This is a TV movie; even the sequence transitions will tell you that. So you can't expect another "Basic Instinct" here: the erotic parts are tame, and the direction has little cinematic style. The movie clearly counts on its plot and its actors to maintain your interest; the plot does, but it's nothing brilliant (there are, after all, only two suspects for the killings), apart maybe from the killing method, which is indeed quite unique. The actors are clearly the best thing about "Flirting With Danger", and provide some eye-candy (for both sexes). Charisma Carpenter, one of the most uniquely beautiful actresses out there, with a smile that's at once sweet and naughty, plays the main suspect / love interest for the hero James Thomas, and Victoria Sanchez gives an appealing and believable performance as his childhood friend who may have deeper feelings for him. Despite his dilemma (or should that be trilemma - Karen Cliché is also around, as the other suspect), Thomas is a lucky man - but will he live long enough to enjoy his luck? You probably know the answer to that one, but "Flirting With Danger" is still an OK way to pass 90 minutes. (**)
10 Reviews
boring sexualized murder mystery
SnoopyStyle1 April 2015
Tommy Heaton dies and his friend lawyer Rafe Marino (James Thomas) slowly suspects foul-play. Rafe starts finding a series of other death like Tommy. He investigates with his cop friend Gloria Moretti (Victoria Sanchez)'s help. He keeps running into Laura Clifford (Charisma Carpenter) and starts a passionate relationship with her.
James Thomas is a rather bland lead. Every woman in this is a thirtysomething former hot girl. There is a blurry forgettable sameness about all the actresses except for Carpenter and Sanchez. The movie is trying too hard to be sexual which comes off very cheesy and soft-porny. It's a murder mystery with a flashing neon sign flashing on Charisma Carpenter. The investigation is slow and boring. It's a lower rate Lifetime TV movie. By the time the twist comes, the interest is long gone.
James Thomas is a rather bland lead. Every woman in this is a thirtysomething former hot girl. There is a blurry forgettable sameness about all the actresses except for Carpenter and Sanchez. The movie is trying too hard to be sexual which comes off very cheesy and soft-porny. It's a murder mystery with a flashing neon sign flashing on Charisma Carpenter. The investigation is slow and boring. It's a lower rate Lifetime TV movie. By the time the twist comes, the interest is long gone.
More Skin Than Story
wes-connors17 June 2012
After his handsome friend "Tommy" dies unexpectedly from heart failure, likewise handsome lawyer James Thomas (as Rafe Marino) suspects foul play. More otherwise healthy young men die in their hot tubs (but one victim who doesn't fit the mold). Often showing off his muscular chest for the camera, Mr. Thomas meets ultra-sexy Charisma Carpenter (as Laura Clifford). Her chest is the feminine match for his, and they are quickly smacking. Meanwhile, Mr. Thomas uncovers more facts about serial heart failures, with help from childhood lover Victoria Sanchez (as Gloria Moretti), now a police detective. Other beautiful women include aroused tennis club blonde Karen Cliché (as Ellen Antonelli). It figures.
The accent on Cliché isn't mine.
**** Flirting with Danger (2/13/06) Richard Roy ~ James Thomas, Charisma Carpenter, Victoria Sanchez, Karen Cliché
The accent on Cliché isn't mine.
**** Flirting with Danger (2/13/06) Richard Roy ~ James Thomas, Charisma Carpenter, Victoria Sanchez, Karen Cliché
Slow-Paced Femme Fatale Film
lavatch30 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
It was a lethal combination on the gridiron when quarterback Tommy Heaton hooked up with his faithful tight end Rafe Marino, and the combo set records in touchdowns. But now, an even more lethal hook-up occurs when Tommy is murdered during a message through the application of a toxin that gives the impression that the victim suffered a heart attack.
In addition to Tommy's demise, the entrepreneur Spencer Van Allen and tennis pro Rod McCue died in the same manner, and the evidence points to a femme fatale on the loose. As an attorney, Rafe wants to investigate the cause of the three deaths, and he enlists his old high school sweetheart and now a detective, Gloria Moretti.
