Female Lead

In "Tango & Cash", Gabe Cash is seemingly a loner. He alludes to divorces in his past, but is tied to no one at the movie's beginning. Ray Tango, while also apparently single, is not entirely alone in life. The movie sets up a surprise for later on by introducing Teri Hatcher as Katherine, but not saying who she is to Ray Tango. We find out down the line, and this is meant to be a big surprise when it comes. It is, I guess, but I don't know why it should be.

Teri Hatcher is best known, I suppose for being in "Desperate Housewives", and before that "Lois & Clark". She was good in "Tomorrow Never Dies", in my recollection, and she had one of the more memorable female guest appearances in the entire run of Seinfeld. Being the female lead in Tango & Cash is not something that comes up much, but after having become a fan of the film, it's about the first thing I think of for her.

Katherine, or "Kiki", as she prefers to be called, is some kind of dancer. I like her character, who puts Ray off balance in their scenes together, but I won't say she's much of a dancer. She does this strange, flailing thing and plays the drums. Maybe it's not supposed to be titillating. Maybe it's supposed to be enjoyable just because of her dancing ability and the music, but it doesn't come off that way. Still, I like it.

Kiki does play a meaningful role in the plot, although not as much of one as might be expected today. She makes more of it than other actresses might have. On paper, I don't suppose that a ton was there. She has a certain charm that makes her lines come out better than they deserve, and when she is given dumb things to do, it's very easy to excuse her for them. On the whole, she is definitely a real asset to the film.