Single White Female

1992
R
1h 47m

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

43K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer1:47

Psychological Thriller Drama Thriller

A woman advertising for a new roommate finds that something very strange is going on with the tenant who decides to move in.A woman advertising for a new roommate finds that something very strange is going on with the tenant who decides to move in.A woman advertising for a new roommate finds that something very strange is going on with the tenant who decides to move in.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

43K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,129

257

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination

Trivia
The Ansonia on the Upper West Side of Manhattan was used for the apartment building. The interiors were shot on a soundstage, but the scenes in the stairwells were shot at The Ansonia.

Goofs
After Heddy receives the phone call from her father, she hangs up and takes the phone off the hook. As she walks away, a busy signal is heard. Heddy yanks the phone out of the wall, yet a busy signal can still be heard.

Quotes
[Hedy gets a comment from the check cashier girl about her newest hair color]
Check Cashier: What's the part this time?
Hedra Carlson: Excuse me?
Check Cashier: You're an actress, right? You're never the same person twice.
Hedra Carlson: Oh.
Check Cashier: I like it. I just thought the other was more you.
Hedra Carlson: Well, maybe next time I'll try blonde.
Check Cashier: Really? I'm flattered, thanks.

Crazy credits
The opening credits are shown in the form of paper strips.

Alternate versions
For the Indian theatrical release, the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) made cuts for an 'A' (restricted to adults) rating (Certificate #A-2516-MUM).
Reduce by 50% the love-making scene between Allie and Sam (Length Retained: 9.00 ft.)
Delete the visuals of the nude Hedra in the bath-tub.
Delete the visuals of bare breasted Hedra in bed while masturbating.
Reduce by 60% the visuals of the naked Hedra under the shower, deleting her frontal nudity (Length Retained: 7.07 ft.)
Reduce by 60% the visuals of love-making between Hedra and Sam, deleting visuals of her bare breasts (Length Retained: 45.00 ft.).

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Single White Female/Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland/Light Sleeper/Rapid Fire/Diggstown (1992)

Soundtracks
TRIO SONATA IN C, RV 60
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
Performed by The Purcell Quartet
Courtesy of Hyperion Records Ltd.

User reviews139

Review

Featured review

"Hedy's Been Wonderful! I'm Sure She'll Understand!"...

As the title implies, SINGLE WHITE FEMALE is about what happens when an ad for a housemate is answered by someone rather... troubled. Allison (Bridget Fonda) places the ad after her fiance, Sam (Steven Weber), turns out to be a not-so charming prince. Yep, he's been cheating on her.

Enter Hedra "Hedy" Carlson (Jennifer Jason-Leigh), who appears to be the perfect candidate. At first, all goes amazingly well, and the two get along great. Of course, this wouldn't be much of a thriller if everything went peachy. So, it's not long before Sam starts wooing Allison back, and Hedy starts exhibiting some odd quirks and rather unsettling behaviors. Things only get worse from here. What's a woman-gone-berserk to do next? Why, kill everyone in her way, naturally!

SWF came out at a time when similar psychological thrillers were all the rage. Ms.' Fonda and Jason-Leigh are quite good in their roles, with Allison going from clueless to suspicious to fighting for survival, while Hedy goes from seemingly shy to completely bananas! Those who love this sort of movie will love this one. Those who don't, can blame FATAL ATTRACTION.

P.S.- Anyone enamored with the female form will be overjoyed to know that both Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason-Leigh spend relatively lengthy periods of time in their birthday suits!...