A bit bland to watch on DVD -- worth catching on cable

Under the Influence was not a good movie. But something about it keeps it compelling enough to avoid turning off. I would imagine that this is even more true if you were to see it on a lazy Saturday afternoon on cable -- the occasional interruptions for commercials would break up its plodding monotony, making every 15-20 minute block of film interesting enough. However, in one 90-minute chunk, it's a little on the bland side. The film tells the tale of an insurance scam gone wrong -- someone dies, the cops get called, the lawyer filing all the fraudulent claims starts to crack under the pressure. Into this tale, you throw a bombshell-y foreign actress and some slimy thugs. The movie plods along slowly, and the actors all give wooden performances with very little emotional interest. What's worse, is the sound is kind of bad -- almost every time someone speaks, you hear a buzz in the background. 5.0, compared to IMDb's 7.1.

While working a car insurance scam, Toni Cutter, a female con artist, accidentally turns a routine collision into a fatality and exposes her lawyer and lover, Stephen Tally, to felony murder charges from the District Attorney. Stephen stalls his interrogators with stories of his affair with Toni, while she risks her freedom by seducing an employee in the D.A.'s office into revealing Stephen's whereabouts. As they each play out their own con, the line between rescuer and executioner, betrayer and martyr become blurred and they must learn to trust each other in order to survive.

Peter Greene and Camilla Overbye Roos in Under the Influence (2000)

The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

See which big screen releases you can watch from the comfort of your couch.

Theatrical Releases Coming to Streaming

See who dazzled on the red carpet and took home gold at the 78th Primetime Creative Emmy Awards.

Primetime Creative Arts Emmys: Photos We Love

Denyce Lawton, B.J. Britt, and Jared Wofford in Under the Influence (2023)

Keanu Reeves in Under the Influence (1986)

Patrick Muldoon, Amelia Heinle, and Russell Means in Black Cat Run (1998)

Halle Berry in The Rich Man's Wife (1996)

Heather Locklear and Stephen Rea in Double Tap (1997)

Rose McGowan and Heather Graham in Kiss & Tell (1997)

Under the Influence

Photos1

Top Cast12

User reviews1

More like this

Storyline

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed