Wonderfully offbeat film!

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

You probably expect a sex thriller from the poster. If only if. It's title really doesn't make much sense in the midst of the story, you really have to be patient with. The way the movie ends in an action scenario is just plain stupid, out of whack. New neighbours Eddy (the always solid Spacey) and hot wife Miller who can really sing, befriend the more quieter Kline and wife, Mastrantonio, a work couple who are both in advertising as inferred in the opening scenes, with a little bit of a squabble too, for added measure. Their daughter is musically gifted and everything seems peachy creamy. One night the slightly shady Spacey throws Kline a proposition- exchanging wife's for the night. First thinking Spacey's crazy, he's enticed into the offer, which then his whole life becomes a nightmare, where he's framed for the grisly murder of Spacey's wife. Kline must clear himself, having a hell of a time doing so, where psycho con, Spacey, then moves in on Mastrantonio, playing the new daddy. Yeah, there are a couple of surprises, but really it's a weak thriller, wasted on a good cast in a movie where it's story works at a slow grind, you'll actually feel your teeth rubbing up against each other. I'll admit, my favourite scene in this flick, and I'm being serious here, is the opening jingle scene, only cause I like the jingle. In one heavy sense, the finale shootout scene comes as a blessing from all the slow moving b.s. we had to endure, prefore. A truly weak thriller, disappointing, considering this is from the same guy who made the much earlier Kline pic, Sophie's Choice. Make your choice at the DVD thriller section, choose not to watch this.

This is a very typical 90's Hollywood thriller. Glossy and very very predictable. It has a pretty good cast but the acting is wildly variable. Kevin Kline and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio are pretty unconvincing but Kevin Spacey, sporting strangely blonde hair, is usually worth watching and he does a very good job as the outwardly respectable but inwardly sinister new neighbour. The plot is as thin and as ludicrous as you would expect and the ending is laughably over the top. However there are some interesting moments along the way courtesy of Mr Spacey. This is a film that you watch once then forget totally about. Crushingly average and thankfully they don't make them like this anymore.

Richard and Priscilla Parker are a happily married couple. He works writing jingles for different products, as we meet him. Priscilla, who is also seen while he works at a recording studio, appears to be the one that handles the financial aspect. They have a teen aged daughter who is attending a boarding school. Their home is set in a well to do division in the suburb of Atlanta. They seem to have it all.Little do they know their life is about to change drastically when their new neighbors buy the house next to them. Eddy and Kay Otis are an attractive couple about the same age as the Parkers, but with no children. Eddy shows all the signs of being a fast operator. Kay, on the other hand, is the quiet one. Eddy is a glib man that gives the impression of being a con man, if there were ever one. The new arrivals latch on to the Parkers, as they become friends.Richard and Priscilla's marriage has seen better days. He works at home late into the night. Richard cannot help but to notice the beautiful Kay next door preparing for bed, or getting out of the bathtub with nothing on. He begins acting like a peeping tom. Eddy pulls a fast one when he is hit by Richard's car. He offers the settlement check to his friends, who at first, are reluctant to do so. The Parkers begin having second thoughts about their neighbors.One day, out of the blue, Eddy has an interesting proposal for Richard. How about switching wives, but not in the obvious way. Eddy wants to be subtle about it. One night, Richard, who cannot resist spending some time in the sack with Kay, comes down during the night. He is to go to the Otises, where Kay will be sleeping, have sex with her, and just return back home. Eddy is expected to do the same with Priscilla. Wrong decision, indeed. When Kay is found dead, all suspicions fall on Richard, the last one to have sex with her. But was that so? Richard's life goes into a tail spin as he tries to prove his innocence, only to get a lot of complications along the way."Consenting Adults" came almost at the end of Mr. Pakula's life. He met a horrible death. As a film director, Mr. Pakula enjoyed a good career in Hollywood, and even if this film was flawed, he showed he was the man that got good performances from actors that worked for him. As written by Matthew Chapman, the film holds a good promise up until the Kay's horrible death. After that, the film does not make much sense the way it was written, which leaves a lot of questions in the viewer's mind. Best thing in the film is Kevin Spacey at his weirdest. He is the most interesting character that contrasts with the more reserved Kevin Kline, whose Richard shows a high libido gone wrong, while Spacey's Eddy is a cunning evil man that has an ulterior motive to capitalize on Kay's murder. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Rebecca Miller, who is also a good director, play second fiddles to their high profiled husbands.

A textbook example of the Hitchcock-styled murder mystery--though with perhaps a few chapters missing. Far-fetched yarn has mild-mannered husband and father in suburbia goaded into "swapping" wives with his googly-eyed neighbor for one night of adult fun. The trouble begins when the neighbor's wife turns up dead--or does she? Smoke-and-mirrors thriller with insulting roles for E. G. Marshall as a lawyer and Forest Whitaker as a private investigator (neither allowed to do his job properly--and both vanishing by the third act). Alan J. Pakula is credited with the gummy direction (not an enviable accomplishment). It all comes down to a showdown between Kevin Kline (the wronged wrong man) and Kevin Spacey (the stranger in the house rather than on the train). About thirty minutes in, a group of happy neighbors and friends gather on a lawn and sing "The Twelve Days of Christmas", which is so flawless and note-perfect it seems to have come straight from a television commercial. That's when the realization sinks in this is just a TV-movie blown up on the big screen. ** from ****