BasicLogic Gee, this 1990 movie is now viewed in February 2018, time really really flies, dude. Look at the cast who were in 1990, Jesus, all of them looked so young and so beautiful: James Spader, Wow, what a handsome dude! But now in "The Blacklist", now quite so. Jason Alexander, he still got full thick hair in 1990 (or he's already wearing wig, because in "Seinfeld" he was already as bald as a bald eagle!) Kathy Bates, still such a beautiful, attractive even sexy woman. Susan Sarandon, my my, she might be the only person who didn't change too much, because she still looked pretty sexy in "Ray Donovan (2017)". What an evergreen woman she is!The Nora Baker role she played lived in a dump, a typical slob who lost the will and interest to live well. I just wonder why I didn't see cockroaches in that house. Why I didn't see cockroaches crawling on Max Baron's drunken body..."When is the last you had a date?" "What if I told you I wasn't interested in getting laid right now?" "Interest in getting laid is the human condition. For Christ's sake, Max. It's all around you..."Then, INSHALLA, he just got laid that night! Good for him!

srdipaling The year this came out, I was a freshman in college and, at eighteen and not exactly "seasoned" in the cinematic viewing experience, had not too long before saw Pretty Woman and fell head-over-heels in love with Julia Roberts. I would've seen anything(and I mean ANYTHING) she was in back then. So when an acquaintance--really, a friend of a friend of mine living in the dorms--one night heard me glow over that movie, he scoffed at that and said that it wasn't as good as White Palace, which had just come out recently, in terms of the love scenes and scenarios involved.That stuck with me for a long time, LONG past my infatuation with Miss Roberts, and when I would years later, read another(sadly,I believe the last)novel from Glenn Savan, the author of the book for which White palace was adapted, I was so impressed with it that I decided that if I had a chance to catch White Palace, I would.Just recently, I ran across a copy at the local Video store, and while I probably SHOULD'VE bought it(it was going VERY cheap), I instead rented it and finally checked it out. While I cannot say I was overly impressed with the WHOLE package of the movie, I WAS taken by the chemistry between James Spader(as a numbed, still-grieving widower architect) and Susan Sarandon(as a Burger joint waitress/cashier whose blythe spirit veils an unhappy past of her own)and found the interpersonal dynamic of the two characters interesting. I cannot help but feel that there may've been layers to the novel and story that were truncated(and thus shorting potentially interesting story buttresses such as Jason Alexander as Spader's longtime and newly married pal and the keen, palmist sister of Sarandon's played by the late Eileen Brennan)in order to focus in on the meet, date, escalation, conflict and resolution of the romance/relationship between Max(Spader) and Nora(Sarandon).Overall, an appealing, sexy story that might lack the "zazz" of a Pretty Woman or Ghost(the two biggies of calendar year 1990), but a very worthy--if not superior--offering in regards to a romance movie. I feel like if I ever spoke to that gentleman again, I'd say that while White Palace ISN'T quite everything I might've wanted to see when I was eighteen, it was a much better "grown-up" movie. And I'd say it DOES compare favorably.

writers_reign There are many occasions when I feel that I've been watching a different movie from the majority of people who submit a review to IMDb so it's very pleasant to be able to endorse the other positive opinions for this really fine film. I saw it when it was released, loved it and went back with a friend, now I've just found it on DVD, watched it and find it stands up really well. It is, of course, a given that Susan Sarandon is an exceptional actress who can do sensuous with one boob behind her back and here she delivers one of her all-time great performances and though she doesn't need them it does no harm that she is supported by a fine cast, not least Eileen Brennan as her sister. James Spader is also spot on as the twenty-seven year old yuppie widower who falls genuinely in love with Sarandon's forty-three year old waitress at the eponymous White Palace(clearly based on the White Castle hamburger chain). In that respect the film celebrates the power of love to span social divides and sixteen year age gaps so that the observations on St. Louis society are merely a bonus. It's the kind of film the French churn out by the yard and Hollywood manages all too rarely. solid and indisputable nine out of ten.

ksentsova I can't help saying: this movie has the best erotic scene of cinema forever!.. I have never seen anything like this. It's done so emotionally, hotly, touchingly..! Spader/Sarandon's pairing here is absolutely amazing.. Everyone is writing here about excellent acting of Susan Sarandon here, I agree, but I want to say about James Spader. In this movie his performing is brilliant, he looks very convincingly in the role of young Jewish guy, white-collar worker, who is trying to cope with the loss of his beloved wife. The scene when Nora is "attacking" him in a bar is filmed so carefully.. There isn't any superfluous movement, any false look.. Everything is perfect. And then, at Nora's place, first he looks so vulnerable and so protected at the same time.. And it's so hot to watch how he is giving in gradually. I regret that young James Spader hadn't been filmed enough by really good directors and in the pairings with really high-class actresses, like here, in "White palace". I think cinema hasn't realized completely his fantastic potential. I strongly recommend this movie for everyone who likes good psychological drama with very good erotic scenes..