What 'Kiss The Girls' has going for it mainly is Morgan Freeman. What's the old saying? He would be interesting reciting the phone book. Freeman has the kind of screen presence that other actors only dream of possessing. He is calm, reassuring, magnetic... he is wise without acting like a know-it-all; maturity and decency seem to radiate from him. It's interesting to ponder whether Freeman is really that good of an actor, or if he simply possesses an overdose of charisma, like Errol Flynn. In any event, he's the best thing about 'Kiss The Girls', a standard-issue sicko-on-the-loose-kidnapping-beautiful-women thriller. It's basically a rehash of 'Silence of the Lambs' without the Hannibal Lecter character. And without the style. Much is hinted at and some of the dialogue is explicit, but that's as far as 'Kiss The Girls' goes. Visually, it's really pretty dull. Good thing it has Morgan Freeman to aim the camera at. Ashley Judd plays the one who gets away, a kidnap victim who escapes the psycho's dungeon. (And it is literally a dungeon. No basement or shed. A real dungeon.) She is also a brilliant doctor. See, this sick creep likes to kidnap INTELLIGENT and INDEPENDENT women. No airheads for him. Unfortunately, this little twist in the usual plot provides no new ideas or fresh situations, unless you count Freeman's daughter playing the violin. Judd is adequate in the not-very-believable role; she strikes me as a female Keanu Reeves, something sort of android-ish about her. And good old Cary Elwes (warning- spoiler coming) is- surprise!- the psychotic kidnapper. Like we were going to believe he was a sincere, good old boy policeman. Poor Cary Elwes- he is really typecast. But I can see why. He just has that kind of face. 'Kiss The Girls' seems a lot like your typical TV-movie of the week; it's what the critics call an 'agreeable time-filler'... but it DOES have Morgan Freeman in it.
Review of Kiss the Girls
