[7]

Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist) made his directorial debut with Body Heat, about a woman who convinces her lover to murder her husband. You’ll never see William Hurt or Kathleen Turner sweatier (or hotter) than this. The film takes place during a Florida heat wave, and between the constant perspiration and John Barry’s steamy score, you’ll likely feel the humidity yourself. I liked the first half of the film better than the second half. It’s more fun to watch the two leads play coy with one another, culminating in the striking act one climax in which Hurt gets so uncontrollably horny, he smashes a glass door down to ravage Turner. After that, the film introduces the love triangle, completed by Richard Crenna (First Blood) as the husband who’s always away on business. Will the illicit lovers get caught in the act? Will they get away with murder? And finally, can they trust each other? The answer to these questions are fairly predictable, but Body Heat‘s neo-noir approach to storytelling allows Turner to join a celebrated roster of cinema’s great femme fatales. With Ted Danson and Mickey Rourke.