HEAD OVER HEELS

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 2 out of 5

Because of: crude/crass content

Rated:

Maybe if I would have known beforehand that this film comes from the writers of There's Something About Mary, I wouldn't have wasted my time on it. The film is completely revolting on numerous levels, using sexual innuendos and gags in order to get nonexistent laughs, which is a pity because the plot is actually a pretty cute idea. Amanda (Monica Potter) has rotten taste in men. In grade school, her boyfriend left her with someone who was more physically developed. At her senior prom, she caught her date kissing another guy behind the bleachers. This time she catches her current live-in-boyfriend in bed with a supermodel. That's it. She can't take it anymore, and is certainly not ready for a lesbian relationship with a coworker. Somewhere out there MUST be the perfect guy!

Reading an advertisement for a cheap apartment for rent, she meets fashion mogul Jim Winston (Freddy Prince Jr.) in the lobby when his dog attempts to maul her. Making a complete idiot of herself, Amanda's concerns only increase when she discovers the apartment is shared by four supermodels. There's a date waiting list. The girls talk about beauty constantly. The friendliest of the four is Candi (Sarah O'Hare), an Australian model obsessed with making her face "perfectly symmetrical." Then there's Jade, Roxana, Holly, and Lisa. Most important thing? Their apartment has a perfect view into the home of Jim Winston. The girls enjoy watching him flex his muscles on a regular basis, and are convinced he is "perfect." Unable to place such high faith in him, Amanda starts looking for flaws.

She finds one. After a party one evening, she collapses on the couch to blissfully remember the passionate, true-love kiss shared with Jim downstairs. As she gazes on his apartment window, he pulls the blinds. A woman is with him. Believing it to be a romantic tryst, she is horrified when Jim takes a baseball bat and slams his companion over the head with it. Frantically, the police are called. A search is made. Nothing conclusive is turned up. Now the four supermodels, plus one antique painting-restorer, set out to prove the cute guy next door is a murderer, little knowing what they're getting themselves into...

Having a gambit of friends who resemble these models to a large degree in terms of fashion-consciousness, as well as experiences with apartments, Head Over Heels was attractive through only its humorous setting. The climax turns out to be the best part of the film, and the acting is good from all involved. My only question remains why such an excellent group of real-life supermodels and talented Hollywood starlets would become involved in such trashy material. From beginning to end, we must endure forms of double-innuendo, crude sexual content, and other offensive material. I can't even reprise much of it for you because it's so disgusting. One running gag involves a Great Dane who enjoys tackling women and ... well... behaving sexually toward them. Of course, Amanda winds up spending the night with Jim. She forgets the blinds, and so her roommates wind up parked on the couch, observing the encounter. (We don't see anything.)

Crude gags involve body functions. The models wind up in a men's bathroom standing on the open toilet, while two janitors attempt to unplug the drain. Not knowing what the two men are up to, all the dialogue is lead to imply a homosexual encounter. The drain blows up, spattering the supermodels with waste. They also wind up in yet another bathroom while Jim is using the toilet, and both themselves and the audience must endure disgusting sound effects. Believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There isn't a single redeeming element about the film. Don't pollute your mind by falling Head Over Heels.