Often dull, filled with unsympathetic characters and with some rather ludicrous twists along the way, The Hot Spot is a big disappointment. The story revolves around Harry Madox, a mysterious loner who shows up in a small Texas town and immediately gets a job as a car salesman. Before long he's carrying on an affair with the boss' wife while simultaneously falling for the beautiful young woman who works at the car dealership. In his spare time he robs a bank and despite the fact he'll be the obvious suspect he doesn't immediately leave town. Smart enough to rob a bank, not smart enough to leave afterwards. That's just the first of what will soon be many annoying and unbelievable plot contrivances. So our "hero" is soon arrested but then freed for no good reason. And then things devolve even further as Madox, the two women in his life and a slimy deadbeat who lives on the outskirts of town all become tangled up in a big web of nonsense. The whole thing strains credulity and it's rather boring to boot.
Playing Madox, Don Johnson gives a rather wooden performance. As the young, seemingly innocent woman whom Madox falls for Jennifer Connelly is not bad but not great either. It is obvious that as an actress she had not quite honed her craft just yet. The character of the deadbeat is a bizarre one and playing the role William Sadler comes off as almost laughable when he's supposed to be mysterious and menacing. Probably the best performance comes from Virginia Madsen as the scheming, unfaithful wife but her character is so unsympathetic it's hard to fully appreciate Madsen's work. And there's really not much else to appreciate. The plot is weak, uninteresting and at times unbelievable. The film moves so slowly at times it seems to come to a dead stop. The lead characters are, Connelly's role excepted, entirely unsympathetic. There is nothing to hold the interest and the whole thing leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Disappointing all around.
Playing Madox, Don Johnson gives a rather wooden performance. As the young, seemingly innocent woman whom Madox falls for Jennifer Connelly is not bad but not great either. It is obvious that as an actress she had not quite honed her craft just yet. The character of the deadbeat is a bizarre one and playing the role William Sadler comes off as almost laughable when he's supposed to be mysterious and menacing. Probably the best performance comes from Virginia Madsen as the scheming, unfaithful wife but her character is so unsympathetic it's hard to fully appreciate Madsen's work. And there's really not much else to appreciate. The plot is weak, uninteresting and at times unbelievable. The film moves so slowly at times it seems to come to a dead stop. The lead characters are, Connelly's role excepted, entirely unsympathetic. There is nothing to hold the interest and the whole thing leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Disappointing all around.