Tag Archives: Madeline Zima

Outtakes

Fatal (Error) Attraction

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Subservience

by Daniel Baldwin

Life isn’t going so well for construction foreman Nick (Michele Morrone). Stress is high in his professional life, now that every construction worker beneath him has been canned in favor of robot labor. Lucky for Nick, the law still requires that a human foreman be on site. At least for now, anyway.

Things at home are even more stressful. His wife Maggie (Madeline Zima) needs a new heart. Having a costly, life-threatening surgery hanging over their heads isn’t easing any tensions. With Maggie in the hospital, Nick needs some help taking care of the kids and their home. Enter Alice (Megan Fox). Alice is a robot assistant designed specifically for housekeeping and babysitting. If you think hiring a cyborg nanny that looks like Megan Fox to (temporarily) replace the woman of the house is a bad idea, you are 110% correct.

What transpires from that moment onward isn’t going to be a shock to horror fans or even Lifetime viewers. A mentally and emotionally exhausted Nick does the stupidest thing imaginable: he sleeps with the robo-femme fatale, it develops a fixation on him, and chaos ensues. This isn’t a spoiler, it’s the hook. It’s exactly what we watch movies like this for. As the late Roger Ebert said, “it’s not what a movie is about, it’s how it is about it.”

Thankfully, the execution is mostly on point. While the world-building could have been stronger and the eroticism could have used a bit more steam, this is an entertaining high-concept yarn that wisely leans on its core cast. Subservience marks Megan Fox’s second teaming with director SK Dale, following on from their underseen 2021 thriller Till Death. While Fox isn’t given as much to chew on here due to the sheer nature of the role, she remains a standout.

Morrone carries himself well as the male lead and Zima is great as the wife who really shouldn’t have to be dealing with a stupid man or a crazy android on top of her life-threatening medical condition. Then again, maybe the bad luck is just all on Zima herself? After all, as the star of the ‘90s sitcom The Nanny, as well as both Mr. Nanny and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, this underrated actress seems to be a magnet for psychotic babysitters!

If you’re a fan of science fiction-tinged thrillers, check it out.

New In Theaters

Happy to be Stuck with You

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#Stuck

by Hope Madden

Don’t be off put by the hashtag in #Stuck. Writer/director Stuart Acher’s film is less a glib comment on social media alienation and more a savvy reimagining of the romantic comedy.

Holly (Madeline Zima) and Guy (Joel David Moore) are stuck in an epic traffic jam. To make matters worse, this is simply the “morning after” ride back to Holly’s car, which is still at the bar where the two hooked up the night before.

“It’s easier to have sex with a stranger than make conversation with one,” notes Holly early in their uncomfortable alone time.

On its surface, the script feels almost like a writing workshop challenge, but Archer’s assured direction and game performances from the two leads make it work. Acher’s story weaves from the shame and claustrophobia of the morning after to the drunken debauchery of the night before.

The flashback is told in reverse order, allowing us to learn more about the two based on what they’ve forgotten, just as they learn about each other based on the time each must now spend in the other’s company.

It’s hard to sustain interest with little more than in-car acting – unless you have Tom Hardy behind the wheel – and there are certainly times when #Stuck strains to keep your attention. But on the whole, the slow revelation of character feels natural and the performances are sympathetic enough to keep you invested.

Zima has a real Meg Ryan quality about her, which may make the film feel more like an outright romantic comedy than it would otherwise. She and Moore have an uneasy chemistry that suits the begrudgingly burgeoning relationship, and while their banter is never a laugh riot, more often than not it’s bright and enjoyable.

To alleviate the tension for the audience, anyway, Acher’s camera periodically swings out of Guy’s car and takes a peek at the goings on in the other cars sitting motionless on the LA freeway. It’s a fun distraction and a light handed way of underscoring the overall theme of the film: that often, time wasted is more valuable than time spent on task.

Verdict-3-0-Stars