I don't know. The first time I saw this, years ago, I thought it was pretty exciting but it hasn't held up well on a second viewing. It's essentially the story of Yuppie James Spader who meets the charming, but vicious and clever Rob Lowe, and is led astray by him.

An office rival of Spader's plays a computer trick on him that derails his coming promotion. Spader swallows his resentment and goes to a bar in Manhattan Beach -- Los Angeles, that is. Nursing his sullenness, he is insulted and ordered to get out by some ill-mannered greaseball. He's about to comply when a stranger, Lowe, bashes the bruiser and throws HIM out. Welcome, friend.

From Lowe, Spader learns not only to stand on his own two feet but to play dirty. He hijacks his office rival's computer and forces the miscreant to straighten out the kink in Spader's account. (In "Wolf," Spader would play the office rotter to Jack Nicholson's turning worm.) The things get a little out of hand. Not only does Spader learn to get even with his enemies. Lowe gets him stoned and drunk and takes him out on a wildly criminal spree involving the hold up of a couple of convenience stores and the savage beating of Spader's rival.

This is a turning point for Spader, as it was for Farley Granger in Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train." Lowe has been crashing at Spader's apartment and Spader throws him out. It doesn't work too well. Lowe is forward-looking and has amassed evidence of Spader's debauchery, including a video of Spader boffing a young lady to whom Lowe introduced him. Lowe shows up at a party at the house of Spader's fiancée and manages to have the tape played for the enjoyment of the entire family and assembled well-dressed guests. Then, as if that weren't enough, Lowe bashes in the head of Spader's young lady and spread evidence around that incriminates Spader.

In fact, Lowe is constantly outwitting Spader and his brother Pismo (a fine performance by Christian Clemenson). Until the end, when during a final confrontation Spader is able to capture Lowe's unwitting confession on tape. But, as Lowe would insist, it's not enough to get even, you have to demolish your enemies and Lowe winds up in the Pacific Ocean with a bullet in him.

The taped confession is convenient. It absolves Spader of any guilt connected to the beating of his office rival and the murder of the young woman. But Spader had better get a phenomenally good lawyer because the residual charges are enough to send him on a long vacation to San Quentin -- participating in at least two armed robberies; accessory before, during, and after the fact; obstruction of justice; illegal possession of a weapon; and exhibiting an obscene videotape to awed and morally upright white people at a party where champagne is being served.

Curtis Hanson directed. Nothing wrong with the direction, though he was to be more daring in "L.A. Confidential." Spader is good as the Yuppie, too. He's ALWAYS been good as the Yuppie. Rob Lowe, on the other hand -- I was watching this film the first time with a mixed group and I thought Spader seemed kind of handsome in a bland, middle-American way, so I asked the women present if my impression were correct. Do women find him handsome? "No -- the other guy." I guess that must account for Lowe's many appearances on screen because his acting talent comes in as rather Lite. Not that he's so BAD. It's just that most of us could do just as well.

Look. Let's be honest. There's nothing outstanding in any way about this film. It's entertaining, up to a point. But the theme is spelled out for us. As Lowe tells Spader, "I'm just filling all your wishes." And the theme is much more subtly -- even masterfully -- explored in "Strangers on a Train." Go to the original.

Handsome and charismatic, Rob Lowe is also one amoral sociopath who moves into the life of yuppie James Spader and leads him into things he never thought he'd be involved in. Lowe is truly one Bad Influence.

This is quite a bit younger James Spader we see in this film, not the confident attorney who moved in and took over The Practice with Denny Crane. Spader is a stock trader, an eager young man looking for promotion in his company that's run by John DeLancie (can you imagine having Q for a boss). He and Tony Maggio are up for the same promotion, but Maggio is unscrupulous in his pursuit of it.

One night when a jealous boyfriend threatens to clean Spader's clock after he tries to make some clumsy moves on his girl friend, Spader gets saved by Rob Lowe. Later on he meets Lowe and the two of them strike up a curious relationship. Spader needs lessons in unscrupulous and Lowe's a good teacher.

It's all fun and games at first even when they pull a convenience store robbery, but it gets real serious when Spader has second thoughts and tries to break from Lowe. The film gets real intense.

This is one of Rob Lowe's best acted films. In character Lowe is very similar to Tyrone Power's Stan Carlisle from Nightmare Alley. In fact Lowe is the closest thing we've seen to a reincarnation on the screen of Power when he does his hero/heel thing. Rob's never played the straight out hero though the way Power did also. But he's sure got the bad aspect of Power's portfolio down.

Lowe dominates Bad Influence completely, but it's that kind of part. The rest of the cast performs ably and Curtis Hanson's direction to his cast is first rate. For Rob Lowe's fans not to be missed.

Michael Boll (James Spader) is a young stock broker executive being pushed around by rival Patterson. He's getting married to driven Ruth Fielding (Marcia Cross) but he's uncertain about it. Alex (Rob Lowe) rescues him from a beating at the bar. His brother Pismo is still struggling to overcome his drug dealing conviction. He runs into Alex again and falls into his murky world. Alex teaches him confidence as the psychopath Alex draws him deeper and deeper. He hooks up with Claire (Lisa Zane) and Alex splits him up from Ruth.

Rob Lowe is an OK psychopath. Spader is probably even better. Also he has a larger range to play in this movie. Lowe smiles his way through this. He's a beautiful man. It takes a little too long before Alex's psycho ways get crazy dangerous. I wish they get to the dead body sooner because the movie gets better. However there are a few too many cheesy things going on.