The Hot Spot

Actors:  Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Connelly, William Sadler, Charles Martin Smith
Rating:  7 out of 10, It’s easy to see Dennis Hopper’s stamp on this as the director.  It’s a lot like many of his film roles – crusty, evil characters screwing each over.  There’s some real texture here though and you can almost sense the Texas heat broiling off the screen.  This was Don Johnson fifty pounds ago when he was still relevant as an actor and Madsen and Connelly twenty years ago when they were absolute visions.  Even the supposedly nice people in this are guilty of some crime and that leaves you with no one to really root for, especially not Johnson who’s famous arrogance emanates along with the heat.  It’s still a cool little film noir piece with generous amounts of Connelly and Madsen exposed which is never a bad thing.
MVP:  Madsen as the coolly evil femme fatale