Malice

Starring: Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, Bill Pullman
Director: Harold Becker
Genre: Thriller
Year: 1993
Rating: 3 / 5

"You ask me if I have a God complex. Let me tell you something: I am God." For this line alone, Malice is worth the price of a video rental. Harold Becker's thriller, penned by the talented Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men), takes us down the path of scams and double crosses, right up until its twisted final minutes. Malice will never be confused with fine art, especially considering that Bill Pullman is forced to carry this movie at times, but it is good clean fun. And if you have ever had an inkling to see Alec Baldwin in an edgier role, this is the film.

Andy Safian (Pullman) is the associate dean of students at a small New England college, one which has just become the target of an apparent serial rapist. Andy is the picture of serenity, happily married to the beautiful Tracy Kennsinger (Nicole Kidman), a former student of his. In strolls Dr. Jed Hill (Baldwin), the new surgeon at the city's hospital and a former high school classmate of Andy's. Needing to scrounge up some more cash, Andy decides to rent out a spare room in his house to the new doctor in town, much to Tracy's chagrin. Before long, serious problems arise, and no one is who they appear to be.

Danger strikes Andy's house, in the form of intense abdominal pain for Tracy. Rushed to the emergency room, Jed, fresh from a drinking excursion with Andy, attempts to save Tracy's life while dealing with her potentially afflicted ovaries. Faced with the choice to never have children or to never see his wife again, Andy instructs Jed to do whatever is necessary to save his wife's life. Tracy, however, is pregnant, and post-operative tests indicate that her ovaries were completely healthy, sending considerable scrutiny in the direction of Dr. Jed Hill. Enter the lawyers, sensing fresh blood and a likely lawsuit victory. Surely everything would thus turn around for the once-happy couple? Ah, but things are not what they seem...

Bill Pullman gives his typical blank turn as the good-natured dean with the big heart. While never actually able to carry a film on his own, he is always respectable in a supporting role. Nicole Kidman, in one of her first big roles in Hollywood, runs the table from happy wife to campy vixen. It is Baldwin, though, that is forced to carry this movie, and to his credit, he does an admirable job. He seems to be having loads of fun portraying an egotistical doctor whose brains and money allow him to sample some of life's finer pleasures. The film invariably suffers from too little Baldwin and some shaky plot points. Some elements of the script seem to be completely superfluous to the main thrust of the movie, and outside of Dr. Hill and Tracy, no character seems to have much personality. Watch it for the pure cheese of it all, though, and, more importantly, watch it for Baldwin. And ask him how many shots of bourbon he had that night in the operating room...

Cast:

Alec Baldwin..........	Jed Hill
Nicole Kidman..........	Tracy Kennsinger
Bill Pullman..........	Andy Safian
Bebe Neuwirth..........	Dana
George C. Scott..........	Dr. Kessler

Certification: Rated R for language and sexual situations.
Running Time: 107 minutes.

Additional Info: Internet Movie Database
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