By Melissa Antoinette Garza
This came out when the “R” rated stickers on the VHS cases at the rental store would still give me a thrill. Those stickers on a flick like this meant something that the folks nowadays will never understand. You had to be a kid in the ‘90s to truly experience the glory of video rental stores.
Now, I’ve always loved James Spader. Years ago, I had a party in celebration of him. It was called SpaderVasion. It was fucking awesome.
I also have always been absolutely head-over-heels smitten with Susan Sarandon. Her fuck-the-world feminist attitude strikes a chord every time. She goes against every grain and looks fabulous while doing it.
So twelve year-old Missy was over this movie like white on rice back in the day, and truth be known I had great taste even then.
WHITE PALACE (1990) opens when widower, businessman and sexy preppy boy Max (James Spader) enters a burger joint and gets screwed out of six burgers. When he goes back for his money, he meets Nora (Susan Sarandon). She’s an older waitress who looks fab. She’s like 40 and he’s in his 20s, but she rocks it like a motherfucker. They give each other a hard time, but later by coincidence are at the same bar.
Nora is far more forgiving than Max who initially wants nothing to do with her. She insists on buying him a drink. She makes a strong pass and he tries to leave, but then turns to tell her that his wife is dead and she reveals that her son is dead too. This creates a strong bond between them. She asks for a ride home and he agrees to it, reluctantly.
Both are pretty plastered but they make it to her place alive. He decides to stay on the couch because he’s too drunk. Her place is a mess and her life is pretty much a wreck, but so is his – just in a different way. He passes out and has an erotic dream about his dead wife.
In reality, Nora is giving him the blow-job of his life. He wakes up and thinks about stopping her, but decides better of it. She holds him down and takes control as she is a minx and a half. He gets into it and the two have a hot little romp with her on top. She teases him and makes him say please. He obeys. I fucking love this movie. Finally, an older fem goddess gets a little boy toy action with James Fucking Spader! Thank you Hollywood. Why isn’t this a more popular movie? Why is this available NOWHERE digitally. Motherfuckers!
At first, the two believe it to be a one night stand, but their chemistry is too hot to keep them apart. They want each other too much.
The two embark on a roller-coaster relationship of unbridled passion and intense emotion. The issues lie in self-esteem, self-awareness and outside pressures. Nora never feels as though she can live up to the pristine goodie-two shoes image of Max’s ex wife – and THANK GOD FOR THAT! Nora is far more daring and in charge of herself and her sexuality. Fuck Max’s repressed friends, too. And that brings me to his repressed friends who – oh so loved the dead wife. They do everything they can to throw a wrench into the relationship between Max and Nora.
They try to set him up with every boring, rich single gal in the area. It doesn’t work though because Nora is a fucking dynamo in the bed and has a heart of gold. She’s fabulous. She’s a Fem Goddess that just can’t turn it off. I love her. She’s just sad and feels awful, but thru him they both find the peace they crave. Even out of the sack, they work. He shouldn’t fit in at a country bar, but does. She shouldn’t give in so easily every time he fucks up, but she can’t help herself.
Together Max and Nora were able to cope with their depression and out of that darkness came something amazing. They find a kinship and a love with one another that defies convention and normalcy, but works beautifully.
The acting is fabulous, the characters have depth and the story pulls you in and doesn’t let you go. This is a masterpiece. It’s been a favorite of mine for years. It’s sexy, raw and hardcore. It’s hot as hell and doesn’t let you go. The dialogue is sexy and crazy and deep. It’s an intelligent film based on the primal humanity within people that they try to hide in public. Those aspect that are never admitted aloud speak so clearly here. I love everything about it. It speaks to me on a very real level and doesn’t let go. Find this flick. It’s worth the investment.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10
