Derek Charles (Idris Elba, American Gangster) is living the dream of many a man; beau coup money, two fancy cars, a big new house and Beyoncé Knowles (Dreamgirls) as his wife, Sharon. Everyone knows Derek is a great guy with a perfect life, except the new temp, Lisa (Ali Larter, House on Haunted Hill). Lisa knows his life would be better if he'd just dump wifey and love her psychotic ass.
Elba gives a top-notch performance despite rumors of his regret for doing the project. Larter gives off a sexual predator vibe naturally. You'd hate to be trapped in a dark corner with her...actually, you'd love it until she goes all whack-a-doo over you. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Bey proved she's taken an acting lesson or two. Granted, her Houston twang defies the fact that Sharon was born in San Diego; maybe there's a Texas District in the city.
However, the story isn't without its problems. Derek is a bit of a bitch when it comes to women. He lets Lisa get way too carried away, and Sharon dictates terms to him as the problem explodes. Derek needed to run his house! Obsessed focuses on the Derek dilemma in the first two acts only to pull a bait-and-switch with a Bey-centric third act. That would be acceptable if we knew anything specific about Sharon other than she's a housewife who unpacks furniture in four-inch stilettos. Frankly, you enter the Sharon-Lisa confrontation with more emotional investment in the cuckoo blonde bitch, which is just weird. However, it's not as weird as the final frame focusing on Mrs. J Hova, cutting off Elba's mug in the process. WTF?
I went into Obsessed with LOW expectations and had them surpassed. A fun and forgettable film with enough pretty people to make it fairly painless.
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