Obsessed Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
A successful asset manager, who has just received a huge promotion, is blissfully happy in his career and in his marriage. But a temp worker starts stalking him, all the things he's worked so hard for are placed in jeopardy.
| Beyoncé Knowles | Beth Charles |
| Idris Elba | Derek Charles |
| Ali Larter | Lisa Sheridan |
| Christine Lahti | Monica Reyes |
| Bruce McGill | Joe Gage |
| Scout Taylor-Compton | Samantha |
| Ron Roggé | Roger |
| Matthew Humphreys | Patrick |
| Derek Johnson | Gage Assistant |
| Paul Joyner | Stan |
| George Ketsios | Hotel clerk |
| Antonio Munoz | Gage Executive |
| Jerry O'Connell | Ben |
| Jon Rowland | John |
| Richard Ruccolo | Hank |
| Steve Shill |
3.80 out of 10 (2535 votes)
Visitor Reviews
OBSESSED WITH THIS MOVIE
posted on 31 Aug 2009I've seen this movie for three day in a row. I just cant bealive how great this movie is. This is the first time I've been scared of Beyonce but her acting skills keep getting better with every movie she does. The best scene is the fight Beyonce gve me goosebumps. I dont get why people hated this movie, it's one of the best thrillers ever.
Beyonce, Stick to Singing. Acting is Not Your Thang
posted on 31 Aug 2009Beyonce's acting was/is not believable to me at all which makes it really painful to watch her. Her angry scenes were pathetic which is mainly why I think she should stick to singing. So glad I rented this rubbish instead of buying it...and btw, you would have to be a diehard Beyonce fan to give this movie more than three stars. Seriously.
another rehash of plots
posted on 31 Aug 2009This movie was another rehash of old plots, average to poor acting and extremely predictable. The movie truly was a waste of time, effort, as well as a waste of money creating it. To make matters worst, not only is it a rehash of plots, but its not as good as the plots it borrowed from. Don't waste your time with this one.
I was 'Obsessed' with the idea of not watching this after awhile
posted on 31 Aug 2009A poor man's version of Fatal Attraction with a series of dumbfounding stupid events - easily avoidable leading to 'a crazy woman is stalking me' formula. The acting wasnt very good, the situations where Idris Elba (as Derek Charles) has plenty of chances to tell his wife, Beyonce 'I cant act' Knowles (Mrs Charles) to tell her that Ali Larter (as Lisa Sheridan) is making movies on him,stalking him, and so forth. Of course everyone finds out and then it becomes the Beyonce ghetto acting performance of a decade. She throws him out after she discovers whats going on and refuses to believe him , even though its painfully obvious that Lisa is a nutcase. Of course there is the great scene of Beyonce leaving the house for a weekend in San Diego (with he hubby) ,turning on the home security system ,then forgetting her purse. She has to goes back home to get the purse, thus turning off the home security system when she is inside. Of course when she leaves the home for the 2nd time, predictably she amazingly somehow forgets to turn back on the home security system, leaving the house vulnerable to Lisa. I started groaning after awhile whenever I saw her. Even when she enters the house for the first time she easily gets past the babysitter who decides not to talk to Mrs Charles on the phone whom Lisa is supposed to be talking to on the phone to get past the babysitter. Lisa to the babysitter as she offers to hand the phone to her " You want to talk to her". The babysitters response " No." Give me a break !
The big payoff is of course the cat fight scene finale between Beyonce 'Mrs. Charles" and Lisa, as is the entire film was made for that moment where Lisa is fighting in a long shirt & panties on & we get plenty of shots of her black panties (oh boy !! ) It became the Beyonce 'you want some, come get some' very reminiscent of a WWE Diva's match. I think the whole movie could have been cut down to just the fight scene...
There were a couple of other mind numbing scenes as well but I dont want to spoil it other than I will just this question - would you show the slightest compassion to a person who has stalked you, tried to kill you, steal your child , rob your home and drive you insane for 100 minutes ? If your answer is no then you will be groaning over a few choice scenes...
