Essentially the sexed-up, dumbed-down bastard offspring of film noir, the modern-day erotic thriller has evolved quite a bit over the past decade, taking in everything from high-school melodrama (Wild Things) to political intrigue (Murder At 1600, Absolute Power). In fact, so many presidential erotic thrillers have come out during the Clinton era that the rough-sex-having, conspiracy-minded presidential hopeful has become as recognizable an erotic-thriller staple as the cop-who-gets-too-close-to-the-case and the cleavage-baring femme fatale. Shadow Of Doubt's presidential hopeful makes his first appearance about two minutes in, after the filmmakers have already literally and figuratively disposed of that other beloved erotic-thriller cliché, the naked-woman-who-is-killed-before-the-opening-credits. Of course, because erotic thrillers rarely introduce information or characters unless absolutely necessary, it shouldn't take long for viewers to figure out that if an ambitious politician shows up in an erotic thriller, it's probably not because the screenwriter needs a mouthpiece for devastating speeches critiquing foreign-policy objectives. And while Shadow Of Doubt might open with defense-attorney-who-gets-too-close-to-the-case Melanie Griffith defending a cluelessly caricatured Hispanic gangsta-rap star, it doesn't take long for the film to revolve around a proudly liberal presidential candidate (James Morrison) with a taste for the teenage daughters of his political allies. Little more than a joyless catalog of erotic-thriller clichés tied together with bewildering reactionary anxiety about those who would attempt to improve society, Shadow Of Doubt is poorly written, incompetently acted tripe that should be of interest only to those eager to see Melanie Griffith once again horribly miscast, this time as a tough-as-nails celebrity attorney who nevertheless seems perpetually on the verge of giggling.