In 1992, writer/director Daniel Taplitz made a wonderfully dark and quirky little made-for-cable movie called Black Magic, which somehow managed to be one of the most entertaining films of the year, despite the fact that it starred Judge Reinhold and Rachel Ward. However, Taplitz's follow up, Commandments, is a washout. The film stars Aidan Quinn as a man who loses his wife, home, and job to natural disasters within 10 minutes of the opening credits. In a revolt against what he sees as a cruel and unjust Lord, Quinn sets out to break all 10 commandments. He moves in with his sister-in-law, perky lawyer Courteney Cox, and her sleazy reporter husband, Anthony LaPaglia. It's an intriguing premise, but unfortunately, it never really develops into anything. As a drama, Commandments has the unnerving air of a Fox sitcom pilot, and as a comedy, it's far too pretentious and artsy. Moreover, Quinn's character is never really given a personality beyond suffering, so it's difficult for the audience to care about anything that happens to him. Cox is wasted in a bland, one-dimensional role, and LaPaglia, who had a brilliant, scene-stealing cameo in Black Magic, is merely irritating as the heavy here.