In 1986, Richard Gere and Kim Basinger generated serious on-screen heat handcuffed together running through the swamps of Louisiana in "No Mercy". Six years later, they were simply handcuffed by a predictable screenplay in FINAL ANALYSIS.
Gere seems to be calling it in a bit as psychiatrist Issac Barr, perhaps the least self-aware analyst in California.
One of his patients is Diana, played nicely by a very young Uma Thurman. She suggests that Issac meet her sister Heather, saying that she might be able to shed some additional light on Diana's problems.
Heather (Kim Basinger, better than the rest of the cast) enters like a prowling panther, seducing Issac into breaking ethics rules by sleeping with her.
Suddenly Issac is drawn into a confusing and messy murder and inheritance scheme that's supposed to seem clever, but it just serves to remind you of much better movies like "Body Heat" or "Double Indemnity".
It's so blatant in its attempts to ripoff the locations, look and feel of Hitchcock's masterpiece "Vertigo" that it grown tiresome. It's offensive to even reference Hitch's best work when you're bringing nothing new to the party.
Eric Roberts appears in one of his "didn't he always kind of play the same part in the 90's" bad guy roles, but at least he manages to squeeze in some intensity.
It is fun for "CSI" fans to see Paul Guilfoyle, who played serious Jim Brass on that show for many years, display a lot more humor (and hair!) than he ever did investigating crimes in Las Vegas.
One of the key pieces of the plot is so obvious that it couldn't have been more obvious if you had a flashing arrow on it pointing at the evidence.
In the final analysis, there's not much mystery here, just a lot of wasted talent and a ho-hum tale. We'll give it and its "now what the hell is that supposed to mean?" final scene a dull C.
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