This movie was frustrating, un-original & the biggest piece of crap Ive seen all year..despite the suspenseful moments. It wasnt there because (1) the story has been done before and better (2)the characters were illogical about how to deal with the situation and each other
Watch Fatal Attraction instead
Maybe the worst movie of any kind...ever
posted on 31 Aug 2009Horrible in every way -- written by people who clearly have no clue how married couples...or anyone...relate to one another. It rates one star for the attractiveness of the actors, but even the inevitable girl fight at the end is so stupidly done it's a complete snooze. And what is the deal with Jerry O'Connell's hair?! He has such a bizarre do, we were sure he was going to turn out to be in on it somehow.
AWFUL, AWFUL,AWFUL (One star cause it won't allow me to go lower)
posted on 31 Aug 2009Was this awful movie straight to DVD? If it was, it was justly deserved. If it wasn't it should've been..Or maybe should've been made in the first place. I watched on dvd from Redbox for a dollar.. wish I could get my wasted 2 hours and my dollar back. This movie is a poorly written and acted take on Fatal Attraction.A stripped down, watered down version with nothing new added minus all the suspens of the original. I waited paitently for a twist.. maybe the gay assistant had a crush on Derek and was rejected so he planned and unleasehed the temp on Derek to destroy his perfect life. Maybe his unhappy, married friend planned this to destroy him. Maybe his boss wanted to get rid. Maybe his other coworker wanted to destroy him to get that 150mil acct....maybe ..maybe..maybe I should've skipped this movie and watched the Fatal Attraction again. Maybe they shouldn't have made this awful movie and tempt us to watch it because of Beyonce and Idris Elba make such a beautiful couple...but none of my aniticipations/prediction came through... it was just a silly instant crush. From the first moment the temp laid eye on Derek she wanted him and that was it... By the way, maybe back in the 80's you could get away with throwing an anything goes company Christmas party without spouses but in past decade with all the family value, morality talks even a investment firm (not sure what kind of firm it was)could get away with it.
Different Characters Same Soup Left Over
posted on 31 Aug 2009There's nothing different or imaginative about this movie. Basically If you see Fatal Attraction you have seen this movie. Except for minor details. Not even Beyonce and Ali Larter would have made this movie better.Save your money buy something else. Rent Fatal Attraction instead.
Seems like a made for TV movie. If TV movies that were made, were done so to be bad.
posted on 31 Aug 2009A man and lady move into a new home. The man has an important position at a big corporate job. The husband met his wife when she was his secretary. Later we find out that the wife does not like the man's secretary being a woman. They made a promise that he would not have a female for the job. So, in comes this new girl. When she first sees the man on the elevator she kind of stares at him. They start talking and she drops her papers. As the man is helping her pick them up she runs her hand over his. Seem obvious. Well that's how the whole movie is. The lady is at a Christmas party with the man and starts getting all over him. He tells her to stop and she acts like she does not know why he is acting like he is.
Now, you would think that he would tell his wife. When he calls her though, it just so happens that her sister's husband has just left her. So after the man hears her talk about that, he decides not to tell her. Then, he is going to tell his boss. His friend though tells him that the lady may turn it around. Seeing as how he met his wife after she worked for him at on point. He still decides to tell his boss. But before he does the boss tells him the girl has left the company. Sound annoying? My God is it ever. Every time the man gets a change to stop what's happening, or to tell someone, something happens in which that does not occur. It's like a movie made by a bunch of art house goons. My mom and I were thinking Fatal Attraction. But this was no wear near as good as that movie. It was a complete waste of money. There were also things that happened, that led to nothing. Like at first, when the secretary would be around the man, he would always look at her legs. Why? He didn't like her, and never acted like he did. Also, when he calls the cops in the end. They take FOREVER to get there. Somehow they get their when everything is over. Plus, the husband gets to the house at the same time as they do.
In the end it comes down to this. This was a really bad movie. A complete waste of time and money. The entire movie, this guy keeps having bad luck when it comes to letting someone know about what is going on. The secretary try's to play a crazy deranged character, but makes you laugh at how bad she is at doing so. Also, through the movie you will think you know what is going to happen. I will save you the time and tell you that everything you think is going to happen, happens, exactly the way you think it will. The move isn't even 1 hour and 45 minutes. But it drags on and on and on. This could have been such a good movie. If it had not been done a thousand times before. I can see why people didn't like it when it first came out; Save your money. Rent a different movie.
