Taglines: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.
Consenting Adults movie storyline. Composer Richard Parker and his wife Priscilla live an ordinary suburban life until they meet their new neighbors Eddy and Kay Otis. The two couples became friends. Kay’s talent for blues singing gets Richard’s attention, and Eddy is attracted to Priscilla. It becomes clear that Eddy is a scam artist who fakes a neck injury after an auto accident for the insurance proceeds, the majority of which he offers to the Parkers as a gift. Eddy chastises Richard for not living dangerously, and suggests they swap mates for an evening.
The plot takes a nasty turn when Richard does sleep with Kay (supposedly without her realizing that he is not her husband) and Kay turns up bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat the next morning. Later, it is revealed that Eddy spent the night elsewhere in order to establish an airtight alibi. Richard’s fingerprints are on the bat (the two couples having played a friendly game of softball earlier that day) and his semen is found in her body, so he is charged with the crime. Insult is added to injury as Priscilla disowns and divorces Richard due to his infidelity. Eddy soon becomes Priscilla’s lover and a substitute father to Richard’s child.
A distraught Richard finally finds a ray of hope when he discovers that Kay is alive, recognizing her voice singing in a radio talent show. With the help of a private investigator hired by the insurance company from which Eddy is attempting to collect a $1.5 million indemnity claim, Richard tracks her down and learns the truth of how he was betrayed. Kay is guilt-ridden over her part in it, but terrified at Eddy’s threat to implicate her if she testifies. Eddy, anticipating what Richard intends to do next, murders Kay and slips away. Implicated in a second murder, Richard must now flee the scene as police sirens approach.
Consenting Adults is a 1992 American mystery crime-thriller film directed by Alan J. Pakula, and stars Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Kevin Spacey and Rebecca Miller. The original music score was composed by Michael Small. The film’s tagline is: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.”
Consenting Adults (1992)
Directed by: Alan J. Pakula
Starring: Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Kevin Spacey, Rebecca Miller, E. G. Marshall, Forest Whitaker, Kimberly McCullough, Benjamin Hendrickson, Billie Neal
Screenplay by: Matthew Chapman
Production Design by: Carol Spier
Cinematography by: Stephen Goldblatt
Film Editing by: Sam O’Steen
Costume Design by: Gary Jones, Ann Roth
Set Decoration by: Gretchen Rau
Art Direction by: Alicia Keywan
Music by: Michael Small
MPAA Rating: R for sexuality, and for violence and language.
Distributed by: Hollywood Pictures
Release Date: October 16, 1992
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