Films Outside the Loop Jeanne Chappé

Who would have thought that a misplaced postcard could lead to this mess? This is a very dark comedy with many hilarious twists and turns. This was based on a Norwegian film made in 1993 called "Hodet over vanet" which I am assuming means "Head Above Water".

Four of my favorite actors are in this movie...Harvey Keitel, Cameron Diaz, Craig Sheffer and Billy Zane (who remains alive for a short time). This film actually reminds me of early Alfred Hitchcock movies like "The Trouble with Harry". You know...the movies that Alfred Hitchcock made with that great evil gleam in his eye! God love him.

This movie starts out with a stolen dinghy, a drug addicted young girl who has married an old judge (because he gave her parole) and her life long friend who put crabs in her navel when they were growing up. Billy Zane is the utterly charming ex-boyfriend who stole the dinghy and then shows up on the island where his ex-girlfriend has taken her older husband for a much needed vacation. This is the place where the only other inhabitant is Lance (Craig Sheffer) who is an artist and the one who put crabs in her navel. He has a bird named 'Mo' (who is played by a bird named Mo). When her ex-boyfriend shows up, Nathalie's husband and her best friend are away from the island on an all night fishing trip. She is alone with her ex-boyfriend. She resists his advances, goes to sleep on the couch and wakes up to find that he is dead! How do you dispose of the naked body of your ex-boyfriend before your husband returns? There starts this tale.

Nathalie (Cameron Diaz) is a bit suspicious because her older husband George (Harvey Keitel) keeps his best sausages in a cigar box, his melon balls in a beer stein AND methanol in a vodka bottle. When George discovers that Nat's naked ex-boyfriend is dead and hidden in the house, he decides that if he turns the body over for an autopsy...the press would print "Nude Ex-Lover with Broken Neck Delivered by Jealous Judge!". Nathalia had already panicked and dropped Kent's linen suit into the ocean. George then decides that the defense would be: "First we poisoned him, then we broke his neck, then we took his clothes and we're sorry!" To a judge, this is not much of a defense.

George starts drinking again which escalates things (not in a good way). The dead body moves around quite a bit and a chain saw comes into play. Cameron Diaz is luminous (as always), Harvey Keitel is quite mad, Craig Sheffer smolders and Billy Zane is a quite handsome corpse.

This movie is a real hoot but I would not suggest putting crabs in anyone's navel!

Runtime: 1:30

This film is available on DVD, VHS, cable or satellite.

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