Review: Beyoncé's Obsessed So Bad It's Beautiful

Beyonce Knowles and Ali Larter fight over a man, in heels, in one of those rare movies so terrible it's kind of awesome

By Natasha Vargas-Cooper Apr 24, 2009 9:40 PMTags
Beyonce Knowles, Idris Elba, ObsessedScreen Gems

Review in a Hurry: Obsessed would be an ordinary, cheap seduction thriller if it weren't for its extraordinary mix of stars. The immaculate Beyoncé Knowles and devastatingly handsome Idris Elba attack their silly parts with a ferocity that gives this dumpy little movie the spark it needs to be compelling.

The Bigger Picture: There are there two types of bad movies. There are bad bad movies, the kind that leave you resentful for having time wasted and your emotions bullied. And there are good bad movies.

These happy few don't pretend to be anything besides entertainment and commit themselves to making every mistake a movie can.

Obsessed is a great bad movie. It shamelessly hand-feeds viewers exactly what they ordered: Beyoncé looking fabulous while she kicks. Ass.

Obsessed is little more than a 90-minute prelude to a remarkably well-choreographed final fight scene between a sweaty, grunting, voluptuous Beyoncé and a home-wrecking bombshell named Lisa (Ali Larter). Both ladies are, in case it needs to get better, outfitted in impossibly high heels.

Lisa is psychotically obsessed with the infinitely dashing Derek (Elba). The first two-thirds of the movie focus on Lisa, an office temp with a big mouth and a penchant for revenge, attempting to seduce Derek, some type important business muckety-muck.

Fearful that he may offend his domestic goddess, Sharon (Knowles), by mentioning any of Lisa's advances, Derek continually lies to his wife. Big mistake: No mortal can make a fool of Beyoncé.

Now there's little reason to extol on Knowles' talent or fierceness. It's a proven mathematical theorem that Beyoncé + spotlight = razzle-dazzle fun.

Instead, let's throw some light on the next big thing you may not be aware of yet: The untouchably cool Idris Elba. He usually plays a strong second to a more animated lead man (The Office, The Wire), but in Obsessed, Elba makes his star turn. He's pliable and playful. He harnesses his natural gravitas to effortlessly fill the lead role.

The script is tedious and the story predictable, but watching the chemistry crackle between Elba and Beyoncé is like watching Greek gods flirt. It's fantastic, scrumptious fun.

The 180—a Second Opinion: It's a great bad movie, to be sure, but let's not lose sight of the fact that Obsessed is fundamentally, at its core...bad.

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