Written by Robert Scucci | Published
The only thing I like more than a solid neo-noir crime drama is a comedy that only cares about one thing: putting as much humor into the scene as possible. The Naked Gun franchise is so good because there are so many visual gags going on in the background while its characters talk almost exclusively in puns and non-sequiturs that the films demand multiple viewings. In 1993 Fatal Instinct it’s cut from the same cloth, but it’s rarely celebrated these days because critics brushed it under the rug when it was released. It currently has a 14 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here’s the thing about similar movies Fatal Instinct. They are meant to be stupid. Designed to be a classy exercise in character incompetence and miscommunication. All about Fatal Instinct purposely, the goal is to create the smartest, stupidest crime you can put in your skull on Tubi. I tend to agree with old Roger Ebert’s review, but I can say with certainty that he was wrong to give it Fatal Instinct one and a half star review.
Ned Ravine is Your New Favorite Idiot
Fatal Instinct follows the actions of Ned Ravine (Armand Assante), a law enforcement officer who arrests criminals and takes them as security clients. Many times, his efforts backfire because, as the arresting officer, he still has evidence to prove that the person he is defending is guilty. When sex bomb Lola Cain (Sean Young) is talked into looking at some legal documents, their encounter quickly leads to an extramarital affair that he needs to hide from his wife, Lana (Kate Nelligan).
Fortunately, or unfortunately for Ned depending on how you look at it, Lana is dating his mechanic, Frank (Christopher McDonald). It’s lucky because Lana is too distracted by her sexcapades to accuse Ned of foul play. It’s unfortunate because Lana and Frank plan to kill Ned under the exact circumstances to get the money for his good life insurance.
Meanwhile, convicted felon Max Shady (James Remar) is serving his sentence and vowing to get revenge on Ned, who, due to two double dips in the law enforcement and courtroom, imprisoned him for seven years. The reason? Ned Ravine is an excellent host.
Of course, all of these plot points are set up in the midst of wild sexual encounters involving a refrigerator, a belt sander, and any smooth surface imaginable, which makes you wonder how Fatal Instinct got a PG-13 rating. My guess is that since the whole thing is so funny in every conceivable way, the testers were willing to let it slip through the cracks. It’s extremely sexual, but it’s also so slapstick that there’s no way anyone could take it seriously.
Deeply Stupid in Very Smart Ways
Full of double action from start to finish, it takes a special kind of director like Carl Reiner to fully realize the kind of shtick that writer David O’Malley wanted front and center. Facial expressions and complex visual cues dominate Fatal Instinct. Guns have volume pieces on their silencers. Cigarette smoke comes out of the mouth like a fog machine. Detectives repeatedly slip into the blood of the crime scene. Sports commentators sit behind the court and provide instant replays for the audience watching at home.
Fatal Instinct it’s so dumb that it’s actually smart. There are so many laugh-out-loud moments that you’ll want to pause, rewind, and replay. It’s the only way to keep up with its fast-paced comedy delivery, and even then you might miss a punchline or two. Don’t let the critics fool you about this one because it doesn’t deserve to sit in the gutters beyond Rotten Tomatoes. It’s good, dumb fun if I’ve ever seen it, and that’s all it ever tries to be.
As of this writing, Fatal Instinct is streaming for free on Tubi.
