Michelle Smith

Academy Award(R)-winner Kevin Kline and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio heat up the screen in CONSENTING ADULTS, the spine-tingling sexy thriller that seduced audiences and critics alike. When two couples living next door to each other grow too close, one of the husbands risks everything for a passion he can't resist -- his neighbor's wife. His temptation traps the foursome in a shocking web of betrayal and murder. And now accused of a crime he didn't commit, he must race against time to save his family from a shocking fate.

Academy Award(R)-winner Kevin Kline and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio heat up the screen in CONSENTING ADULTS, the spine-tingling sexy thriller that seduced audiences and critics alike. When two couples living next door to each other grow too close, one of the husbands risks everything for a passion he can't resist -- his neighbor's wife. His temptation traps the foursome in a shocking web of betrayal and murder. And now accused of a crime he didn't commit, he must race against time to save his family from a shocking fate.

Consenting Adults, a psychological thriller involving manipulation and deception, is an average thriller, short on plot development but not helped by a good cast and some potentially interesting plot twists. Composer Richard Parker (Kevin Kline) and his wife Priscilla (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) live an ordinary suburban life until they meet their new neighbors Eddy (Kevin Spacey) and Kay (Rebecca Miller). The two couples become friends until some mate-swapping is suggested by the men. However, when Richard, with Eddy's consent and cooperation, sneaks into Kay's bedroom, he finds her brutally murdered. He is charged with the crime and must prove his innocence. The film fails primarily because of the unbelievably stupid mistakes that Richard makes which destroy the film's credibility and the overly languid direction by Alan J. Pakula which destroys what suspense has been created. Kline is not particularly convincing in his role of the man unjustly accused, and the usually excellent Spacey is totally wasted in an unbelievable, but showy role. Consenting Adults is a formula thriller which could have benefitted from more energetic pacing and a better script.