story with bizarre flashbacks. Interesting, though, with twists and turns. Worth watching, but don't go out of your way for it."

A pretty good movie

Tammy Anderson | Post Falls, ID USA | 01/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this was a cool sexy movie. It is nice to see kiefer sutherland in a romancey thriller type of movie. He usually is a freak. I thought the plot was pretty good it probably could have been better but oh well. I really thought it was interesting how the girl falls in love even though she is supposed to be on the job naughty naughty. I unfortunatly had to watch this movie on the lifetime network a silly t.v. thing for woman. I saw this movie and suddenly became interested in Kiefer's movies. I haven't seen them all but i hope to someday."