The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992)
Starring Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy, Ernie Hudson, and Julianne Moore
Directed by Curtis Hanson
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***
Completely mindless entertainment that falls into that late 80s/early 90s genre of adult suspense pics that isn't all that common today. You'll remember this was the era of Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct, and although The Hand That Rocks the Cradle isn't based in sexuality as those previous two pics were, it has a tone reminiscent of those flicks.
Basically, Claire and Michael Bartel (Annabella Sciorra and Matt McCoy) are a happily married couple with a lovely young child. Expecting another baby, Claire visits a new ob-gyn's office where he sexually molests her (lovely, I know). When Claire accuses the doctor, he kills himself. This, of course, doesn't sit too well with his wife (Rebecca De Mornay) who takes it upon herself to wreak havoc on the Bartel family by taking on the persona of the lovely Peyton Flanders and becoming their nanny. Its safe to say Peyton's not exactly the sanest gal and things may not turn out so well for the Bartels.
Is this movie cheesy? Yes. Does it "feel" like it was made in the 90s? Yes. Still, I enjoyed the flick. It's not gonna win any awards in my book, but it was a decent 105 minutes and Rebecca De Mornay is so over-the-top that she makes it moderately fun to watch.
The RyMickey Rating: B-
I agree - one of those movies that I know is bad but when I come across it on TV I can't help but watch. It's sort of the same instinct that makes us look at car accidents I guess.
ReplyDeleteI'm honestly not sure I'd classify it as "bad." While I know it's no classic suspenser, it doesn't quite fall into the "so bad it's good" category. I liked it too much for it to fall into that category.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I completely get where you're coming from...it just didn't fall into the aforementioned category for me because I liked it too much.