Utopia Has Arrived
posted on 31 Aug 2009When I began watching the movie Obsessed, I thought I was watching a movie about a white woman stalking a black man. What I instead saw was a woman who happened to be blond making life miserable for a family who happened to be black.
I've previously written about liberals pushing towards their utopia by pretending like it's already arrived. In this story, you have an attractive and successful black couple, Derek (Idris Elba) and Susan Charles (Beyoncé Knowles). Had they been white, no Hollywood producer would've ever presented such a boring and traditional couple in a sympathetic light. Even their names scream out "Black people are just like us! Look at how normal they are!" The husband is a provider and the mother stays home, taking care of the son. Until the white temptress gets involved, they never fight or are bored with one another. In the attempt to make them and their relationship perfect, the dialogue between them is unbearably cheesy.
When Derek's at work, he's confident, quick and competent. We see him closing multi-million dollar deals and become aware that the black man's perfection follows him from home to work. All is going well until temp worker Lisa (Ali Larter) comes to work for his company and becomes obsessed with Derek.
The black man, being immaculate, is never tempted for a moment. Lisa corners him in a bathroom stall and tries to get close. He fights her off and runs home. Later, after Lisa quits, Derek is staying at a hotel with some of his co-workers for a conference. She finds him (while he's on the phone with his wife. He's so perfect, he takes a break from drinking with his friends to call her) and slips something into his drink. The most laughable scene in the movie is when the drugged Derek passes out with his white rapist on top of him.
We know nothing about Lisa out of the context of her being obsessed with Derek. A boyfriend and sister are mentioned, but never seen. She has no hopes, dreams, interests or hobbies that we ever hear about. She seems like nothing more than a prop used for the producer to make his fantasy about successful blacks into a movie.
The cover states "How Far Would You Go to Protect What's Yours?" All that this family wants is to be left alone to live their lives, focusing on what they've built (They're not too traditional. Susan doesn't want any more kids and is determined to go back to school. Wouldn't want to push the motherhood thing too much.) Like with religious faith, what liberals smirk at in white people is heroic and touching in blacks. A white "Derek" couldn't exist in Hollywood. Beyoncé gets her "You go, girl!" moment when she leaves a message on Lisa's phone telling her to stay away from her family. The predictable cliché used (can be summarized as "you think you're crazy? Don't mess with my family!") is one of many.
Some might say that I'm the one obsessing with race here. It is true that the fact that Derek and Susan are black is never mentioned in the movie and the script could've been written if they were white. But anybody who understands the culture at all must know that it wouldn't have been.
Wow! What a disappointment
posted on 31 Aug 2009Same ol Same story line for predictable thriller. I was hoping to see something unpredictable such as Beyonce showing some great acting or a strange twist to the typical crazy stalker movie. However, I did not get that. Beyonce acting was horrible! All those little go girl saying were ridiculous. I love her as a singer, but acting is not her thing. The ending where she gave her hand to the stalker, who wrote that in the movie? They should be fired. In addition, The movie seems as if it was a low-budget film. I was very disappointed. The movie trailer was great. This is really a one star, but gave one for Beyonce and one more for cute Ildris Elba.
3 stars for plot, 5 stars for fun = 4 stars
posted on 31 Aug 2009First of all I have to admit that even during the opening credits where there where showing scenes of Idris Alba and Beyonce Knowles moving into their fixer-upper dream house, my friend and I knew this movie was going to be very predictable. For the most part we were dead on accurate. Ali Larter's character of Lisa took all her motives and actions from 'How to stalk in a movie FOR DUMMIES' AND CLEARLY has watched Fatal Attraction and The Hand that Rocks the Cradle more than once.
However, this movie is a lot of FUN. Beyonce seems to be the only smart one, and you tend to cheer her on for the entire film even though her main portion comes after about an hour in. Idris Alba's character of Derek tends to make some cliche mistakes along the way, but he isn't as completely dumb as one would expect. Also, even when some of Lisa's attemps for attention fail you think to yourself "well. she will just try harder"...and then she does and even that in itself is entertaining.