As the investigation proceeds, Rafe begins an affair with the stunning Laura Clifford (or Crawford). From the perspective of the audience, Laura has all of the qualifications of the femme fatale. But Rafe is slow in figuring out that the context for meeting Laura was that she had attended the funerals of both Tommy and Spencer.
The filmmakers attempted in vain to develop a couple of other suspects other than Laura, including two women working at the Glimmer Girls store, Ellen Antonelli and Hilary Anderson. But all of the evidence points to Laura, whose father had an "accident" when he fell down the stairs with a likely nudge from his eight-year-old daughter. Laura subsequently spent time in the Annendale Psychiatric institution. There may be a case of split personality involved, as Laura believes that she has a sister named Louise, who is apparently inside her.
This slow-burner of a film failed to develop much suspense. The dialogue was sluggishly delivered. And there was too much sultry atmosphere with no substance. The most interesting character was the tough detective Moretti, who was good at her job and the woman that Rafe Marino should have never have permitted to stand in line behind Laura and Louise Crawford.
In addition to Tommy's demise, the entrepreneur Spencer Van Allen and tennis pro Rod McCue died in the same manner, and the evidence points to a femme fatale on the loose. As an attorney, Rafe wants to investigate the cause of the three deaths, and he enlists his old high school sweetheart and now a detective, Gloria Moretti.
As the investigation proceeds, Rafe begins an affair with the stunning Laura Clifford (or Crawford). From the perspective of the audience, Laura has all of the qualifications of the femme fatale. But Rafe is slow in figuring out that the context for meeting Laura was that she had attended the funerals of both Tommy and Spencer.
The filmmakers attempted in vain to develop a couple of other suspects other than Laura, including two women working at the Glimmer Girls store, Ellen Antonelli and Hilary Anderson. But all of the evidence points to Laura, whose father had an "accident" when he fell down the stairs with a likely nudge from his eight-year-old daughter. Laura subsequently spent time in the Annendale Psychiatric institution. There may be a case of split personality involved, as Laura believes that she has a sister named Louise, who is apparently inside her.
This slow-burner of a film failed to develop much suspense. The dialogue was sluggishly delivered. And there was too much sultry atmosphere with no substance. The most interesting character was the tough detective Moretti, who was good at her job and the woman that Rafe Marino should have never have permitted to stand in line behind Laura and Louise Crawford.
The Case of the "Jacuzzie Murders".
kapelusznik1819 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
****SPOILERS**** With hot shot lawyer Rafe Marino, James Thomas, getting the shocking news that his best friend Tommy Heaton, Marc Poirier, suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack at age 34 while relaxing in his jacuzzi he decides to see if there was any foul play involved. It's at Tommy's funeral that Rafe meets rich and pretty businesswoman Laura Clifford,Charisma Carpenter, who was Tommy's girlfriend at the time of his death. Right away Rafe forgets why he was there, to pay his last respects to his friend Tommy, and falls heads over heels for Laura. It's later that Rafe find out that Laura's other two boyfriends before Tommy died, by dropping dead in a jacuzzi, the some way Tommy did!
Getting help for an old high school flame of his Det.Gloria Moretti, Victoria Sanchez, Rafe starts to have the police lab test Tommy's body to see if anything he ate or drank before the fatal dip in his jacuzzi had anything to do with his death. That as well as for Laura's other two lovers who met the same fate, sudden death of a heart attack, as he did. While doing that Rafe gets a number of fax's threatening him if he keeps on probing in what caused Tommy's death as well as weird phone calls, left on his answering machine, from some crazy woman with a distinct southern accent telling him to lay off his investigation of Tommy's death or else!
***SPOILERS*** Rafe who wasn't going to go away from trying to find Tommy's killer soon became a target of the killer himself who planned to do him in this time in the shower, since he didn't have a jacuzzi, the first chance he or she got. With Rafe totally incapacitated, from the lotion he was handed to use by the killer, Det. Gloria Moretti busted into the hot shower and prevented the by now unconscious Rafe from getting iced! As we as well as Rafe & Gloria found out the killer had a problem with rejection that stemmed from his or her childhood. That hang up or problem he carried well into his adulthood by refusing to get help, in a local mental institution, to have it cured.
