This weekend I saw Obsessed starring Beyoncé Knowles and the very lovely Idris Elba. The movie was one big, royal stinker to put it mildly! I really went to see the film under duress as my brother was not particularly interested in seeing The Soloist- the movie I really wanted to see. I have to admit that I came into the film with predjudices- mainly, my disdain for Beyoncé’s thespian prowess and her penchant for implausible hair weaves- but I decided that I would sit and keep my nachos and cheese down through the 90 or so minutes.I really hate it when filmmakers assume that their audience is dumb, and that’s how this filmmaker made me feel. This is not an attempt to sound like one of those self-righteous, artsy-fartsy windbag film goers, but there are certain things that anyone with an IQ above 75 should be able to criticize. For example (excuse the spoilers):
1. I find it very unlikely that in real life a guy like Idris Elba's character would resist the aggressive advances of Ali Larter's character. I'm not saying that there aren't any decent guys out there that would reject a woman like this. What I'm saying is had Elba's character expressed an interest in Larter, the story would have been far more plausible... and interesting.
2. Why was Beyoncé's character so jealous of her husband's administrative assistant? When she first heard that her husband had gotten a female temp, she told him to get rid of her immediately-- before even meeting her! Did her husband have a wandering eye? Had he cheated before? None of this was explained. It just made Beyoncé's character seem just as mentally unstable as her nemisis.
3. I didn't like the fact that Beyoncé's stay-at-home-mom character was perpetually bored and wanting something to do. The film went out of its way to show that her husband gave her an allowance and that she was worried about how he would feel if she went back to school. Um... is this 2009 or 1949? What kind of man under the age of 40 would have a problem with their spouse going back to school to better themselves? Later on in the film Beyoncé's character kicks her husband out of the house when she suspects him of cheating on her. "Get out of my house!!!", I believe were her exact words. Your house? You don't even pay for it. You receive an allowance!!! During this scene, my brother and a few of my friends started laughing. This scene wasn't meant to be funny. But I digress....
Anyway, I don't recommend Obsessed to anyone. Unless they love to laugh. Or they enjoy watching Idris Elba... (sigh)
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