‘Single White Female’ Turns 25: Why Lesbian-Phobic Thriller Is Problematic

Though it’s still a delight to see a death by stiletto

single white female

Spoilers galore, albeit for a 25-year-old movie.

Bridget Fonda’s Allie Jones pretty much has it all in the opening scene of “Single White Female”: A handsome fiance (played by Steven Weber). A solid friend in her gay upstairs neighbor (Peter Friedman). A rent-controlled apartment on the Upper West Side. An impressive career as an entrepreneur and software programmer. An arguably even more impressive glamazon look straight out of a Yves Saint Laurent ad from an early ’90s issue of “Vogue.” Allie ditches that fiance, the philandering Sam, almost as quickly as we’re introduced to him. She posts an ad for a roommate, invites Jennifer Jason Leigh’s unhinged Hedy to live with her, and the rest is history — literally.

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