VENDETTA

Collins is back, and so is the ever-popular Lucky (Lady Boss, 1990, etc.), both operating here, it would seem, on automatic pilot. Lucky Santangelo is due for some trouble, and not just because she's appearing in yet another sequel. Everything's been calm for too long: She's finally the head of Panther Studios, and with two hit movies on her hands and more to come, she's really turning the place around; moreover, her husband, successful actor Lennie Golden, is a true love match, and her three young children are thriving. Then enter Donna Landesman, nÇe Donatella Bonnatti, one of the last surviving members of the Bonnatti family, the longtime archrivals of the Santangelos, who, as Lucky points out more than once, don't like to be ``fucked with.'' First, Lennie has a so- called accidental death in a fiery car crash. Then, Lucky's niece Brigette Stanislopoulos is taken advantage of by a sleazy New York modeling agent and one of his top models. Meanwhile, notoriously difficult director Alex Woods is making his new movie —Gangsters- -at Panther, as well as making some moves on the recently widowed Lucky. Not to mention that Venus Maria, pop singer and would-be actress/sex symbol (and one of Lucky's best friends) is wooing Alex to gain a key role in his film. And (pause for breath) Lennie's not really dead after all, but may just as well be since he's trapped in a cave somewhere in Italy! When Lucky discovers Donna's true identity, and learns that her own supposedly loyal advisor, Morton Sharkey, has helped the Bonnatti family wreak havoc on the Santangelos, she develops a mean case of tunnel vision, vowing not to rest until justice—of the vigilante sort—is done. Seventy-five percent of the fun here lies in guessing what Hollywood hot shots Collins is really dishing (Madonna, Oliver Stone, etc.). Otherwise, it's rather a by-the-numbers if harmless romp. ($300,000 ad/promo; author tour)