Getting help for an old high school flame of his Det.Gloria Moretti, Victoria Sanchez, Rafe starts to have the police lab test Tommy's body to see if anything he ate or drank before the fatal dip in his jacuzzi had anything to do with his death. That as well as for Laura's other two lovers who met the same fate, sudden death of a heart attack, as he did. While doing that Rafe gets a number of fax's threatening him if he keeps on probing in what caused Tommy's death as well as weird phone calls, left on his answering machine, from some crazy woman with a distinct southern accent telling him to lay off his investigation of Tommy's death or else!
***SPOILERS*** Rafe who wasn't going to go away from trying to find Tommy's killer soon became a target of the killer himself who planned to do him in this time in the shower, since he didn't have a jacuzzi, the first chance he or she got. With Rafe totally incapacitated, from the lotion he was handed to use by the killer, Det. Gloria Moretti busted into the hot shower and prevented the by now unconscious Rafe from getting iced! As we as well as Rafe & Gloria found out the killer had a problem with rejection that stemmed from his or her childhood. That hang up or problem he carried well into his adulthood by refusing to get help, in a local mental institution, to have it cured.
Very watchable
moresadam3 December 2010
It's more than just a rainy day's fun. The plot's tight, the characters look good, the locales are excellent and there's more. Carpenter's 'talents' have been totally wasted however. Victoria Sanchez looks very credible in her role as a longtime friend. James Thomas as the male lead does a good job.
The key thing for me was that as a murder mystery, every other scene did not have blood and gore. That part was handled elegantly, I thought. As a relationship drama, the dialogs were well written and rather credible. The steamy scenes were probably designed to be a grade schooler's delight, I guess.
It's much better than a typical Lifetime flick.
The key thing for me was that as a murder mystery, every other scene did not have blood and gore. That part was handled elegantly, I thought. As a relationship drama, the dialogs were well written and rather credible. The steamy scenes were probably designed to be a grade schooler's delight, I guess.
It's much better than a typical Lifetime flick.
Carpenter & Marino Burn Up the Screen
whpratt18 May 2006
Enjoyed this TV film and the great acting, romance and mystery involved with so many men getting bumped off. Chrisma Carpenter,(Laura Clifford),"Angel TV series,'99'-'03", took one look at James Thomas,(Rafe Marino) and fell madly in love and had some very torrid scenes together. This romance took James's mind off his recent loss, however, the police were starting to question James and his old friend from the past, Victoria Sanchez,(Gloria Moretti),"Noel",'04, who was a police officer, comes to his aid. You could almost see that Victoria was also very attracted to James, however, James just did not seem the gleam in her eyes or her attractive body. This film entertained and is worth your time to view it the next time it appears on TV. Enjoy
Good for a rainy day
caa82110 May 2008
I had some outdoor activity delayed by a heavy rain, so flipped-on t.v. just as this movie was beginning.
In the first few minutes, when the main four characters (James Thomas (Rafe); Victoria Sanchez (Gloria); Charisma Carpenter (Laura); and Karen Cliché (Ellen) were all introduced on-screen, one thought immediately came to mind.
I remembered a funny scene in "Everybody Loves Raymond." Peter Boyle, as Ray's Dad is talking to Robert Culp, who played Ray's father-in-law. I think it was the show where Culp and wife had separated, but he appeared at a family gathering with an older, plain new girlfriend, rather than a younger "trophy" type which everybody was expecting.
Talking with him while the women elsewhere, Boyle's "Frank" character expressed to Culp his puzzlement and curiosity about the reason for this surprising choice. He noted Culp was a good-looking guy, and then said something like "You've got a full set of teeth, AND THEN SOME."
Robert Culp has always been one of these people with a pleasant appearance, along with a set of prodigious choppers, impossible to ignore.
