Sure, you might think "oh, great, yet another modern version of Robert Louis Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde story," but I doubt even old Bob himself was imagining anything like this.
Recently fired telemarketer Jackie Hyde (Gabriella Hall) inherits a giant house from her recently deceased magician grandfather. Lonely Jackie doesn't have any friends, so she is intrigued when she discovers her grandfather's invention- a serum that allows the user to physically transform into other people. Jackie becomes her sexy neighbor, and the neighbor's sexy boyfriend, then settles on a magazine model she renames Jacqueline (Blythe Metz). Estate lawyer Phillip (Jeremy Ordaz) likes Jackie, is turned on by Jacqueline, but begins to suspect something is wrong with both. Jacqueline keeps Jackie hidden inside her guise, and sets out to find a lover who can keep up with her.
Written and directed by Rolfe Kanefsky, "Jacqueline Hyde" features some bold sex scenes. Ordaz is not movie star artificial handsome, but is very believable as the normal Phillip. Metz completely sinks her teeth into a great role. Kanefsky is careful to keep things from toppling over into all-out comedy, but the movie's tone does not become too dark and pretentious like "Mary Reilly." At first, I did not think star and co-producer Gabriella Hall was mousy enough as Jackie but I realized she did not have to be the complete opposite of Metz, and playing the role as simply "ordinary Jackie" was the way to go.
Using just a handful of sets, Kanefsky keeps things clicking along. Christopher Farrell's music and Paul Deng's photography add a big-budget dimension to the film. There are some iffy effects along the way, including a terrible closing shot morph, which does take something from the film.
