Consenting Adults [Blu-ray]

Director: Alan J. Pakula Alan J. Pakula

Overview

Composer Richard Parker (Kevin Kline) and his wife Priscilla (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) live an ordinary suburban life until they meet their new neighbors Eddy (Kevin Spacey) and Kay (Rebecca Miller). The two couples become friends until some mate-swapping is suggested by the men. The plot takes a nasty turn, however, when Richard sleeps with Kay -- who turns up, the next morning, bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat. Soon, Richard is charged with the crime and must prove his innocence.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/10/2011
UPC:	0683904630278
Original Release:	1992
Rating:	R
Source:	Mill Creek Ent
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:39:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kevin Kline	Richard Parker
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	Priscilla Parker
Kevin Spacey	Eddy Otis
Rebecca Miller	Kay Otis
Forest Whitaker	David Duttonville
E.G. Marshall	George Gordon
Kimberly McCullough	Lori Parker
Billie Neal	Annie Duttonville
Benjamin Hendrickson	Jimmy Schwartz
Lonnie Smith	Dr. Pettering,Christmas Caroler
Joe Mulherin	Bo
Rick Hinkle	Band Singer
Artis Edwards Jr.	Atlanta Police Officer
Jerry Campbell	Prison Guard
Ginny Parker	Martha
Judson Vaughn	Max Roth
Ed Grady	Mr. Watkins
Suzanne Stewart	Mrs. Watkins
Bruce Evers	Maxie
Nance Plachta	Woman in Blues Connection
L. Warren Young	Musician in Blues Connection
Edward Seamon	Hotel Desk Clerk
Shelly Pinsky	Woman in Dressing Room
Thomas Saccio	Johnny Rocco
D.L. Anderson	Phone Company Woman
Janette Lane Bradbury	Dry Cleaner Lady
Tommy Cresswell	Charleston Detective
Robert C. Treveiler	Charleston Deputy
Michael L. Nesbitt	Charleston Deputy
Michelle Moore	Trudy Seaton
Deborah Lucas	Birthday Party Girl
Jennifer Swago	Birthday Party Girl
Suzi Selman	Birthday Party Girl
Mark Wood	Christmas Caroler
Meredith Brasher	Christmas Caroler
Jeffrey Charlton	Christmas Caroler
Dean Taylor	Christmas Caroler
Nan McElroy	Christmas Caroler
Mary K.E. Packer-Phillips	Rehab Counselor
Jeannie E. Davis	Rehab Counselor
Laura Griffin	Rehab Counselor
Robb Harleston	Rehab Counselor
Rachel C. MacRae	Rehab Counselor
Susan T. Haidary	Rehab Counselor
Alixe Gordin	Actor
Annie Sprinkle	Actor
Veronica Vera	Actor
Michael Small	Composer

Technical Credits

Matthew Chapman

Alan J. Pakula	Director,Producer
Matthew Chapman	Screenwriter
Pieter Jan Brugge	Executive Producer,Producer
David Permut	Producer

Editorial Reviews

At what point does a preposterous film become preposterous? In Consenting Adults, is it when Kevin Spacey drives his motorcycle out of the moving van and into his garage, demonstrating to his new neighbors just what a wild card he is? Is it when the film's husbands agree to swap wives secretly in the middle of the night, believing the women will be too sleepy to recognize they're having intercourse with an impostor? (Which, one might add, removes a bit of the "consent" from the title). Or does the total descent into idiocy wait until the final showdown, in which Spacey inexplicably brandishes an Uzi submachine gun as "self defense"? However it's sliced, Alan J. Pakula's Consenting Adults, a thriller about dysfunctional marriages, is pretty dysfunctional itself. The best thing going for it is that it starts out at least resembling the structure of other thrillers, approaching plausibility now and again. But its central portion -- sometime after this ill-fated nighttime switcheroo -- is rife with red herrings, leaps in logic, and shoddy camerawork. If the viewer can't determine who's in on the scam and who isn't, that should be because the narrative establishes an air of mystery about the characters -- not because the execution is incompetent. Even if Consenting Adults wasn't fatally flawed as a production, its essential gender politics should give a thinking person pause, as the film's women are grossly mishandled by their men. That's fine if that's the filmmaker's message, but the weakness of the female characters seems more a careless accident than a device intended to expose male ugliness.