Compromising Positions (1985)

TOMATOMETER

53%

——

Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.

AUDIENCE SCORE

33%

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Movie Info

Director Frank Perry brings Susan Issacs' comedic whodunit novel to the screen with Susan Sarandon as a Long Island housewife who tries to escape her deadening suburban life by trying to solve the murder of a philandering local dentist. The dentist, Bruce Fleckstein (Joe Mantegna), is the kind of swinging ladies' man who wears gold chains and jazzy clothing. He also arranges to meet his lonely housewife patients in hotel rooms for afternoon quickies. When he is found murdered in his office, the suspects are as numerous as the names in the Nyack telephone directory, especially since Fleckstein had the habit of taking incriminating Polaroid snapshots during his one-on-one sessions. Judith Singer (Sarandon) is an ex-Newsday reporter and bored wife of Bob Singer (Edward Herrmann), a stuffy business executive, and she was one of the last people to see Fleckstein alive. Considered a suspect by police detective David Suarez (Raul Julia), she determines to solve the case herself, interviewing suspects and searching for evidence. If she solves the crime, Judith hopes to write an article about it and get her old job back at the newspaper.

Cast

Joe Mantegna
as Bruce Fleckstein
Susan Sarandon
as Judith Singer
Raul Julia
as David Suarez
Edward Herrmann
as Bob Singer
Judith Ivey
as Nancy Miller
Mary Beth Hurt
as Peg Tuccio
Anne De Salvo
as Phyllis Fleckstein
Deborah Rush
as Brenda Dunck
Josh Mostel
as Dicky Dunck
Joan Allen
as Mary Alice Mahoney
Kaiulani Lee
as Scotty Hughes
Harris Laskaway
as Leader Cop
Tanya Berezin
as Newsday Editor
William Youmans
as Motel Clerk
Amanda Lyons
as Kate Singer
Chris Cunningham
as Joey Singer
Jason Beghe
as Cupcake
Tim Jerome
as Rabbi
Jack Gilpin
as Patrol Car Cop
Bill Cobbs
as Sgt. Williams
Harris Laskawy
as Leader Cop
Jon Polito
as Cop
Paul Butler
as Cop
Pat Harper
as Newscaster
Elkan Abramowitz
as Police Sergeant
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Critic Reviews for Compromising Positions

All Critics (17) | Top Critics (4)

A silly little whodunnit that's a mild embarrassment to all involved.

Oct 30, 2007 | Full Review…
Variety
Top Critic

It's all very humorous and engaging, if only for proving that American whodunits don't have to have car chases and brutality; and it has a wicked eye for the vacuity of middle-class good life and what it may conceal.

Feb 9, 2006 | Full Review…
Time Out
Top Critic

A very mixed bag, but those who've missed a storytelling sense in American movies might want to have a look.

Jan 1, 2000 | Full Review…
Chicago Reader
Top Critic

The movie has such a bitter core, such a distaste for its characters, that I ended up feeling uncomfortable in its company.

Jan 1, 2000 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic

A lightweight but most enjoyable comedy-mystery.

Oct 30, 2007 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
TV Guide

Frank Perry's lackadaisical direction hobbles the forward movement of the story and keeps it from being a funny as it could be.

Aug 21, 2004 | Rating: 2/5
Spirituality and Practice
View All Critic Reviews (17)

Audience Reviews for Compromising Positions

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