Faithful (1996)

Simply Perfect

Perfect cast and a good story

Absolutely Fantastic

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

"Faithful" directed by Paul Mazurski doesn't add anything to his otherwise prestigious resume. As a comedy director, Mr. Mazurski has done better. Unfortunately, he doesn't appear to have been inspired, by the story or by his cast.In fact, one of the worst things in the film is the overbearing role of Chazz Palmentieri, whose Tony is one of the most obnoxious things he has played in the movies. Cher, as Margaret, the redheaded woman, married to a rat fink, doesn't bring anything new to the screen. She could do much better, but unfortunately, not here. Finally, Ryan O'Neal doesn't have much to do.The best thing about "Faithful" is its 91 minutes running time! Sorry Mr. Mazurski, you need to stay away from whoever told you Chass Palmentieri's screen play had possibilities.

The first time I saw it, I hated it. With a passion. Don't know why- I've loved everything else Cher had done. It didn't click for some reason. Then I watched it some time later and WHAM, I got it... going thru the same thing myself (except the hitman part). I found myself laughing and crying, and rooting Cher's wonderfully angry and hostile dialog. (I think she let Ryan off too easy...) The whole first half is a setup for the last half, when her husband Jack (Ryan O'Neil) comes home. Then the poo REALLY hits the proverbial whirling blades. She lets him have it, takes it all back, and gives it to him again. Harder. (Considering how I felt when I went thru a similar situation, he STILL got off way too easy!) I would very much recommend this movie- especially if your boyfriend or girlfriend has had an affair and you are still bitter- it's very cathartic. And it's still free! (Okay- the rental isn't- but it's a funny line in the movie...)

This movie drips with terrible acting by Cher. It is the poster film for terrible movies. Edward Wood was a Stanley Kubrick by comparison to this film. Cher can sing and I enjoyed she and Sonny a lot. But in the acting field, she's just no damn good. Keep her away from a camera. The only film with her that is worth watching is The Witches of Eastwick. And that's only because Jack Nicholson starred.Avoid at all costs.

"Faithful" is a worth-watching film, somewhere between comedy and drama, but not tragicomedy. It stars Cher as a rich but rejected wife who wants to take her life on her 20th anniversary. But then a hitman hired by her husband gets into her house. He ties her to a chair and they start to talk - as it's an adaption of a play - and slowly Cher's wish to live on is growing. The dialogue is quite spirited and also funny, you shouldn't miss it. And it's pretty cool when the hitman is making phone-calls to his psychiatrist and vice versa, again and again. You have to enjoy this, it's almost 'tarantinoesque', but better, because there is no celebration of violence here. Nevertheless, in the end it gets kind of disturbing and boring. Now the movie finally suffers from the fact that basically only three actors are involved. Cher's acting is very good in the beginning, her facial acting is fabulous when portraying the desperate woman meeting her killer. But from the moment when her husband (Ryan O'Neal) returns, her character is much less convincing and her face of vivid emotion turns a face of a pale mask of make-up, which - forgive me - she may think makes her look one or two decades younger. Now my vote: 7 out of 10!