Ha-ha-hands off her man

When long-stemmed Lisa (Heroes' Ali Larter) sashays into an L.A. assets-management firm, every male neck swivels. "Temp or temptress?" asks one of the associates, admiring the shapely legs on the pouty blonde.

Derek (Idris Elba, of The Wire), one of the firm's rainmakers, is less attracted to than flustered by the femme fatale who stalks him in the parking garage and the men's room. He's happily married to Sharon (Beyoncé Knowles) - formerly his assistant. They have a new son and a new house with an unfinished attic that you just know will play a dramatic role in the finale.

Obsessed, a schlockily entertaining film that would make any daytime soap look subtle, is a "wreck the homewrecker!" movie.

That is, it's two acts of intrigue building to a third-act catfight between two extremely attractive women. In this case, one woman is black and the other white, which creates racial tension. Know that Obsessed screenwriter David Loughery wrote the racially charged Lakeview Terrace. Also know that Obsessed is about the sanctity of marriage rather than the shame of adultery.

While the three leads are easy on the eyes, their dialogue is pretty harsh on the ears. One doesn't expect a movie of this type to be plausible, but this one stretches the plausibility factor past the snapping point to the unintentional-laughter point.

As an audience-participation flick, Obsessed successfully pushes the emotional button marked "Not With My Husband You Don't." As melodrama, though, it lacks the heat and guilt-soaked sheets that made Fatal Attraction such a potent cocktail.

In Obsessed, the hot-button issue isn't adultery. It is: Girlfriend, are you going to let that bony-butt blonde take your man?EndText