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Consenting Adults might just as well have been called "Dangerous Desire", for it belongs to that category of more or less erotic thrillers which, with a thinly veiled wagging finger, moralise about lecherous men or women who come to a terrible end if they are unfaithful and deceitful towards their families.

Richard Parker lives a quiet life with his wife Priscilla and his little daughter Lori. That the flame of love no longer burns very intensely is something Richard really notices when he and Priscilla get to know their new, sociable neighbours, Eddy and Kay Otis, who lead a far more eventful and apparently happy life. The two couples spend a lot of time together, and Eddy and Richard gradually become so close that Eddy dares to make a proposal: the men are to swap wives for a night. At first Richard won't hear of it, but when Priscilla indirectly encourages him (or so he thinks!), and he is very attracted to the beautiful Kay, he takes the bait. The next morning Kay is found murdered, and Richard is framed for the murder.

Consenting Adults constantly hints that the smooth and overly friendly Eddy is not on the level, so it comes as no surprise that he is the cold-blooded murderer. Eddy has devised the cunning plan that makes Richard the scapegoat and himself the beneficiary of the deceased's considerable life insurance. Eddy has not, however, reckoned with Richard, who has no intention of sitting idly by while everything is taken from him, including his wife and child, whom Eddy takes over. To no one's surprise it can be revealed that Eddy gets his comeuppance and that Richard has surely learnt his lesson.

Kevin Spacey is convincing as the scheming psychopath, but given his behaviour the couple really ought to have seen through him rather sooner. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, on the other hand, has never been seen so dull, but at least it is credible that the couple are in a marriage of habit.

Consenting Adults is exciting enough, but it is not wholly successful. There are too many holes in the plot, which is also reminiscent of something you have seen a hundred times before.