Obsessed

Movies about crazy female stalkers are kinda awesome. The storyline in these movies is typically along the lines of: happily married man or happy single man meets crazy female stalker; crazy female stalker is highly attractive, intriguing, and flirty; man flirts, and in some cases strays, but is ultimately "committed" to his wife or girlfriend; crazy female stalker goes, well, crazy, and must be killed. Bummer.

Obsessed is no exception. Idris Elba (aka Stringer Bell on The Wire) is happily married to Beyonce. Ali Larter is the crazy female stalker, and did a nice job. The acting and chemistry by/between Larter and Elba was great throughout the movie. Not surprisingly, Beyonce was terrible (to the point where I wonder if she stalked producers/the director to get the part). She completely over-dramatizes all of her lines, which makes her look and sound ridiculous, but also makes you burst out laughing when you least expect it in a really fun way. At the end of the day, Beyonce keeps her man, but not without a lengthy catfight from Larter.

In my view, the best crazy female stalkers are (1) Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction; (2) Alicia Silverstone in The Crush; (3) Rebecca De Morney in The Hand that Rocks the Cradle; (4) Erika Christensen in Swimfan; and (5) Mel in Flight of the Concords. Although my attempts to stalk anyone would be more in line with Mel's than anyone else on the list, I secretly envy the hot, crazy female stalker because she has no fear of rejection. Can you imagine walking around like that? Hitting on normal men is not easy for a dork like me, but hitting on men who act like they are so annoyed with you that they want to kill you? That must be especially challenging, particularly if you are shy to begin with. I admire the crazy female stalker's ability to look good and act sexy, even in the face of rejection.

I wasn't always a fan though. As a kid, I never related to the crazy female stalker character - her motives and means were way too bizarre to me and I was repulsed by her ("how can she be so pretty, but so desperate?" I thought to myself). As I have grown older, however, I can't help but sympathize with the crazy female stalker in a strange kind of way. What really distinguishes the crazy female stalker from the rest of us is her poor sense of perspective in choosing her means in pursuing her love interest, something most women can't brag about anyways. Yes, the crazy female stalker uses strange and often violent means, but for movie purposes they are dramatic and entertaining. For example, in Obsessed, these include sexy breaking and entering, catfighting, sexting, and getting a guy intoxicated and then "taking advantage of him." I have never had the courage to do any of the above, but Larter made them look easy and good. I recommend this movie for laughs and will add Larter to my list.