Body of Evidence (1993) ** (out of 4)Rebecca Carlson (Madonna) is arrested for the murder of her lover. How did she kill him? She is accused by the prosecutor (Joe Mantegna) of slipping him some cocaine and using kinky sex to make his heart give out. Her lawyer Frank Dulaney (Willem Dafoe) takes the case and soon starts to fall for her sexual nature.After the huge success of BASIC INSTINCT there were all sorts of erotic thrillers being released. Some of them were quite good while others were downright horrible. Both COLOR OF NIGHT and BODY OF EVIDENCE are considered the worst of the bunch and there are good reasons why. Both films are rather poorly director and have screenplays that wouldn't cut it on a made-for-television film.As you watch the movie you're suddenly hitten with the fact that Madonna really can't act. Just take a look at the scene early on at the funeral where she's suppose to be heartbroken. The performance is just flat-out bad and it actually gets laughable at times. Even during the courtroom scenes Madonna basically just sits in a chair and gives a various of recation shots. There's just nothing here. Well, she at least knows how to take her clothes off and show off some sexuality but the direction keeps the film from ever becoming erotic.The screenplay is really all over the place and rarely does it make much sense. Heck, we hear about the murder and then within minutes we're already at the trial. We never fully get to know any of the characters and the various twists and turns are all rather bland. The film is desperately trying to be another BASIC INSTINCT but its just not happening and in the end the film just comes across as a really cheap wannabe that lacks any drama or sexuality.With that all being said, take a look at this cast! Yes, Madonna gets the lead because her sexuality was what was meant to sell the picture. Then you've got Dafoe and Mantegna playing the layers. Then you've got Julianne Moore playing Dafoe's wife. Tehre's Anne Archer in the role of the dead man's secretary. It doesn't stop there because you also get character actor Charles Hallahan and Frank Langella comes out of nowhere for his rather strange role. Why on Earth did all of these people sign on for this?

When I first saw this movie, I was disgusted beyond belief. I don't know what it was but there was something about the sex scenes that came across as very scuzzy. I still can't place my finger on why. I've seen so many sex scenes and have even watched the occasional porno or two but there was always something about the way the scenes that were shot in Body of Evidence that had be wanting to jump into a hot bath and scrub my skin with a scouring pad. Some other reviewers said that the scenes were a little too realistic and that may have been the reason. More than a decade later, I saw Body of Evidence again but this time I saw the R- rated version. Ironically, when the sex scenes are scaled down, it's a much better movie. It's not a brilliant film, of course, but a legitimately entertaining popcorn flick that's like a cross between Basic Instinct and Witness for the Prosecution. It's also beautifully shot; I was surprised at the level of cinematography for what's essentially a sleazy softcore movie. Some of the dialogue is also a lot wittier than you'd expect for a film like this. The last scene between Joe Mantegna and Willem Dafoe is a hoot. Dafoe's character is asked if he believes in karma. After he says, "No," Mantegna's character says, "Everyone gets theirs in the end, except for lawyers." Dafoe, who feels guilty after winning the case, then tells Mantegna that he should've won instead and Mantegna says, "I did." Okay, it's no Dashiell Hammett, but it made me chuckle.Also, there are some clever subtleties in the movie that I particularly liked. For example, when Dafoe goes to confront Madonna after she lies to him, look at how she's dressed. Up until that scene, she is dressed and styled like someone from the 1940s. The movie even went so far as to have her wear vintage style "granny panties", garter belts and stockings in many of her scenes! But after the twist, her face, hair and demeanor are different and she has on a pair of elegant, but modern style white satin pajamas. She goes from looking and sounding like this very old-fashioned, 1940s style woman into a typical 1990s chick. I know this doesn't sound like much given how cheesy the movie is, but I was pleasantly surprised by the transformation because I thought she was just going to still turn up looking like something out of Casablanca. The filmmakers didn't have to go that extra mile, but it was a very nice touch. Anyway, if you're interested at all in seeing this movie, I strongly suggest avoiding the uncut version. I know it sounds counterproductive because, hey-- who wouldn't want long, extended sex scenes in a movie? But trust me. They're not the type of sex scenes that you want to see, and they cheapen the movie, anyway. See the R-rated version instead and expect nothing more than an entertaining popcorn flick.

