Movie Loner

Movies about Hollywood are either hit or miss. The Player and Swimming With Sharks are home runs. Bowfinger and The Pickle go down swinging. I find it interesting when filmmakers get introspective and turn their camera on the maddeningly silly business that is showbiz. One of my favorites is Brian De Palma’s Body Double, an engaging romp about voyeurism, murder, and pornography. What’s not to like?

Struggling B-actor Jake Scully is having a bad week. First he finds his girlfriend on top of another guy, then he gets canned from a cheap Vampire flick after suffering a bout of claustrophobia. Drowning his sorrows at a Hollywood watering hole Jake bumps into Sam, a guy from his acting class. Aware that Jake needs a place to crash, Sam offers up an outlandish octagonal bachelor pad on stilts in the Hollywood Hills. A grateful Jake accepts the house-sitting gig, just as long as he remembers to water the plants.

The house is loaded with perks: big-screen TV, fully stocked bar, and a telescope pointed into a neighboring bedroom where a sultry brunette performs a nightly striptease. Jake immediately becomes infatuated with the raven-haired beauty and her erotic routine. The spy game ultimately leads to murder, so Jake takes on the role of detective in search of a strange disfigured Indian. His probing lands him in the sleazy world of adult films where he meets porn starlet Holly Body (Melanie Griffith), who holds the key to this Hollywood murder mystery.

Body Double is a stylish thriller with a clever, twisting plot that never disappoints. De Palma once again borrows from Hitchcock, this time paying homage to Rear Window in a masterfully constructed cat-and-mouse chase sequence. Dramatic lighting, skewed camera angles, and a tense musical score heighten the suspense. Craig Wasson is ideal as Jake Scully, a schlub-like hero who we want to see win in the end. Griffith is also terrific; her portrayal of the ditsy, straight-shooting Holly Body is hilarious. I can’t get enough of this movie.