Fatal Beauty Reviews

One of several failed attempts to adapt Whoopi Goldberg's unique persona to Hollywood formula. Rita Rizzoli (Goldberg) is a police detective with a personal vendetta against drug dealers. When a dangerously pure drug known as "Fatal Beauty" hits the street, Rizzoli goes after narcotics kingpin Conrad Kroll (Harris Yulin) and runs afoul of his security force, chieftained by Mike Marshak (Sam Elliott). Through political connections, Kroll gets her off the case, but assigns Marshak to keep an eye on her. This, of course, forces the two to get close. A few good cameos dot the film's landscape, most notably by Cheech Marin, and there's a standout performance here by Catherine Blore as a prostitute who dies as a result of an overdose. If the screenplay had punctuated the carnage with a few quiet moments, there might have been enough contrast to make the action more palatable. But director Tom Holland handles action reasonably well and obviously feels more comfortable with guns and crashing vehicles than human beings.