When a producer selects the actors and actresses for a film, it's usually in his mind what he is looking for. The selection Mr. Carl Reiner made in this film "Fatal Instinct" is nothing short of incredible. Taking a cue from the film parried here ( Fatal Attraction) from the moment it begins, you will begin laughing, so one had better have a good grip on his chair. Whoever selected straight actors or at least actors with a serious streak to do comedy knew they were trolling for gold. What they achieved is memorable in various films, like airplane and Horror Movie. In this hilarious offering, Reiner combines the works of the 1950's black/white films with modern murder venues. Armand Assante is incredible as Ned Ravine, super sleuth and lawyer. Sherilyn Fenn as Laura Lincolnberry, Kate Nelligan is Lana Ravine and Sean Young playing Lola Cain. All take the hero for a mind-bending spin and spoofs and succeed. However, the best selection for real comedy out of his element is none other than James Remar (The Warriors) , who plays, Max Shady. The outcome is fantastic. You've got to see this film for all it's humor. ***

Carl Reiner, a man that knows about comedy, is the man behind this spoof on the noir genre. Mr. Reiner, working here with David O'Malley's screen play, has created a film that parodies movies like "Double Indemnity", "Basic Instinct", and "Fatal Attraction", among others, with great style.

The result is a film with some clever lines spoken by the cast as though they are acting in the prototype movies that Mr. Reiner is spoofing, with great panache. Not everything works, but when it does, the fun never seems to stop making us laugh.

The cast Mr. Reiner assembled is up to the task. Armand Assante is excellent as Ned Ravine, a man who is a policeman and lawyer and who does some excellent dancing in those red stiletto shoes his character seems to love. Sherilyn Fenn is the loyal secretary Laura. Kate Nelligan does an excellent imitation of Barbara Stanwyck as the scheming wife, Lana. Sean Young has some good moments in the film.

"Fatal Instinct" is a film to watch with a lot of friends. Mr. Reiner shows why he has been one of the best comic writers in America.

Nice cast in a sometimes very funny spoof of erotic thrillers that were appearing at the time. Beginning with "Body Heat" in 1981, you could pick one adjective from Column A and one noun from Column B. From Column A: Fatal, Basic, Dangerous, Lethal, or Deadly. From Column B: Affair, Instinct, Liaisons, or Encounters. And then there was the anomalous "Poisonous Panties: The True Story of the Victoria's Secret Murders." This hectic farce rips off scenes and themes from innumerable noirish thrillers with base overtones. I caught "Double Indemnity," "Body Heat," "Sleeping With The Enemy," "The Maltese Falcon," "The Postman Always Rings Twice." I'm not showing off. It's easy. And I'm sure I missed some. The "Airplane" people and those who produced this imitation of imitations -- a kind of meta-imitation -- must have just about run out of gags because there haven't been that many recently.

There's no reason to outline the plot. It has something to do with a wife's wanting to kill her husband for insurance but the plot is pulled apart by so many exotic allusions and so much word play, so many quips and monstrous metaphors, so many catachreses and zeugmas and whatnot, that it's often forgotten and just as well. Not that it's a masterpiece of literary play. People are always falling down stairs and doing forward flips for little discernible reason. We're not talking Oscar Wilde, but the dialog is pretty funny. I should have taken notes but, as it is, I can't recall any lines. My short-term memory is getting shoddy. I think my brain is turning to tofu and I may leave it to the American Culinary Institute for analysis.

Two observations though. One is that Armand Assante is an excellent comic character. I wouldn't have expected it from him. He put his arrant masculinity to ridiculous use. And Sean Young, for all her off-screen foibles, is a delicious creature, all cream and pearl.

I think you'll enjoy this unless you're in an irretrievably dark mood.