Fox Movie Channel

Recreational Husband Killing

Remember when I outlined everything that I like in movies? Suspense, sex, stuff from the 80s, and movies where chicks have something to do? Well, based on those requirements, Black Widow has it all. There's a woman villain and a woman hero, and suspense in spades. Psychological intrigue and sex and jealousy. Plus there's a rich people 80s party scene. Any movie from the 80s with a decadent party scene is almost guaranteed to make me happy.

Our heroine, played by Debra Winger, is an interesting, fully fleshed out female lead character, which is a madly rare thing to find in mainstream movies. In the beginning, she's all work and no play - literally, no play. She is good at her Department of Justice job because she is obsessive, and she has a big mane of unstyled hair, which we all know is a modern movie sign for a woman who gets no action. Her boss actually yells at her at one point for not having more of a life, a scene I find tremendously amusing.

Meanwhile, Theresa Russell, who plays the titular Black Widow, a model of 80s hotness who looks a lot like my number 2 all time favorite Barbie growing up, is traipsing about America carefully killing husbands. She's good at it, and she gets off on it. Cunning, hot and twisted - does this movie dare to have two compelling female leads? Debra Winger's character catches onto the Black Widow's murderous recreational activities, and leaves her desk job and her sexless DC life behind to chase her down, landing in Hawaii. Which, of all places, is a really nice location for playing head games.

The ladies collide. They make friends, get into each other's heads, test each other, hang out poolside in bikinis. They go scuba diving together, and Debra Winger gets a haircut - and you know what that means. In a captivating plot twist - SPOILER ALERT - Debra Winger's character sleeps with the Black Widow's latest fiancé/ intended victim, in a steaming magma Hawaii landscape, no less. Makes her all the more human and is very interesting to her character development. But it also compromises her righteousness as an officer of the law, which complicates the movie in an excellent way. The psychological drama escalates, and can I mention again that this movie stars two chicks? More people get murdered, the intrigue builds, and you should watch the rest to see how it resolves. It's a solid slow burn of a thriller, with plenty of pretty Hawaii shots and some really good twisty action at the end. Plus there are backless 80s dresses. Real Dancing Action Barbie would approve.