Well, the four leads in this flick must have four of, say, the other 49 among the top 50 or so sets of teeth in the country, and perhaps the world. All of them are handsome specimens and there is more ivory flashing across the screen than you'll find in a documentary about elephant herds.
Among the mysterious Laura, his old friend (who'd like to be more), Gloria, as well as the equally-attractive Ellen (to provide to the mystery) - James Thomas/Rafe has one of the better gigs ever presented to a male lead.
As a "Lifetime" presentation, with personnel a bit down the chain from Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, Glenn Close, etc., as well as budget and production constraints, we wouldn't expect this to rival "Fatal Attraction," "Basic Instinct," and the like. It is, perhaps, the "poor man's version" of these.
But it does present a far more attractive cast and a bit better quality scenery than typical of the Lifetime genre, and there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours on a rainy day, awaiting the weather to clear.
In the first few minutes, when the main four characters (James Thomas (Rafe); Victoria Sanchez (Gloria); Charisma Carpenter (Laura); and Karen Cliché (Ellen) were all introduced on-screen, one thought immediately came to mind.
I remembered a funny scene in "Everybody Loves Raymond." Peter Boyle, as Ray's Dad is talking to Robert Culp, who played Ray's father-in-law. I think it was the show where Culp and wife had separated, but he appeared at a family gathering with an older, plain new girlfriend, rather than a younger "trophy" type which everybody was expecting.
Talking with him while the women elsewhere, Boyle's "Frank" character expressed to Culp his puzzlement and curiosity about the reason for this surprising choice. He noted Culp was a good-looking guy, and then said something like "You've got a full set of teeth, AND THEN SOME."
Robert Culp has always been one of these people with a pleasant appearance, along with a set of prodigious choppers, impossible to ignore.
Well, the four leads in this flick must have four of, say, the other 49 among the top 50 or so sets of teeth in the country, and perhaps the world. All of them are handsome specimens and there is more ivory flashing across the screen than you'll find in a documentary about elephant herds.
Among the mysterious Laura, his old friend (who'd like to be more), Gloria, as well as the equally-attractive Ellen (to provide to the mystery) - James Thomas/Rafe has one of the better gigs ever presented to a male lead.
As a "Lifetime" presentation, with personnel a bit down the chain from Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, Glenn Close, etc., as well as budget and production constraints, we wouldn't expect this to rival "Fatal Attraction," "Basic Instinct," and the like. It is, perhaps, the "poor man's version" of these.
But it does present a far more attractive cast and a bit better quality scenery than typical of the Lifetime genre, and there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours on a rainy day, awaiting the weather to clear.
Charisma is the perfect woman.
jc99060816 February 2006
Really good made for TV movie with Charisma displaying her fantastic sexual appeal on camera, she is definitely fantasy material.
The plot was above average as far as lifetime movies are concerned, although I didn't really prefer the ending, the bulk more than made up for it.
Charisma really needs to get her face into a big screen production, because a woman this fantastic is being drastically underused in this business.
Frankly, I can't wait to see more of her future projects, hoping she graces the entertainment industry for a long time to come.
The plot was above average as far as lifetime movies are concerned, although I didn't really prefer the ending, the bulk more than made up for it.
Charisma really needs to get her face into a big screen production, because a woman this fantastic is being drastically underused in this business.
Frankly, I can't wait to see more of her future projects, hoping she graces the entertainment industry for a long time to come.
nothing new
Kirpianuscus7 July 2015
the only sin in this case is the great expectations. because more than a crime, it is a kind of cocktail. sex, murders, love, hesitations, a story who has not sense but who looking for it after hot scenes? a film who use each classic ingredient of genre in a pretty game who not gives nothing interesting. only beauty of actors, vulnerability of a hansom guy, the maleficent woman. game of clichés and stereotypes, it is nice if you ignore the mistakes or consider it only a joke. James Thomas does a decent job and that is the best thing to say about the movie. because it is only one from many, many easy films who remains the perfect choice in a Saturday evening.
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