OUT OF SIGHT (1998)

What I remember of this movie from the first time I saw it was the amazing cinematography.Watching Out of Sight again, I still think one of the more sensual aspects of this film is that it is beautifully shot with lots of bright colors and great transitions.It also has a great script with sharp dialogue reminiscent of old movies (think Hepburn and Tracy).This would be a terrible review if I did not mention the star power of Clooney and Lopez.Each has an air of sensuality on their own, but together they made a perfect match for this movie.

Immediately I notice that George Clooney has only gotten better looking as he has gotten older.He is still dashing in this movie but I actually prefer him with a little more grey in his hair and a little more weight on his face.George plays a robber any teller would want to be held up by, smiling the whole time he’s screwing you.Jack Foley been robbing banks since age 18, and coming out of his mouth it sounds like a hot profession.He cannot even remember how many banks he has robbed, but the record shows it’s over 200.Visions of being Bonnie to his Clyde dance through my head.

I hate guns, but in Jennifer Lopez’s hands it becomes a beautiful instrument.This was Jennifer before she was J. Lo or Jenny from the Block – before her movies became a joke. Jennifer plays a gorgeous cop from Miami – and not gorgeous in the almost too perfect way that she is now as J. Lo.As Detective Sisco, Jennifer Lopez is beautiful in a natural way that I think is more sensual than the dolled up, honey haired, plucked to perfection pop icon she is now.Lest we forget in reviewing these films, usually the most sensual leading ladies are those who are natural, believable characters.

A few scenes stand out in this move and by reviewing them here, I give you a glimpse of the sensuality Out of Sight has to offer.

Break out.Jack Foley comes out of the ground all dirty and confidant and hops right into the trunk with Karen Sisco.It’s a tight fit, and he swings the flashlight curiously over her curvaceous body.The dialogue is smart and snappy, just like old time romance movies.Even though the good gal is stuck with the bad guy, they get to know each other.“We didn’t have that thing, that spark…” Jack says as he snaps his fingers against Karen’s side, telling her about his ex-wife (who, by the way, is played by Catherine Keener who encapsulates my idea of the average woman’s sensuality).He speaks into her ear and you can imagine his hot breath against her neck.They talk about movies and she smiles in spite of herself.“You sure are easy to talk to.Let’s say we met under different circumstances,” and you imagine running into Jack in a bar - what kind of clever pick up line would he try to use?No matter how cheesy, I think I would totally fall for it, all because of that sly smile and those twinkling eyes.Just when you think Jack and Karen are about to hit it off, they reach their destination.“You win Jack,” she breathes from the trunk.With that ends the first leg of their journey.

Wet dream. Karen slowly walks down the hall of a brightly painted hotel complex.She knows where Jack is hiding out.Slowly and cautiously she enters the apartment.She looks around and sees steam coming out of an open door.She pauses and stares at Jack relaxing in a tub with his eyes closed.She approaches and looks at him hungrily, this time it is her turn to let her eyes run the length of his body.She holds the gun at his head but suddenly he looks up and grabs her hand, pulling her over his wet body into a sensual kiss.She leans down into the bathtub, straddling him and kissing Jack passionately.Nice dream.

An Interlude.A woman is dressed simply, in a green sweater with her hair swept up though a few pieces hang in her face.Outside the window, snow falls gently as she sips her bourbon and resists the advances of a few jerks.Staring wistfully out the window, suddenly a man’s figure appears flicking a lighter.She recognizes this man and he offers to buy her a drink, she invites him to sit and they engage in flirtatious banter.She wants to pretend she’s meeting a stranger, but she can’t deny their connection.Snow continues to fall and lights from the city twinkle in the background.They share the bourbon

“Does this make any sense to you,” she asks.He replies, “It doesn’t have to, it’s just something that happens.It's like seeing someone for the first time when you’re passing on the street, and you look at each other for a few seconds, and there's this kind of recognition like you both know something. Next moment the person's gone, and…and it's too late to do anything about it. But you always remember it because it was there and you let it go and you think to yourself ‘What I had stopped, what if I had said something.What if?What if?And it may only happen a few times in your life.”

The music changes to something sexier.They move into a spacious hotel room with large windows.The lighting is dim.His hands brush her hands, then her legs, and her hair.The rush of the bourbon must be going to their heads, warming their insides.Their exchanges are breathier, as if filled with anticipation of what will happen next.They gaze at each other intensely.The snow keeps falling dreamily.What happens next is sexy.It starts slowly, and builds but the intimacy is in the subtlety of the scene – the touches, the dialogue.We don’t need loads of bumping and grinding to feel the sexuality of this scene – it’s all layered there in the tones and the close ups of their glances and in their movements towards each other.I thought this scene was very, very sensual.

On that note, I hope I’ve enticed you enough to check out the film in its entirety.