This is one of Madonnas best movies but it came out in 1992 when critics and press was cruel and not honestthe film has its flaws and shortcomings, but on the whole it is a very good movie with talented actors an interesting trial movie with an accused woman that you don't get to know until the very endThe first theatrical release was censored for the purpose of obtaining an R rating, reducing the film's running time from 101 to 99 minutes. The video premier, however, restored the deleted material. Madonna's performance in the film was universally derided by film critics and it marked her fourth film acting performance to be widely pannedThe film was almost universally panned by critics and was nominated for six Golden Raspberries, including Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Willem Dafoe), Worst Director, Worst Supporting Actress (Anne Archer) and Worst Screenplay, with Madonna winning Worst Actress. It also appeared on the 2005 list of Roger Ebert's most hated films. The screenplay and performances were especially disparaged.Body of Evidence has a 6% rating over at Rotten Tomatoes based on 34 reviews.Body of Evidence also exacerbated an already burgeoning controversy about Madonna's frequent association with pornography. Before its release she had already published her soft-core coffee table book Sex, and the film features her and Dafoe's characters in graphic scenes of simulated rape, cunnilingus, anal and public intercourse. Madonna re-created her look from the film for the music video of her song "Bad Girl", released at the same time.

I saw this twice at the cinema, the second time with my Dad. I liked the movie that much. The premise was fun. Madonna, where we're granted a look at her goodies at the start, is playing on a videotape, having sex with a 63 year old man. Then we cut over to the big brass bed where the deceased codger, Andrew Marsh, lies, very much dead, the thinnest trace of a smile on his face. Enter Dafoe on the case (another asset to the film-that raspberry award nomination was bogus) who takes Madonna as on a client, and that's not all, as seen in awesomely hot scenes with class, later on the film, that rival Basic Instict's. This film has a lot of style. Madonna lives on a two story house, rested on stilts on the river. The setting for this movie is a nice choice. Oregan of all places. Another of Marshes's loves, his secretary, Anne Braslow (Anne Archer, again undeserved of a raspberry) is Madonna's rival here, really trying to stick the knife in her. We see the late Andrew, favored Madonna much more, as proved in the will of 8 million. Some lines of dialogue in this flick are classic. I think I read the second draft of Brad Mirman's script, that I liked a lot, that varies a lot from the finished project, big chunks of dialogue removed in the courtroom scenes, replaced with smaller amounts. Bob Garrett, (Joe Mantegna) is Anne Archer's lawyer, who really has it in for Madonna. I wonder if jealousy plays a part here. Mantegna are Dafoe are rival competitors, old compadaries. This actor here is the most undeserving of a raspberry. This film was when Madonna actually started acting. Here, I thought she was quite good. She was even better in that later flick, "Dangerous Game' a couple of years on, and then that role in Evita, her acting pinnacle, that truly made us see what this versatile talent is capable of, to all those envious and hypocritical jerks out there. The line near the start, where the son asks his father (Dafoe) "Can you really screw someone to death?" was a bold move on the kid's part on the kid's part. Dafoe's answer is partly funny you'll find if you watch the flick. Body of Evidence is been panned by a lot of people. It's continuity is great. Sex. Long Courtroom scene. Even more sex. Courtroom scene. And after all, this whole case is proved in intent, with so much of the evidence pointed at Madonna. Another few witnesses put on the stand are 60 plus, men, ex-lovers of Madonna, where her sessions of sex were strenous, some of them involving domanatrix, like being handcuffed to be4d rails, as our poor Andrew, and having such gadgets like nipple clamps attached, that Bob Garrett has a worldly knowledge of. After all he's from L.A. One ex-lover (Frank Langella) is forced to leave the courtroom as Madonna had found him in bed with another guy. Thundershock, hey? One actress who escaped a raspberry, was Julianne Moore who went onto become one of Hollywood's greatest and respected actresses. She's hot here, in the first erotic scene to the movie with Dafoe, his thrusting rumps, practically hitting us in the face. She compliments him after they both climax, Moore saying "You're great when you get a new case". Unfortunately gossip spreads, and Moore discovers Dafoe's infidelity, leaving him in the doghouse. But she's forgiving at the end, when true justice is served in a great dramatic climax. I loved it when Moore and Madonna were in the ladies, and Moore slaps her, after Madonna says "Wish me luck". I so wanted to believe Madonna was innocent, but I guess this was how it was almost meant to play out. BOE is a great stylish thriller, a good day at the movies. It's got actors we love, some good lashings of sex, (a sexier movie than Basic Instinct, one scene even involving hot wax) involving courtroom scenes, some comedy scenes and Madonna's, you know what. This just happens to be one of those movies that got the short end of the stick.