Scandalous Behavior (2 Stars)

This film, made in 1999 and directed by James Hong, has also been released as "Singapore Sling".

Michelle Drake is engaged to marry Stephen Tanner, the owner of a Texas oil company. While on holiday in Singapore she is arrested for possession of a gun, and she is sentenced to five years in prison. A rich Singapore businessman, Adam Chance, arranges for her to be released on condition that she marries him. For two years they remain together, but Michelle doesn't love him. She runs away and returns to America to her fiance. In her absence Stephen has moved on and is living with his childhood sweetheart, Lisa Blair, but he throws her out when Michelle returns. She doesn't tell him that she is now married.

Michelle might not love Adam, but he loves her. He flies to America and offers to invest 20 million dollars in Stephen's company if he sends Michelle back to Singapore. Stephen's oil wells have run dry and he is deeply in debt, so he doesn't hesitate to accept the offer. After all, he still has Lisa in reserve.

This was the last of four films directed by James Hong, who also plays Adam Chance. I can understand why he hasn't been allowed to direct any more films. The quality is so poor that it's embarrassing. As director he should have planned the shoots better. In some scenes, when the camera switches to another angle the actors are standing in different positions. When the camera returns to the previous angle the actors are back in their old positions. That's messy editing, messy directing, messy everything. The plot is overly complex. My short summary above probably seems complex already, but there are other details and other characters that I didn't mention. There's a romance between Stephen's brother and a strip club owner, attempts to discover new oil, rivalry between the two brothers, a stolen ruby and the escapades of Adam's henchmen. Too much is happening.

The DVD cover emphasises Shannon Tweed, who plays Stephen's ex-girlfriend Lisa, even though she has a relatively small role in the film. As the best known actress she gets her picture on the cover. Shannon's fans will be disappointed.