Cocaine Bear didn't have to do anything but be mildly funny, but the film wound up becoming a success because it wasn't just funny, but hilarious and smartly written. Writer Jimmy Warden has a firm understanding of how to create a thriller that is both, well, thrilling, and hilarious. In addition to writing the script for his new film Borderline, Warden also made his directorial debut, proving he's got the talent to deftly handle both ends of a movie.
Borderline, like Warden's previous film, appears to be loosely based on the true story of Madonna's creepy stalker Robert Dewey Hoskins, who escaped from a psychiatric facility intent on finding and killing the prominent singer. The movie, which is set in the 1990s and revolves around pop star Sofia (Samara Weaving), alludes to it early on by having a character mistakenly attribute one of Madonna's songs to Sofia. That and the movie's title itself is a nod to Madonna's song of the same name.
The true story element is merely a skeletal frame for this story, though, just like with Cocaine Bear, Warden builds out something unique and delightfully entertaining with a talented ensemble of actors. Weaving is always great in these types of movies, with half of us probably watching just to see her, but the real standouts in Borderline are Ray Nicholson as the terrifyingly deranged Paul Duerson and one of his cohorts, Penny, played by a wonderfully kooky Alba Baptista (Warrior Nun).
Borderline begins with the start of Paul's stalking saga as he deludes himself into thinking that Sofia's devoted bodyguard, Bell (Eric Dane), is actually the singer. He goes so far as to propose to Bell, only to then stab the man. But Bell survives, and in the present-day storyline, he returns to help out when Paul escapes from the hospital.
Paul's plan is to infiltrate Sofia's manor so they can prepare for their wedding. He hires Penny and a beefy one-eyed man named J.H. (Patrick Cox) to help him achieve his goals.
Borderline plays out as a pretty straightforward thriller. Sofia ends up in a fight for her own survival as Paul and his cronies break into her home and swiftly eliminate her bumbling security guards. Elsewhere, J.H. goes after Bell and his family to ensure their biggest potential threat isn't one when the climax happens.
There's some big fight sequences, perhaps most notably between Weaving and Baptista that starts with a duet and ends in chaos as Penny viciously attacks Sofia.
Admittedly, Borderline is relatively shallow in terms of characterization. The movie doesn't spend much time trying to flesh out characters like Sofia or Paul beyond "pop star" and "psycho stalker." It doesn't really need to. The actors are all talented enough to carry the movie through its quirky storyline, remaining relatively lighthearted throughout even amid some of its gorier moments. Borderline never gets too dark.
The whole thing has an air of whimsy about it that keeps it from becoming too grounded and it works to the film's overall silly tone. Borderline's chaotic energy might not be for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.