As an entry in the genre this surely is not ground-breaking by any means and I doubt it will help any of the three actors careers, but admit it, we all just wanted to see Beyonce beat down the white chick who was tryin' to move in on her family, and that goal was accomplished. The formulaic plot and obvious character flaws make one seem like they are shouting at a bad horror movie rather than a suspense thriller, but it also means that as an audience member, one can just enjoy the absurdity and the satisfying conclusion.
I think that even by the end of the movie Beyonce herself even knew the movie was too predictable because when the detective (played by Christine Lahti) asks what happened in the house, Beyonce says "You know what happened in there." I think th at line was not only for the character but also a nod to the audience also. If you go in with very mild expectations, you should enjoy this movie quite a bit.
Campy Thriller Fun in the Vein of ShowGirls
posted on 31 Aug 2009This is not a groundbreaking film & when tackling a genre that was so masterfully done with style and elegant grace in Unfaithful and Fatal Attraction - you really have to bring your GAME in order to make any erotic suspenseful thriller, well, an erotic suspenseful thriller!
OBSESSED, is a great fun enjoyable movie. However, the lack of an R rating really hinders it from becoming spectacular. The movie has its slow low points, but overall, it was an effective thriller with some titillating tension between the actors and actresses. Of course, Ali Later steals the film. One minute without her crazy antics on screen just feels like a life time. The director made an excellent executive decision by keeping Beyonce's screen time to a minimum. The girl has always had and will always have way too much country swagger and after all this time in Hollywood, she has yet to drop it. It's like the winner of Americas Next Top Model not being able to drop the accent in order to do an effective CoverGirl commercial. When Beyonce utters the line: That gurl mayba alotta thangs, but she aint plain - Just makes me want to cringe. There is a comma in that sentence. Please, pause Beyonce. This is a movie, not a song your singing or a track on your CD where you are trying to carry a tune. Someone please get her an acting coach!
I'll give a quick recap of the store, but will not go into full detail, as everyone else's review already has. Derek and Beyonce are a happily married couple that just moved into their new house. On his way to work he bumps into, Lisa, on the elevator and thinks that she's a model. However, she is actually the new temp in the office & it just so happens to be the same office as Derek's. Slowly but surely, she weasels her way to the assistant's desk outside his office & listens in on his calls, goes through his music collection, doesn't give him messages from his wife's missed calls, and so forth. Pretty much the madness ensues since her arrival. I have to hand it to Ali who really deserves an award because she plays crazy Lisa to a tee! Of course, all the girls and gays went crazy for the final showdown scene between the two GURLS! Everyone loves a cat fight & that was one of the major highlights of the movie. Except, it was ruined by Beyonce being ridiculous and insisting the scene be done with her wearing high heels!
Overall, this is a great thriller! I know the reviewers have been trashing this movie left and right. I don't understand what their problem is. I guess they were all looking for the next Fatal Attraction. If that's the case, this isn't it. But if you like silly over the top fun in the vein of ShowGirls, then this is the movie for you. Salut!
"A Fun Thriller Along The Lines of "Fatal Attraction""
posted on 31 Aug 2009 "Obsessed" was a huge boxoffice hit when it first debut in theatres in April, 2009, however, most critics panned the film. Nevertheless, the movie opened at #1 for the weekend grossing an amazing 29 million dollars. As of June, 2009 the film has made nearly 70 million in ticket sales. Pop star Beyonce Knowles stars as a woman who's family is endanger when her husband encounters a sick and mentally unbalanced female office worker who becomes obsessed with him. The film is similar in theme to "Fatal Attraction" and "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle" in which a woman poses a threat to an idealic family. In this instance, however, the ideal family is African-American and the villin is a white woman. Like many films made before it the wife in this instance comes across as being more stronger than the husband, and it is she with whom the audience roots for. Yes, "Obsessed" is not Oscar material, but it's great fun to watch, especially the famous cat fight scene between the two female leads at the end.
The DVD features interviews with the stars and the producers discussing the making of the film. Screenwriter David Loughrey talks about assembling the cast for "Obsessed" as well.
