"Code Name: Dancer" gets the most important ingredient right: the lead. I was totally captivated by every moment Kate Capshaw was on the screen. It's a strong female role, and Capshaw invests herself in it. Where the movie disappoints is the action itself - there is hardly any of it. You can see how, after this initial story introducing the character (and letting her rather douchey husband in on "her secret life"), the stage was set for further and bigger adventures. And in fact the ending of "Code Name: Dancer" suggests that this movie might have been conceived as the pilot for a new TV show about this back-from-retirement female spy who is good with guns, languages, disguises, tailing, etc. In reality, 14 more years had to pass before a similar - and more advanced - TV show finally aired: "Alias". But this was a noble try. **1/2 out of 4.
7 Reviews
One of my all time favorites
niki8726 February 2000
This movie is billed as a thriller but it has everything except comedy. I've always been fascinated by Cuba and am a die hard romantic. With the excitement of the CIA, thrill of a double cross, suspense of who & why, and the sexual tension between the two main characters that leave you wanting more, this movie just has it all. Kate Capshaw is beautiful & becomes the character she's portraying. Jeroen Krabbe is as handsome & rugged as his character & perfect in the role. There isn't a lot of blood & guts, foul language or even big crash scenes but you don't need them. The plot & the acting says it all. I can't say enough about this movie & the actors. I saw it when it first aired on TV & thought for sure it was a pilot & kept waiting for the series. I searched for about 10 years to find a copy & just got mine today. It was even better than I remembered.
Kate Capshaw was Outstanding
whpratt115 May 2007
This film starts out with Kate Capshaw, (Annie) playing the role as a wife and school teacher to a loving husband who is very much in love with his wife. However, Annie has a very secret past and was involved with the CIA in Cuba and speaks excellent Spanish and has had lots of lovers as part of her past life. After six years of marriage, all of a sudden Annie receives a telephone call telling her that Dancer needs her help and wants her to go to Cuba. Gregory Sierra, (Vic The Dancer Pena) plays the role as a friend of Annie who saved her life when she was working as a CIA Agent. There is plenty of romantic scenes and I would not call this a thriller, but a very well acted film with plenty of flashbacks that jump back and forth. Kate Capshaw and Jeroen Krabbe gave outstanding performances.
Not bad for an old TV movie
Mikie195029 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I purchased several DVDs from an overstock store for less than two bucks apiece. The back of the cover for this DVD promised a Cuban spy story. I did not realize until later that this was a TV movie. I think it was shot directly to video because the projected image (6' horizontal, 4:3) was quite poor and did not compare to the image from a DVD made under more modern processes.
The poor quality of the video was overshadowed by an excellent cast, a very decent story line and great direction and production. This reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock's "Topaz" where the American agent goes into Cuba to get information on the Russians. He has to depend on an old flame to help him out.
If you like spy stories and watch this on a screen no larger than 27" you will probably enjoy it as well as I did if not more. There seems to me that there is a real shortage of spy stories out on DVD. I eat them up.
The poor quality of the video was overshadowed by an excellent cast, a very decent story line and great direction and production. This reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock's "Topaz" where the American agent goes into Cuba to get information on the Russians. He has to depend on an old flame to help him out.
If you like spy stories and watch this on a screen no larger than 27" you will probably enjoy it as well as I did if not more. There seems to me that there is a real shortage of spy stories out on DVD. I eat them up.
Decent spy flick
ervin-kosch5 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I admit I liked this guilty pleasure. The plot is a little hard to follow because it jumps back and forth in time and everyone looks the same in all times. All the sets looked like they we're shoot in the 'burbs of Miami, not in Cuba. Also everyone was supposed to be Cuban; Kate Capshaw was about as white as they come in this film.
Putting those fopas aside, the story is a fairly complex affair that spans 8+ years. It involved a spy who got out of 'The Company' many years before. Now Dancer, a fellow spy, has collected on a favor of saving the leads' life some years in the past.
Decent camera work, mildly compelling story, good acting, and good sound led to an enjoyable Monday night flick. Just don't expect this to be the next James Bond. After all, I did get the film as a double feature in a $1 bargain bin.
