BEFORE: My chain of legal films comes to a close tonight (sort of, I'll explain tomorrow...) as I transition into relationship dramas. This one I think is a little bit of both.
THE PLOT: District Attorney Tom Logan is set for higher office, at least until he becomes involved with defense lawyer Laura Kelly and her unpredictable client.
AFTER: I wish this movie had spent more time on the court scenes, those were some of the best, watching Robert Redford (last seen in "Lions for Lambs") charming the jury. The rest of the movie, outside of court, involves some kind of art fraud, arson and bad performance art. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Again, we've got lawyers illegally breaking and entering to obtain the evidence they need. It looks great on film, but anything found should be inadmissible in court. And again we've got a lawyer sleeping with a client, like in last night's film.
But, we know that the two lawyer characters are a better love match, because they both suffer from insomnia - and they stay up late in their separate apartments, watching the same classic film. From a script-writing point of view, this is what's called "cheating". No, don't bother developing their personalities or showing them becoming more comfortable with each other, just use a simple montage to show how much they have in common. Anyway, she raids the fridge while he tap-dances and rides a bike around his apartment - so it would never work out, if they got together she'd eventually weigh 400 pounds, and he'd be killed by his downstairs neighbor for making too much noise.
NITPICK POINT: How did Redford's character know to grab the case with the valuable art? He wasn't there when it was found. I'm just sayin'.
It's sort of sad when someone puts three one-dimensional characters in a film, and thinks that together they're going to add up to one three-dimensional storyline. I say "Nay Nay." It's also sad when the highlight of the film is the little-heard Rod Stewart song that plays over the closing credits.
Also starring Debra Winger (last seen in "Terms of Endearment"), Daryl Hannah (last seen in "Crazy People"), Brian Dennehy (last seen in "Presumed Innocent"), Terence Stamp (last seen in "Valkyrie"), David Clennon (last seen in "Man Trouble"), with cameos from Christine Baranski (last seen in "Chicago"), Roscoe Lee Browne (last seen in "Dear God"), and Brian Doyle-Murray (last seen in "Jury Duty").
RATING: 4 out of 10 pieces of toast
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