The movie is 108 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for sexual material.
Ludicrous, obvious, stupid, boring and insulting. What's not to like...?
posted on 31 Aug 2009For those viewers who are impatient with and intolerant of the slow pace, contemplative interludes, mild action and incremental character development of old fashioned cinema classics like "Fatal Attraction" and "Basic Instinct", relax, you can watch "Obsessed". This is a film that is a cartoon of a Cliff's Notes summary of a bi-racial version of "Fatal Attraction", made after audience tests of viewers who thought "Taken" was the "Citizen Kane" of action films voted "Obsessed" to be perfect, although they had to think harder about the question than they would ever have to think while watching this silly, obvious, boring mess of a film. It's not even worth watching for Beyoncé, which is saying something. Rent it, if there's nothing else, but have drugs and liquor handy to make it seem more interesting than it really is.
Blu-ray: Definitely for Beyonce fans! Overall, a film that had potential but in the end, the film is average at best.
posted on 31 Aug 2009In the Spring of 2009, the obsessed psychopath film known as "OBSESSED" made its way to theaters.
The film would be directed by Steve Shill ("Dexter", "The Tudors" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"), featuring a screenplay by David Loughery ("Lakeview Terrace" and "Money Train"), music by composer James Dooley ("Pushing Daisies") and cinematography by Ken Seng ("Quarantine" and "The Poker House").
"OBSESSED" would star Idris Elba ("The Human Contract", "28 Weeks Later" and "American Gangster"), pop singer Beyonce Knowles ("Dreamgirls", "The Pink Panther", "The Fighting Temptations" and "Austin Powers in Goldmember), Ali Larter ("Heroes", "Resident Evil: Extinction", "Final Destination 2 and "House on Haunted Hill"), Jerry O'Connell ("Do Not Disturb", "Samantha Who?" and "Crossing Jordan") and Christine Lahti ("Jack & Bobby" and "Chicago Hope").
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"OBSESSED" is presented in 1080p High Definition (with an aspect ratio of 2:40:1). The picture quality is quite solid, with plenty of detail on the characters, Derek's office and home. Director of Photography Ken Seng, does a good job of capturing the two areas of Derek by making sure the colors are different. Colors for Derek's office are more towards the blues while his home is more Earth tones and natural. Blacks colors are nice and deep and overall, picture quality is quite vibrant during the outdoor scenes and colors look strikingly beautiful throughout the film. There is adequate detail seen throughout the film and I found no digital artifact compressions. Grain was subtle and overall, a beautiful looking film.
As for audio quality, "OBSESSED" is featured in English, French and Portuguese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (and Spanish 5.1). The film is primarily a dialogue driven film and mostly everything is center and front channel driven. Along with the dialogue, you get composer James Dooley's haunting music playing during the intense scenes during the film. Also, you get quite a bit of contemporary music such as Estelle's "American Boy" playing nice and clear.
As for subtitles, the film is presented in English, English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"OBSESSED" comes with a second disc which is the Digital Copy of the film. The first disc comes with the following special features (all in High Definition):
*
* Playing Together Nicely - (15:37) An interview with director Steve Shill, screenwriter David Loughery and the various talents on the film. Everyone talks about what they enjoyed about doing this film and working with each other.
* Girl Fight - (11:13) The film had to have a major climax and that is the confrontation between Sharon and Lisa and the "Girl Fight". This was a scene that had to be planned quite well and look effective. So, through this featurette, we get to learn how this major scene was shot.
* Obsessed: Dressed to Kill - (9:30) Interview with John Gary Steel and Ken Seng about the look of the film. And an interview with Maya Lieberman, the costume designer and why she selected certain clothing for the main talents.
I do wish there was a commentary track because I wanted to hear if there were changes from the actual screenplay and the final cut. Also, with the various scenes of the city, if a lot of it was stock video. It would have been a nice addition to hear from the director, screenwriter or cinematographer.
JUDGMENT CALL:
"OBSESSED" was a film that didn't do that well when it came to critic reviews but in the box office, the film debuted at #1 for the weekend of April 2009 and has grossed over $71 million worldwide.
