Favor, The MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +1 1/2 Content: -2

Kathy (Harley Jane Kozak) has it all; a loving husband, two darling daughters and a nice home. She also has a best friend, Emily (Elizabeth McGovern), a single career woman who shares with Kathy the details of her romantic interludes. Emily is presently involved with Elliott (Brad Pitt), a talented artist about ten years younger than she. Each woman secretly longs for the other's lifestyle. In fact, Kathy tells Emily her fantasies about her high school boy friend who lives in Denver. When Emily tells Kathy she has a business trip scheduled for Denver, Kathy insists she look up Tommy (Kenneth Wahl), seduce him and come back and give Kathy all the details. As any good friend would do, Emily obliges, but when she begins to tell Kathy about the incident, Kathy becomes furious. Needless to say, Peter (Bill Pullman), Kathy's husband, hasn't a clue as to what is wrong. He suspects she is having an affair with Elliott. The real action becomes so corny, the awful fantasy scenes begin to look better.

These fantasy scenes feature Kathy and Tommy in passionate embraces in public places, at her husband's funeral, and on dark streets. In real life, however, Kathy and Peter are loving, church-going and very much involved in their children's activities. Emily ends up pregnant and still single. We are never sure who the father is, Kathy's old boyfriend or Elliott. Emily and Elliott are shown in bed together once with sex implied. The two close friends frequently engage in explicit sexual conversations, and we get to watch as they perform a do-it-yourself pregnancy test. One completely superfluous scene of the two women in a prenatal class for pregnant women features, among others, a New Age guru type leader and lesbian partners. When Kathy sneaks off to Denver to look up Tommy, she wears a very revealing cocktail dress to a muddy fishing camp. Though there are several obscenities and a few profanities, the offensive language is rather restrained for an R-rated movie. THE FAVOR will find little favor among those seeking quality entertainment.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Orion Pictures Corp., 1325 Avenue of the Americas, NY, NY 10019