Boxing Helena (1993)

[sillstaw 414]

Somebody bumped a thread where "Boxing Helena" was recommended with two other films, and now it's dedicated to only one of the others. But this film's reputation seems to suggest it needs consideration.

 

I haven't seen "Boxing Helena," but come on. It's a movie about a guy cutting off the limbs of the woman he's obsessed with. It's from the daughter of David Lynch, but by all accounts lacks any of the mystery and obliqueness that made him so beloved; the symbolism in particular is so obvious and first-year English, it makes you wonder if Lynch looked at his daughter afterwards and said, "Honey, no."

 

Also, let's not forget that this is the movie Kim Basinger almost starred in, then reconsidered, which led the producers to sue her. She lost and declared bankruptcy, forcing her to sell at a loss the small Georgia town she bought. If there were a HDTGM for court cases, that would be a prime candidate.

[SlidePocket 707]

This one tries so hard to shock by what Jennifer Lynch was trying to achieve, but didn't complete that level based on what her dad has done. And of course, the behind-the-scenes stuff is really much more interesting on who was originally cast, then dropped out, and got sued, rather than the whole movie itself.

[MelissaBecker 79]

I watched this movie all the time on Showtime in the late 90s because I was a horny teenager and Sherilyn Fenn is gorgeous. But it is terrible and probably responsible for any weird sex issues I have. (Well, partly responsible. Pretty sure seeing Labyrinth as children screwed up my whole generation). But the thing is that while it is BAD (Bill Paxon plays the bad boy biker...yes...I know!) it is also really interesting. The type of movie that David Lynch or Cronenberg would hit out of the park.

 

The Basinger lawsuit is interesting since ultimately she actually won the case on appeal since the trial court did not give proper jury instructions. I could explain the case if anyone actually cares but it gets into corporate law and trial court procedure. Basically, the trial court asked "did Kim Basinger and/or the corporation that represents her breach the contract". The jury said yes but because we can't tell if they meant to say it was Kim, OR her company, OR both that the trial needed to happen again to find out which party was at fault. From as far as I can tell they never retried the case so Basinger didn't need to pay that huge judgement, but she did have a crap ton of lawyers fees from appealing the case.

 

This is why there probably isn't a HDTGM for lawsuits. They sound like they'd be interesting (Oh, famous Hollywood star and a weird soft core porn movie) but in the end it is all about duel entity theories of business law.

[sillstaw 414]

The Basinger lawsuit is interesting since ultimately she actually won the case on appeal since the trial court did not give proper jury instructions. I could explain the case if anyone actually cares but it gets into corporate law and trial court procedure. Basically, the trial court asked "did Kim Basinger and/or the corporation that represents her breach the contract". The jury said yes but because we can't tell if they meant to say it was Kim, OR her company, OR both that the trial needed to happen again to find out which party was at fault. From as far as I can tell they never retried the case so Basinger didn't need to pay that huge judgement, but she did have a crap ton of lawyers fees from appealing the case.

 

This is why there probably isn't a HDTGM for lawsuits. They sound like they'd be interesting (Oh, famous Hollywood star and a weird soft core porn movie) but in the end it is all about duel entity theories of business law.

 

Ah. I was mostly going by the always-reliable Wikipedia (which says that, after the appeal, Basinger settled out of court) and IMDb, so reading that sorts it out. Thanks.

 

As for the HDTGM for lawsuits (which I made up as a joke but still feel compelled to defend), I doubt it would really need to be all about the legalities of each case, just like HDTGM generally isn't about how movies get made.

[seanotron 2307]

This movie also completely cops out in the end as *SPOILER ALERT* he wakes up to discover the whole thing was a dream. Jennifer Lynch totally pulled a Dallas/Newhart ending.

 

There's definitely something bubbling under the surface about misogyny but she just didn't do anything interesting with it.

[Soapstef 36]

This movie is perfect for HDTGM! It's insane! After 10yrs managing video stores in my 20's I judge every movie from back then by how much it was in demand and the conversations it created.

 

Everyone wanted to see this movie! The Basinger lawsuit made it a must see. Weeks before it hit VHS it has a waiting list a page long and was only rivaled by Buttman's Double Adventure.

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

Between this or Warlock, Julian Sands musnt be allowed to escape this podcast.

[joel_rosenbaum 1269]

I should probably spoiler it, but pictures are worth a thousand words.

 

[Soapstef 36]

Hilarious...you can't get this movie for less than $35 on Amazon. I've got it on VHS somewhere. I need to revisit it immediately.

[RuncibleShaw 21]

Yet another cable classic. I think I watched this movie when I was 10 and it warped my little mind. Didn't help that I also knew the main guy from Warlock and totally thought this was some sort of spin-off of that series.