By Christopher James
You can’t capture lightning in a bottle twice. Paramount+’s new trip through its catalog is the TV series adaptation of Fatal Attraction, the 1987 blockbuster. In trying to modernize this erotic thriller, this new show impressively falls short in all regards. All of its new additions involve introducing grating new characters or dulling the iconic affair duo with the clunkiest of backstories. Rather than be a new story entirely, Fatal Attraction tries to shoe-in callbacks to the original with all the tact and subtlety of a woman boiling a bunny… oops. Making matters worse, the talented cast is left completely adrift - caught in the uncanny valley of putting their own stamp on iconic characters but unable to shake off imitating Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. In both cases, they are very pale imitations.
In short, Fatal Attraction is an epic misfire across all fields...
The most immediate changes to the original may seem arbitrary, but exemplify the laughable nature of the reboot. The time period has changed, with the affair between Dan Gallagher (Joshua Jackson) and Alex Forrest (Lizzy Caplan) taking place in 2008. This is hard to time to place - it seems more modern than the original, but Alex’s histrionics and the way people around her react all feel decidedly in the past. A second timeline has been added in the present day centered around Dan’s now grown daughter Ellen (Alyssa Jirrels), who must deal with her feelings towards her Father after he gets released from jail… for killing Alex Forrest. “Who killed Alex Forrest” becomes the big mystery of the season, but it’s never a question that feels particularly interesting. In fact, oftentimes we find out key details from the future timeline before they are dramatized in the past, removing any tension from these gratingly long episodes.
Some other big changes include the profession and location of our lead characters. This may seem innocuous - in the film Dan is a New York lawyer and Alex works in publishing, this adaptation puts them in a Los Angeles and in a courtroom. This could be a small detail, but the show feels so committed building out the minutiae of the character’s work lives, rather than their emotional lives. Dan is a hotshot in the district attorney’s office who expects to be promoted to judge. When he doesn’t get the promotion, he goes on a bender which then kicks starts his affair with Alex Forrest, who works in victim services. On the nose much? So much time is devoted to Dan’s professional ambitions and friendship with detective Mike (Toby Huss), who annoyingly chews scenery like some 30s gumshoe detective and plays a key role in the present day investigation to clear Dan’s name. There's also at least a half dozen additional work characters that get fleshed out for little payoff. What gets missed is Dan’s relationship with his seemingly perfect wife Beth, played by Amanda Peet in the show’s strongest performance.
Love it or hate it - the original Fatal Attraction from 1987 was a cultural touchstone. It sparked conversation around affairs, the way men and women interact with one another and sexuality in general. There’s a lot to chew on, particularly around Glenn Close’s performance as Alex Forrest. Though she’s framed as the “mistress from hell,” Close grounds the character in the real world. You can pick the movie apart or delight in the thrill ride. There’s a real, passionate debate that arose from the film, which is why it remains an important cultural touchstone that is specifically tied to 1987. Adapting this story for 2023 is hard for many reasons, but by its nature the story should not remain the same in a modern update. The original is almost purposefully dated, making it an interesting lens to the past. Not only does this show do a bad job recreating the beats of the original film, it reveals nothing about either our current moment or 2008 - the two timelines in the show.
Of course we have to talk about Lizzy Caplan’s Alex Forrest. She won’t be ignored, after all. Yes, Caplan puts all her might into delivering the most iconic lines from the film, her hair getting increasingly curly the more she unravels, as if she were a cartoonish Cruella DeVille. This character’s problematic sendoff in the original could have been undone by a thoughtful reimagining of the story that inspired a whole genre of “X from hell” thrillers. Yes, the show does underline, bold and italicize the fact that Alex Forrest suffers from mental illness. However, it does so with constant reminders that it forgets to make her a competent member of society. Part of what made Close’s Alex so relatable and indelible was that she was a successful single woman who was tired of being taken advantage of. Even with all the mental health disclaimers, the show paints Alex as a cheap horror villain, with some of her actions crossing lines that the original Alex Forrest would say “oh that’s a bit too far.” Lizzy Caplan plays her more like a mythic force of chaos than a real character. Additional layers of backstory, including a “biopic-esque” episode about her childhood, only cheapen her character further.
While Dan is a much simpler part, Joshua Jackson does bring to life the golden retriever quality of Dan in a similar way that Douglas did in the original. One can tell why everyone likes him and why they’d fall all over themselves to be in his orbit. His privilege is critiqued in the present timeline somewhat effectively, but it’s all a bit too late. We see why Dan, finally dealing with a setback, would lash out and have an affair. Yet, Jackson feels less confident in the thornier, more violent moments that Dan exhibits. He should’ve been more willing to get his hands dirty with the character, rather than making him likeable.
Nothing works in this adaptation. The dual timelines deflate tension, rather than build tension. New characters and plot threads distract from the central, torrid affair at the center of the show. As bad as the new elements are, every moment that references the blockbuster original are ham-fisted and groan-worthy. If anything, the added context and backstory for Alex Forrest is clumsy enough that this modern version is more textually retrograde than the original. It’s not modern, it’s not sexy, and most damning, it’s not entertaining. The only audience that the Fatal Attraction TV show will appeal to are catty fans looking for a hate watch. It’s that epic of a miscalculation. Grade: D-
The first three episodes of Fatal Attraction premiere tomorrow, Sunday, April 30th. New episodes will drop weekly on Sundays.