Stealing Candy (2002)

She's Hot. Film's Not.

STEALING CANDY is high concept, low-quality junk. It's from the director of COMMANDO (mid-80's hit with Schwartzeneger), which was also junk, and seeing how far Mark Lester has fallen is no surprise.

The plot I'm sure looked great on B-movie paper, and the promise of getting the attractive Jenya Lano to shed her clothes and go at it on camera probably is what has propelled this to direct-to-dvd hit. And you do get to see Ms. Lano in all her gorgeous glory. If that's what you're after, purchase away.

But the rest of the movie is basically a limp life-support system for this one commercial element. Stupid twists and terrible scene-chewing abound. To be clear, it's not horridly unprofessional in it's execution. This is a compotently made film, technically. But creatively, it's sad. Best to rent this and just fast-forward to the boobies, if that's indeed what one is after. October 7, 2008

Flawed but very enjoyable

Stealing Candy certainly isn't a "perfect" film, but for what it is, it's not at all bad--it kept me more than entertained, it was both sexy and thrilling, filled with tension, and the twists were done well.

The most obvious flaws are technical, but this is clearly a low budget film. Either the original film or the DVD transfer is "low definition" rather than high, and too many times it's obvious that the cinematography goes a bit out of focus. It has almost a home video texture--for a moment, I was afraid that this was going to be a no-budget stinker.

But the script is good, the performances are fun (if a bit campy, but I like that), and Mark Lester is a capable director. It helps that Jenya Lano is incredibly sexy in this, but the thrust of Stealing Candy is a crime-thriller film with a twist--in ways reminiscent of the superior Suicide Kings (1997), but without the black comedy.

That might seem to suggest that Stealing Candy is derivative, and that wouldn't be wrong--aside from Suicide Kings, it has similarities to many other films, including another excellent heist-gone-wrong flick, Killing Zoe (1994). Most oddly on this end is that scorer Dana Kaproff must have been commanded by Lester to, "Write something that sounds like Bernard Herrmann here", and you could swear that the result doesn't just sound Herrmannian, but that it was actually lifted from a Hitchcock film. That's one of many things that telegraphs some twists to come, but Lester pretty skillfully "misdirects" us from expecting particular twists, too.

At any rate, if you're someone who subtracts major points for derivativeness and lack of technical polish, approach Stealing Candy with caution, but if you're like me--you do not demand that films belong to the cult of originality and you enjoy a bit of cheese in your thrillers (we even get the cheesiest Baldwin brother here, Daniel--I'm a big fan of the Baldwin brothers' work), then this is worth a watch. November 11, 2007

Jenya Lano is the eye "CANDY" here!

Low-budget doesn't always mean bad, and this 2002 direct-to-video effort is better than you might expect. While it has some nudity, it also has a decent plot and competent acting, so it rises above being simply a sexplotation film. In fact, the nudity and sex are minimal and tasteful, and simply required by the plot.

Three ex-cons devise the ultimate safe score; kidnap a popular actress and make millions by forcing her to have live sex on the Internet. Things don't go as planned, of course, and some neat plot twists lead to an interesting ending. Decent enough to be worth a watch. December 31, 2005

Not Everyone is a Stranger to Candy

"Stealing Candy" is another modest budget crime thriller with a twist at the end. These twists are becoming so obligatory that it is about time one of these movies tried the unexpected and did not include a twist. That would truly be a shocking ending.

Whatever budget they had for this did not translate into anything interesting from a production design perspective. A group of friends could have shot this one weekend at their homes. Technically it is a solid production although very little is attempted. The gun play looks realistic enough.

Despite having talents as enormous as Pamela Anderson's, Jenya Lano is actually a very good actress. Her scenes in "Stealing Candy" are entertaining. Lano is my all time favorite "Xena" bad girl and now has a fairly regular part on "Charmed". Unfortunately she is only on screen for about a third of the movie. Daniel Baldwin, Coolio, and Alex McArthur seem very awkward with each other.

Don't rush out to buy or rent this but it's an OK diversion.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
May 24, 2005

A GOOD SUSPENSE FLICK WITH A GOOD ENDING

THREE EX-CONS [ALEX MCARTHUR, COOLIO, AND DANIEL BALDWIN] KIDNAP A FAMOUS ACTRESS WITH THE INTENT OF MAKING HER HAVE SEX LIVE ON THE INTERNET. GOOD MOVIE. HAS GOOD ACTING, GOOD SUSPENSE, AND GOOD STORY. I ADVISE SUSPENSE FANS TO GET DOWN TO THEIR LOCAL VIDEO STORE AND RENT THIS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID RENT THIS. July 13, 2004

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