''Fatal Beauty'' is a 1987 American

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

film directed by Tom Holland, and starring

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...

as Detective Rita Rizzoli, and Sam Elliott as Mike Marshak. The screenplay was written by Hilary Henkin and Dean Riesner. The original music score was composed by Harold Faltermeyer. The film was marketed with the tagline "An earthquake is about to hit L.A. It's called Detective Rita Rizzoli."

Plot

LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

detective Rita Rizzoli stages an undercover buy of a new strain of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

called "Fatal Beauty" with dealer Tito Delgadillo, but ruins it by leaving to save her informant Charlene from a beating by her pimp. Delgadillo steals her money and retreats to a warehouse in

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

where Fatal Beauty is manufactured. Two small-time hoods, Leo Nova and Earl Skinner, storm the warehouse and kill the entire gang, unknowingly stealing a botched batch of the drug. Rita later identifies Delgadillo's body and discovers another corpse in a van labeled "Kroll Enterprises." Rizzoli asks to investigate the company's owner Conrad Kroll but is rebuffed by her superior Lt. Kellerman due to Kroll's connections in Californian politics and Rizzoli's botching of her previous drug bust. After Charlene tells Rizzoli that the owner of the warehouse drove a Rolls Royce, she sneaks into Kroll's

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

mansion accusing him of drug dealing. After she is ordered to leave by Kellerman, Rizzoli hears a call for assistance over the scanner involving a standoff at Charlene's house in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. She rushes to the house as a man intoxicated on Fatal Beauty emerges, fires at the police, and remains standing after getting shot due to the potency of the drugs in his system. Rizzoli discovers Charlene dead from an overdose, and after failing to resuscitate her she learns from her young son that she bought the drugs from her new pimp Jimmy Silver. The LAPD discovers Fatal Beauty has a 50% purity and is cut with

phencyclidine Phencyclidine or phenylcyclohexyl piperidine (PCP), also known in its use as a street drug as angel dust among other names, is a dissociative anesthetic mainly used recreationally for its significant mind-altering effects. PCP may cause hall ...

, causing its users to rapidly go insane and die. Rizzoli and her partner Detective Jiminez track down and arrest Jimmy and his supplier Rafael. She gets into a shootout with Nova and Skinner, but is saved by Kroll's bodyguard Mike Marshak. After Rizzoli recovers from a gunshot wound, Marshak convinces her to let him drive her home as Jiminez gets in a shootout with Nova. Rizzoli and Marshak discover that numerous

preteen Preadolescence is a stage of human development following middle childhood and preceding adolescence.New Oxford American Dictionary. 2nd Edition. 2005. Oxford University Press. It commonly ends with the beginning of puberty. Preadolescence is ...

children in Rizzoli's neighborhood are dying from taking Fatal Beauty, including ten of her neighbor Zach Yeager's friends after they were given the drug by his mother Cecille. Rizzoli admits to Marshak that she became addicted to drugs after having a child as a teenager, but recovered after her infant child got into her stash and died. However, she later discovers that Marshak was spying on her for Kroll. After Zack attempts suicide, Cecille informs Rizzoli that her drug dealer Denny Mifflin will be buying Fatal Beauty from Nova and Skinner at Kroll Plaza that night. As Rizzoli prepares to arrest Mifflin Kroll orders Marshak and the rest of his security guards to kill Nova, Skinner and Rizzoli. However, Marshak alerts Rizzoli to their presence in time. In a gunfight Nova and Skinner kill most of Kroll's security guards as well as Kroll, while Rizzoli and Marshak kill Nova and Skinner. As a wounded Marshak is taken aboard an ambulance he tells her that he will likely go to prison for his involvement in Kroll's crimes, and she assures him that she will wait for his release and kisses him.

Cast

as Detective Rita Rizzoli * Sam Elliott as Mike Marshak * Rubén Blades as Detective Carl Jimenez *

Harris Yulin Harris Bart Goldberg (November 5, 1937 – June 10, 2025), known professionally as Harris Yulin, was an American actor who appeared in over a hundred film and television series roles, such as '' Night Moves'' (1975; filmed in 1973) with Gene Hack ...

as Conrad Kroll * John P. Ryan as Lieutenant Kellerman *

Jennifer Warren Jennifer Warren (born August 12, 1941) is an American actress, producer and film director. Early life and education Warren's uncle was Yiddish theatre actor and director Jacob Ben-Ami. Career Warren made her Broadway debut in 1972 in '' 6 Rms ...

as Cecile Jaeger *

Brad Dourif Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Chucky in the ''Child's Play'' franchise (1988–present), portraying Gríma Wormtongue in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series, and his Academy A ...

as Leo Nova * Mike Jolly as Earl Skinner * Charles Hallahan as Sergeant Getz * M. C. Gainey as Detective Barndollar * James LeGros as Zack Jaeger * Celeste Yarnall as Laura * James Smith as Charlie *