The film is essentially a springboard for Beyonce Knowles, the actress. We have seen her in various comedy and dramatic films but this is the first time we would see her partake in film that required action scenes on her part. On one hand, Beyonce fans can appreciate her growing acting range. But on the other hand, part of the problem with "OBSESSED" is that it will be compared to a classic psychopath film "FATAL ATTRACTION".
Where "FATAL ATTRACTION" lays groundwork of the stages of how a woman scorned through a one night stand, becomes obsessed and ends up doing the unthinkable. "OBSESSED" is a film that is much harder to accept. We don't know why Lisa is so obsessed over Derek. Before they started working together, she's already has some attraction to him. I thought that there would be groundwork of why this woman is sick and obsessed but we never find out. It's just a woman obsessed with a man and doing whatever it takes to be with him.
The other problem is that the film focuses on Derek for the majority of the film. Derek working with Lisa and having to deal with the situations that arise from Lisa's lies. But during final half of the film, it seems that Derek becomes less important and a switch is made from being a main character and all of a sudden a supportive role, giving Beyonce the main lead to showcase her acting through action and becomes more of a film about a wife who will not stand for this psychopath to disrupt her family. Because of this, the pacing of the film suffers and although it does work, it's not as effective. But despite the plot falling short, for the most part, Idris Elba, Ali Larter and Beyonce Knowles do a fine job.
In the end, "OBSESSED" is a slick film that will unfortunately be compared to "FATAL ATTRACTION" but it's best to move far from the comparisons and enjoy the film for what it is.
Im taking the stairs from now on!
posted on 31 Aug 2009I knew Idris Elba was doomed when he was on the elevator from the start. He should've listened to that little voice that said take the stairs. It didn't help that he rubbed her shoulder in the lunch room though. This Movie was like a watered down Fatal Attraction and Swimfan even holds its own but this movie left alot to be desired. It must've sucked to be Idris Elba because he was raped by Ali Larter (Lisa) while on drugs while the other guys cheated on their women. Man thats just sick! Ali Larter is just the infatuated bully who makes Idris wish he picked the swing instead of the slide to hang at because she shows up everywhere she is not expected to be even in his car with revealing clothes. The final fight scene with Beyonce and Ali was epic!
Beyonce's in the House and in Control
posted on 31 Aug 2009It's inevitable I suppose to compare this to Fatal Attraction (Special Collector's Edition), or The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, two classic movies in this genre. Although there are similarities, this is not those movies, and the plot unfolds in a totally different manner. Neverthess, if you appreciate it for what it is, two hours of excellent escapism, you might discover that it's an enjoyable experience in it's own way.
Sexy hot new temp Lisa (Ali Larter) gets it bad for happily married exec Derek. Wife Sharon (Beyonce) goes on hyper alert. "Is she pretty?" she asks. "Pretty plain," he says. Oh oh.
As you probably can imagine the innocent relationship takes a turn, as Lisa pursues Derek. There is nothing she won't do to get what she wants, and the situation spirals out of control in unexpected ways. Will Derek give in to temptation or tell his wife what's going on?
Obsessed delivers solid entertainment, and the fight scene between between Beyonce and Ali Larter is one of the best girl fights you'll see. "You think you're crazy? You ain't seen crazy, [...]!"
Beyonce acting in the Austin Powers movie was singer playing singer. Her acting seemed unnatural. Her facial expressions vacant, her emotions not quite right. In an interview on Oprah she said she was taking acting lessons. In Dreamgirls (Widescreen Edition) she showed some improvement. In Obsessed she shows remarkable improvement, conveying the emotions she portrays very well. A convincing and confident performance. She has become a dramatic actress.
Although Beyonce is the star, Ali Larter,Final Destination (New Line Platinum Series) and Heroes, is a dreamgirl, and it requires some suspension of disbelief to imagine anyone resisting her. The three actors play excellently, although the camera favors Beyonce, it's not at the expense of the story, or the other two actors who perform brilliantly. No surprise to learn that Beyonce and her Dad are both executive producers on Obsessed.
I think you will love this movie, and I hope you find this helpful.