BTW: I did learn a couple of things in this film: Cubans can hotwire anything (a quote from the movie) and Russian spy's are very slow and can't aim worth a darn.
Putting those fopas aside, the story is a fairly complex affair that spans 8+ years. It involved a spy who got out of 'The Company' many years before. Now Dancer, a fellow spy, has collected on a favor of saving the leads' life some years in the past.
Decent camera work, mildly compelling story, good acting, and good sound led to an enjoyable Monday night flick. Just don't expect this to be the next James Bond. After all, I did get the film as a double feature in a $1 bargain bin.
BTW: I did learn a couple of things in this film: Cubans can hotwire anything (a quote from the movie) and Russian spy's are very slow and can't aim worth a darn.
I liked Her Secret LIfe
kitneill30 April 2007
I saw this movie when it first came out and talked my way into getting a VHS (it wasn't yet common). I just saw it again yesterday, while seeing what I wanted to copy over to DVD. Really great, a nice TV movie - and based on ending, an unsold pilot. Since then Kate Capshaw married Steven Spielberg and Jeroen Krabbe went on to appear in many high-budget films.
As a bonus I wrote Krabbe a fan letter and he sent me a very nice note on a postcard showing one of his paintings - he's quite talented. I became a fan and still am.
Her Secret Life aka Code Name: Dancer is terrific entertainment. Who doesn't love a great spy movie with romance?
As a bonus I wrote Krabbe a fan letter and he sent me a very nice note on a postcard showing one of his paintings - he's quite talented. I became a fan and still am.
Her Secret Life aka Code Name: Dancer is terrific entertainment. Who doesn't love a great spy movie with romance?
Great little tense thriller
maury-markowitz9 April 2014
I saw this by chance while channel flipping one winter night. What caught me was the opening title sequence: a series of puzzle pieces "falling" into view from a point behind the camera. The pieces slowly built up the lead character's face, wearing a somewhat serious (or perhaps harried) expression. That was it, I was intrigued.
I like complex plots, it keeps me focused on the story and allows me to overlook any of the less glaring errors. So I probably would have liked this in any event. But there was nothing to gloss over; for a TV movie the production quality was excellent, the timing perfect, and the direction almost perfect. The "secret life" plot line has been done to death, especially around this time with the cold war winding down. But this movie managed to put a fresh twist on it, and it's not really part of the plot other than framing. The story is the story, and it's a good one.
But as others have said, it's really Capshaw's performance that makes this shine. It's perfectly in tune with the story, a performance that never left me wondering about motives or second- guessing the underlying setup. Throughout, she simply *is* the character, far more convincing than Matt Damon's unconvincing superman, for instance. The lack of ridiculous fight scenes helps pull this off, but it's certainly not the only reason.
The ending was a little disappointing, and somewhat predictable. But there was little else they could do with it; the story came to its natural conclusion and all that was left would be to roll the credits. It certainly didn't distract from the enjoyment.
So if you like thrillers, especially in the vein of No Way Out, I think you'll be very happy with this movie.
I like complex plots, it keeps me focused on the story and allows me to overlook any of the less glaring errors. So I probably would have liked this in any event. But there was nothing to gloss over; for a TV movie the production quality was excellent, the timing perfect, and the direction almost perfect. The "secret life" plot line has been done to death, especially around this time with the cold war winding down. But this movie managed to put a fresh twist on it, and it's not really part of the plot other than framing. The story is the story, and it's a good one.
But as others have said, it's really Capshaw's performance that makes this shine. It's perfectly in tune with the story, a performance that never left me wondering about motives or second- guessing the underlying setup. Throughout, she simply *is* the character, far more convincing than Matt Damon's unconvincing superman, for instance. The lack of ridiculous fight scenes helps pull this off, but it's certainly not the only reason.
The ending was a little disappointing, and somewhat predictable. But there was little else they could do with it; the story came to its natural conclusion and all that was left would be to roll the credits. It certainly didn't distract from the enjoyment.
So if you like thrillers, especially in the vein of No Way Out, I think you'll be very happy with this movie.
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