Columbia TriStar Home Video presents

Sexual Predator (2001)

"This case is an abomination of decent human behavior."- Judge (David Jean Thomas)

Stars: Angie Everhart, Richard Grieco
Other Stars: Kevin Fry, Elizabeth Barondes, Ray Valenti
Director: Robert Angelo

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (explicit sexuality, profanity)
Run Time: 01h: 27m: 59s
Release Date: 2002-02-12
Genre: suspense thriller

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
D	D	C	C-	D

 

DVD Review

Oh, how the girls love a bad boy. Even, apparently, if he looks like a lizard, which is what Richard Grieco resembles in this very poor movie. The years since 21 Jump Street haven't been kind to Grieco, but he doesn't seem to know it; and his appearance now is so oleaginous that he makes Mickey Rourke look clean cut. Here, he plays J.C. Gale, a smoothie who picks up women with lines like: "You have the most amazing features. I'd really like to photograph you." (Oooh, somebody pinch me!) Gale is the kind of guy who likes to lounge around the house without a shirt but with a silver lamé scarf wrapped around his shoulders. He also speaks in sort of a croak, rather like a pale imitation of Christian Slater's imitation of Jack Nicholson. Here's the story: during a bout of rough sex, Gale accidentally suffocated his partner; he gets off on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, and is sentenced to probation. His probation officer, Beth, is played by Angie Everhart, and in a wacky coincidence, her best friend was Gale's victim. You know that Beth is a sexual volcano waiting to erupt because she wears big thick glasses and buttons the top button of her blouse. I'm sure you're not looking to Sexual Predator for a paragon of Aristotelian dramaturgy, but it is worth noting that the story really isn't bad; it's nonexistent. The facts of the rough sex encounter aren't in dispute—it's the opening scene of the movie, in fact—and so we're not left wondering if Gale is dangerous, or wondering anything, really. It's a movie in which the following line is considered a witticism: "You, my dear Jason, look like a wet dream I once had." Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know: you want a flesh report. Here we go: Grieco's buttocks are prominently on display in the opening scene, and Everhart's leading attributes are featured in three sex scenes. Keep in mind that this DVD is released by a major studio, so you'll see more of Angie in one of her Playboy pictorials than you will here. If watching her writhe while having fake movie sex is your thing, though, go to it. Grieco and Everhart both have executive producer credits on the picture, so they knew just what they were in for. That's not much of an excuse, of course, and the movie isn't without its unintentional bits of comedy. The sex scenes between the two stars seem like hair-flipping contests, and there's even a charming little field trip to a sex club, in which the spectators watch politely as if they were at the symphony.

Rating for Style: D
Rating for Substance: D

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: The movie is shot glossily and cheaply; Angie Everhart or her people might want to check on the lighting for her next feature. In some scenes her skin looks dewily smooth, in others, awfully blotchy. Transfer to DVD is adequate if a bit haphazard; images are clean, but colors are unbalanced.

Image Transfer Grade: C
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
Mono	French	yes
DS 2.0	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: Cheap synthesized music starts playing under the opening scene, and it never stops; it becomes more than a little annoying. The transfer to disc is on par with what you'll find channel grazing late at night—that is, clear enough, but no more.

Audio Transfer Grade: C- 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 28 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai with remote access
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extras Review: Nothing but chapter stops and subtitles, the latter so that non-English speakers can keep up with this magical tale. I bet the movie would be more enjoyable without the dialogue or subtitles, though; whatever you come up with on the fly is going to be at least on par with what you'll hear with the sound turned up.

Extras Grade: D
 

Final Comments

Sexual Predator is, aside from more than a few glimpses of Angie Everhart's nekkid torso, just terribly boring. If checking out the Playboy vixen without her clothes on is what you're here for (and come on, that is what you're here for), you'll be glad that there's a fast-forward button on your DVD remote.

Jon Danziger 2002-02-19