Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Leofwine_draca This one-of-a-kind movie is hated by many but certainly deserves some kind of kudos for its uniqueness. I found myself being drawn into this movie; from the initial moments, where I didn't think much of it; to the growing love between Sands and Fenn, to the violent, unexpected conclusion. Jennifer Lynch tries to inject as much of her father's surrealism as possible into the film, so there's lots of symbolism and weird stuff going on. Calling this film "quirky" is an understatement.I remember this as being pretty controversial when it was first released, concerning as it does a man who kidnaps a woman, cuts off her arms and legs and puts her in a box. It's not in bad taste as you might think, although this supposed depravity certainly seems to be one of the film's main selling points (just check the video box for an example). What surprised me most about this film was the subtle message that real love isn't just about sex, but about what the person looks like on the inside instead of the out. There are certainly a number of surprises and twists as the film commences.As I mentioned before, the acting is pretty bad but bearable. The best of the bunch is Sherilyn Fenn, who turns her ice-cold bitch into a realistic, if unlikeable, character. Julian Sands (WARLOCK) overdoes it a bit with his turn as a childish, confused doctor, but to be fair it was a difficult role to play and I can't think of many modern actors capable of pulling the role off totally successfully. Elsewhere, Bill Paxton (with a ludicrous wig) is a cliché and one of my favourite bit actors, Kurtwood Smith, appears as a fellow doctor. But these characters are all unimportant, as the film focuses primarily on Fenn and Sands, and how their relationship progresses as time goes on.This is quite a slow-moving tale, well shot, and there's little in the way of action or gore as you might expect. The actual scenes of amputation are thankfully offscreen. The one thing I didn't really like about the film was the cheat ending, where the entire sequence of events turns out to have...well, couldn't they think of anything else? BOXING HELENA is a real oddity, and certainly worth a look in my opinion, despite the obvious shortcomings.

kimbakat Most Americans don't like this film because of a general stick up their asses...as you can tell by some of the reviewers here...and probably from the bible belt....but this movie so freakish of an idea, like human centipede (without the gross factor) you just gotta just see it.Definitely a cult classic that the open minded progressive, no-hang up Europeans and Australian can appreciate. Some things you just gotta see. This is one of them. Jealousy and beauty and control. Freakishly done.No spoilers here.I hate text limitations...whether there is a minimum or maximum.

lovecraft231 Dr. Nick ("Hi Everybody!") Cavanaugh (Julian Sands) is obsessed with the sexy but incredibly unlikable Helena (Sheryl Fenn) who he once had an affair with. When she pretty much rejects the guy, she ends up being hit by a truck. Does this deter him? No! It just means that he'll amputate her and keep her for himself.Directed by David Lynch's daughter Jennifer, "Boxing Helena" is a movie that at first sounds like a perverse, strange little movie. Instead, it ends up being more of a mix of a pretentious art house movie and a dull 90's soft-core flick (complete with Enigma's song "Sadeness" playing during a sex scene.) Worst yet, the whole thing is a mess. The acting is atrocious, with Sands playing an unlikable, uninteresting, unsympathetic and spineless man, while Fenn plays a character so bitchy that you wonder why any man would want to be with her. Even Bill Paxton (someone I normally like) is unable to lift this up any, as he is also terrible (though that's more due to the terrible script.) At least his hair is outrageously bad, though it's no match for the one Art Garfunkle (yes, THAT Art Garfunkle) has. Add a terrible ending and obvious symbolism (a bird in a cage, how clever!) to the mix, and you get a terrible movie.Little fact: While more is known about Kim Bassinger and the movie, what is less talked about is that Madonna was also offered to play Helena, but turned it down. When the star of "Swept Away", "The Next Best Thing" and "Shanghai Surprise" turns the movie down, you know you have a dud.

Kashmirgrey My only recommendation for seeing "Boxing Helena" is for the short scenes flaunting Nicolette Scorsese. Director Jennifer Chambers Lynch should thank me for my saying so, because upon many a heterosexual male once reading that and remembering Nicolette from her role as the gorgeous lingerie saleswoman in "Christmas Vacation", there should be a spike in "Boxing Helena" rentals/purchases.Julian Sands plays a physician who is obsessed with Sherilyn Fenn, an ex-lover. Fenn doesn't dig him too much, however. When she suffers a terrible accident, Sands goes to town with her extremities and she is left a captive at his mercy."Boxing Helena" is depressing, uneventful, morbidly perverse in a boring sort of way, and ultimately an unmemorable waste of time. This, for me, was the turning point for Julian Sands where his career took a nose dive. In my opinion, it did little for Fenn's struggling career either, which has never seemed to completely lift off the ground.