Mark Pellegrino Mark Ross Pellegrino (born April 9, 1965) is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work as Lucifer in ''Supernatural'', Paul Bennett in '' Dexter'', Jacob in '' Lost'', James Bishop in '' Being Human'', Clayton H ...

as "Frankenstein" * Neill Barry as Denny Miflin * Clayton Landey as Jimmy Silver * Ebbe Roe Smith as Marty * Walter Robles as Clay * Cathianne Blore as Charlene * Steve Akahoshi as Detective Shigeta *

Larry Hankin Lawrence Alan Hankin (born December 7, 1937) is an American character actor. He has had major film roles as Charley Butts in '' Escape from Alcatraz'' (1979), Ace in '' Running Scared'' (1986), and Carl Alphonse in '' Billy Madison'' (1995). H ...

as Jerry Murphy * Bernie Hern as Mike Weinstein *

Cheech Marin Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin (born July 13, 1946) is an American comedian and actor. He gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s with Tommy Chong, and as Don Johnson's partner, Insp. Joe Dom ...

as The Bartender * David Harris as Raphael * Fred Asparagus as Tito Delgadillo * Gary Carlos Cervantes as Basquel * Emilia Avarza as Candy *

Michael Delorenzo Michael DeLorenzo is an American actor, director, writer, producer, dancer, and musician. He is known for his work in television and film. Early life and education DeLorenzo was raised in The Bronx, New York. His late father, Arthur DeLorenzo, w ...

as "Flaco" * Rick Telles as Epifanio * Prince Hughes as Bubba "Big Bubba" * Michael Champion as "Buzz"

Production

In May 1986,

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

was announced as star. In July 1986,

John Milius John Frederick Milius (; born April 11, 1944) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is considered a member of the New Hollywood generation of filmmakers. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s for writing the scripts for ''The L ...

was working on the script and intending to direct. Cher ended up dropping out to star in ''

Moonstruck ''Moonstruck'' is a 1987 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison and written by John Patrick Shanley. It stars Cher as a widowed Italian-American woman who falls in love with her fiancé's hot-tempered, estranged younger broth ...

''. By November, Tom Holland was attached as director with Whoopi Goldberg to star. MGM/UA had wanted to cast

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

in the role, but Holland fought for Goldberg. Billy Dee Williams was considered for the role of Mike Marshak before Sam Elliott was cast. Filming began on February 23, 1987, in Los Angeles. During the filming of one scene

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agents mistook the production for a real robbery, leading to the real Los Angeles Police Department storming the set. Goldberg and Elliott originally filmed a sex scene, but it was cut from the film after poor reactions from test audiences. Both actors alleged that the scene had been cut because of anxieties about interracial sex, which the studio denied. The

Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the Major film studios, five major film studios of the Cinema of the United States, United States, the Major film studios#Mini-majors, mini-major Amazon MGM Stud ...

originally gave the film an

X rating An X rating is a film rating that indicates that the film contains content that is considered to be suitable only for adults. Films with an X rating may have scenes of graphic violence or explicit sexual acts that may be disturbing or offensive ...

, but it was later reduced to an R rating on appeal. Brad Dourif's performance as the villain led to Holland casting him as Chucky in ''Child's Play''.

Reception

Critical

The film was unpopular with many critics (though

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

gave it a positive review of 3 stars), some of whom considered it a rip-off of ''

Beverly Hills Cop ''Beverly Hills Cop'' is a 1984 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, with a screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr., and story by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr. It stars Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Det ...

'' (which Faltermeyer also scored); others cited a lack of chemistry in the romance between Goldberg and Elliott's characters. Movie historian

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

called it "inexcusably awful, with gratuitous violence and mind-boggling dialogue, using an anti-drug message to rationalize its excesses." ''Fatal Beauty'' holds a score of 18% on

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based on 17 reviews.

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Director Holland later admitted that ''Fatal Beauty'' was an effort to expand his range as a filmmaker beyond the horror genre, but that ''Fatal Beauty'' was a mistake. "Initially," he says today, "they planned to cast

as Rita. But she bowed out early on, which is what I should have done."

Soundtrack

* ''Fatal Beauty'' (soundtrack)

References

External links

* * * {{Tom Holland 1987 films 1980s action thriller films 1987 action comedy films 1980s police comedy films 1980s crime action films 1987 crime thriller films 1980s comedy thriller films American action thriller films American action comedy films American comedy thriller films American crime action films American crime thriller films American crime comedy films 1980s English-language films Films set in Los Angeles American police detective films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films about drugs Films directed by Tom Holland Films scored by Harold Faltermeyer 1980s American films Films shot in Los Angeles Films set in Beverly Hills, California Films about cocaine Films about the illegal drug trade Films about addiction English-language crime comedy films English-language action comedy films English-language action thriller films English-language comedy thriller films Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award–winning films