Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

just watch it!

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Actually, the movie itself wouldn't have gotten such a high score from me, but it introduced me to pretty Jennifer Connelly back in the day. Tonight, years and years later, decades actually, the movie in my DVD player is CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, and I fondly remember this other 'old' (hey, it's cruising on to almost 27 years ago) movie. Noticed here the well-remembered quote about TV "and not much else but your own devices" in a small town. Fond, fond memories. Yeah, I've got this one in my collection, it was among my early purchases on DVD during the RavenGlamDVDCollector starting years. Currently posting quotes for CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, in-between remembering lines from THE HOT SPOT. After Don Johnson got that kiss from an uncertain Jennifer, the line was something like "That was about as much fun as kissing a fallen down drunk" but right now I can't vouch for the exact words to post the quote.Jennifer, with her long, long hair (I'm a sucker for that) and her cute flower-decorated open-toed summer sandals (sucker for that too!) + all that tension created by Virginia Madsen + ol' Don Johnson was quite great = well, don't expect anything but a corny partly crappy (kidding) thriller, but it had moments, good ones, and I would never forget charming good girl Jennifer Connelly in this one.

Roger Ebert gave this film three out of four stars and wrote, "Only movie lovers who have marinated their imaginations in the great B movies from RKO and Republic will recognize 'The Hot Spot' as a superior work in an old tradition." ... I couldn't agree more.My review won't contain the redundant synopsis... This movie was well directed, exceptionally well cast, included a superb blues soundtrack, and featured a rare nouveau noir story line that film purists will surely appreciate and enjoy.This is one of those rare gems that deserves a place in your personal library... You can watch it once every six months and enjoy it as much as the last time you saw it... 10/10 stars

Right from the start, "The Hot Spot" promises something different – it has a terrific sense of place, and we feel we already know a lot about Don Johnson's character. Although heat, sex and southern accents are nothing new to drama, they haven't often been put together in a slicker package – Dennis Hopper took film noir on a trip to Texas and came up with a polished, classy-looking movie with great lines and a few twists you don't see coming.The icing on the cake is a soundtrack featuring Miles Davis and John Lee Hooker, which punctuates the story at key points with knowing grunts and moans. The repeated refrain, "Well, well, well", suggests a weary acceptance of human frailty.Johnson's character, Harry Madox, arrives in the Texas town of Landers. He is a drifter, a smart one, but his life seems to be going nowhere. One of the characters puts his finger on the problem when he says to Harry, "What are you anyway – 35-36? Well, you sure as hell haven't set the world on fire so far or you wouldn't be hanging around a place like this". "Yeah, replies Harry, "but I've got ambition".Harry is ready for any opportunity that presents itself, and it doesn't take him long to shake things up, especially the libidos of two women – Gloria Harper and Dolly Harshaw – played by Jennifer Connelly and Virginia Madsen.Using his wits, Harry gets a job at the used car lot owned by George Harshaw where the beautiful Gloria works. Not long after, he meets Harshaw's wife Dolly, and begins an affair with her. "There are only two things to do in this town", she informs him, and as he doesn't have a television set, that only leaves one thing to do. Before the film has finished, Harry and Dolly make love in Harshaw's bedroom, in a car at the used car lot, and even in a sawmill after an evening of spectacular skinny-dipping. Despite Dolly's attraction to him, Harry's interest in Gloria continues to grow, although she is only 19 to his 36.Virginia Madsen throws herself into her role as the scheming wife of a much older man with heart trouble. Her performance is showy, amusing and over-the-top. She provides the light moments in a film that might otherwise be heavy going. She is also the perfect contrast to Jennifer Connelly's detached and ethereal Gloria.Despite his preoccupations, Harry sizes up the Landers bank and pulls off a robbery. He immediately comes under suspicion from the law. After a swim with Gloria – there is a lot of swimming in this film – Harry learns she is being blackmailed by a low-life named Frank Sutton over photographs that suggest she has had a lesbian relationship. William Sadler as Sutton embraces the white trash clichés with relish and delivers a superbly repellent character. Sutton also attempts to blackmail Harry over the bank robbery. Harry's attempt to solve both blackmail problems precipitates the film's final act."The Hot Spot" hits the right spot with a great script and perfect performances – it also has a twist ending to rival the best of them. It's surprising that it didn't do better when first released but it's a great little discovery for anyone who comes across it now.

This is dark movie indicating many people are faithless and totally immoral. This movie feature many evil characters doing many evil things. When the drifter Harry Madox (Don Johnson) reaches a small town in Texas, he gets a job as used car salesman with the dealer George Harshaw (Jerry Hardin) and settles down in a hotel room. During a fire, Harry observes that the local bank is left empty and open without any security. Sooner he plots a scheme to rob the bank, provoking a fire in his room to distract the employees. When Harry meets George's wife Dolly Harshaw (Virginia Madsen), the easy woman teases him and they have sex. Harry becomes the prime suspect of the bank heist and is arrested, but Dolly provided the necessary alibi to release him and blackmails him to have a love affair with her. Another evil character Frank Sutton appears in the movie and commits blackmail. There are murders and other evil events. This was filmed in dark lighting with many scenes at night. It depicts a very dark world.If this is the world you like where right is whatever you can get away with, then this is your movie. I unfortunately found this movie quite depressing. The reason I saw this movie is the one character Gloria Harper who is a nice tall clean cool character (or soda as Harry Maddox says during the movie) compared to the other evil characters. She is played by the Angelic looking Jennifer Connelly who at 18 she is the best looking woman I have ever seen in a movie. She is the reason to watch this dark ugly story, if there is a reason.