Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to…
A wealthy heiress in the Hamptons (Meg Tilly) falls for a handsome yacht captain (Rob Lowe), but there are human vultures seeking her fortune. John Glover plays her jerk stepfather while Doug Savant is on hand as a friend from her youth who’s also a local police officer.
"Masquerade" (1988) is a ‘hip’ drama/romance with crime thrills and sweet Long Island locations, not to mention sailing sequences. It bombed at the box office because the studio was in chaos and the president’s wife hated “all that sex,” which resulted in Lowe not starring in another studio film for years.
Aside from Meg on the female front, there’s Kim Cattrall as the yacht-owner’s adulterous wife and Dana Delany as the girlfriend of the stepfather. There are a couple of R-rated sex sequences and the corresponding nudity.
As a plus, there’s a good message on the power of love to redeem a person from corruption. But there’s just so much duplicity going on it’s hard to relate to most of the characters. It’s almost comical how the heiress remains blitheful while evil people are swooping all around her. More reality and less movie-isms would’ve made for a better film. Still, it’s worth checking out if the above piques your interest.
It runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, and was shot on Long Island (Riverhead, Sag Harbor, Shelter Island, Southampton Village and Broadview) with some bits in Manhattan.
GRADE: B-