Review of Desperate Measures (2011) by Jeffrey M — 17 Feb 2011

"Desperate Measures" is a head scratcher that really has to be seen to be believed, a film that's so bad it defies badness. It's so bad it transcends badness to the point that I'm actually recommending this film. We haven't seen anything this gloriously ridiculous since "Showgirls", and I loved it for that. The plot draws you in despite the fact that it's completely preposterous simply because it's so intriguing. Plausibility is at an all-time low, but you can't help but wonder "What If?".

But the screenwriters and director Barbet Schroeder take everything to the extreme and that's when the real fun begins. Cop Andy Garcia gets so many people killed trying to save his son's life that you just have to laugh. I couldn't wait to see how far this film would go.

Another big part of the film's disturbing appeal to me is the performance by Michael Keaton. He's obviously trying a desperate measure to revitalize his waning career with this sadistic, wildly entertaining change of pace role. And then there's Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden slumming in the role of a surgeon who specializes in threatening every patient in the hospital regardless of their affliction.

The film also has the distinction of possibly being the worst movie of the 90's to be directed by a talented filmmaker. Schroeder was obviously trying for some commercial success here with this critical disaster. I'm almost ashamed to admit that I liked it, but I have to admire a movie with the cajones to be as flagrantly dumb as this one.