Category Archives: 2000s

Children of Fortune

Children of Fortune. One of the little Holy Grails of the Virginia Madsen collectors out there. Not an easy one to come by this. Up there with Babylon Fields or Hatfield and McCoys at least.

It’s a TV movie from 2000 made for CBS. It follows the story of Navy Detective Dave Passenger (James Brolin) as he is sent to investigate a murder in a small Arizona community named Fortune.

Nothing particularly unusual with any of that. Well except that this particular small Arizona community practices polygamy. And Dave also decides to take his estranged teenage daughter, Erica (Amanda Fuller) along for the ride to help with the investigation for some much needed bonding.

OK. Maybe, there is a bit more to it than him just deciding to bring her along. He’s taken her in after she goes off the rails a bit, they’ve not been long reunited when he gets the call about the murder. Not wanting to abandon her when they’ve just started to get to know each other, and not having a lot of other options, he brings her along. They’re met with some hostility when they arrive in town, but the investigation seems to be pretty much open and shut soon enough when the main suspect, a fella by the name of Shane (Kris Lemche), is caught pretty quickly.

Job done, promises to visit the Grand Canyon are made and all done. Right?

Wrong.

Shane might not be as guilty as he’s made out to be. He asks to see Dave while he’s being held at the local jail and says as much, but keeps it all mysterious and does that telling him everything but without saying anything thing.

They still plan to leave the next day, they get breakfast but something is niggling at Dave.

He meets Ingrid (Virginia Madsen) and asks if they can talk and she’s only too happy to oblige. She seems convinced that Shane couldn’t be the murderer when questioned about the whole situation. And as it turns out she’s the local Sheriff’s daughter, which is convenient. She’s recently moved back to Fortune after living away in New York for a while so she’s got a slightly different perspective on a lot of things. It’s not long before Dave realises there’s more going on here than meets the eye. The more he listens to what people have to say, the less he likes it.

Dave continues his investigation much to the annoyance of the town folk who just want him and Erica gone.

There aren’t any real surprises in what comes next. Dave and Erica do some bonding, Dave and Ingrid get to know each other better and develop feelings for each other. Dave does some more digging into what’s going on in Fortune.

Etc.

Was it worth all the effort of tracking down? Yes and no. It’s not a bad movie, but… It is a bit odd. Quite heavy in the justification of the whole polygamy thing as the residents of Fortune explain themselves to Dave and his daughter. Quite corny in the execution of how these two strangers bring out the apparent unhappiness within the community about how things are.
The story itself isn’t going to blow anyone away, but it has nearly a half decent twist at the end, two, technically.

Virginia Madsen does a decent enough job, but it’s a pretty muted performance, which I guess is kind of the point. No strong woman archetype here, no femme fatale sexpot, no concerned Mother doing anything and everything for her kids. No real hardship in her life, but an acceptance of who she is and where she’s from with what’s expected of her very firmly at the front of her mind. In many ways it’s a testament to her abilities as an actress for her to pull this kind of role off.

Normally I’d say it was a Sunday afternoon film, one to watch if it was on. But given the hoops to track it down I’m half tempted to say it’s worth a watch just for the novelty value alone.

If you’re a Virginia Madsen Collector, then yeah. If you’re just idly curious then maybe not.

Which brings me to…

Availability:

By fair means or foul is the expression that comes into play here. It’s not easy to find. It’s not available to buy, I don’t think it ever has been. Conflicting information of if and or when it’s shown on TV. And not available on any streaming platform, including YouTube, which is normally the last refuge for films like this.

I did manage to find one place that would sell me a copy. It’s about as dodgy as it gets though, the disc starts with it being selected from some kind of PVR menu and then the film is watermarked with the TV station logo throughout (see captures). It’s also still got the adverts still in which date the recording to around 2010.

And then, I had to order it twice. International shipping saw a damaged disc arrive the first time around. There was no response from the seller when I tried to contact them to complain. So I left it alone. Whatever, right?

I tried again as I was getting close to the end of these write ups, I filled in the special instructions for delivery on the website to ensure adequate protection was given to the packaging – a good piece of cardboard would do.

The disc arrived undamaged the next time, but not protected as I asked. I was lucky.

With all that in mind, if you want to roll your dice then you can do so…

Gallery:

Children of Fortune - Production Stills 2 images

Trailer:

After Sex

After Sex is a film from 2001, well. The one with Virginia Madsen is. There is another film from the French called After Sex in 1997, and then another from 2007 which is also called After Sex.

So, because it wouldn’t make sense otherwise, we’ll make sure we stick with the 2001 Virginia Madsen After Sex version.

Although that might not also be the best decision. This is another that I actually wasn’t looking forward to rewatching. In fact, it was pretty close to the bottom of the list and another I slipped into the DVD player with a sigh and me wondering what it was I was actually doing with my life.

After Sex, is a comedy drama type of film. Kate (Brooke Shields) receives a depressing phone call from her ex to let her know she’s now been officially divorced for a year. In a bid to make herself feel better she phones her friend Traci (Virginia Madsen) and basically tells her she’s off to Palm Springs for a girls weekend. She phones another mutual friend, Vicki (Maria Pitillo) to tell her the same who phones a fourth friend, Janet (Stephanie Venditto) and it’s all arranged.

Traci, Vicki and Janet are all partnered off already and in various stages of their relationships, but one of their gal pals needs their help so obviously they’re on board. Before you know it they’re off for a night of womanly revelary. Good for them.
They road trip there, arrive, have some shenanigans at the pool side. Have a round of Golf, injuring another Guest of the hotel. They’re all in high spirits and hit the town for the night. They end up meeting a bunch of men from various places.

Kate meets the bloke she injured on the Golf course earlier, because of course. Traci meets a nice chap at the bar she’s seemingly got a lot in common with. Vicki and Janet end up talking to some other, less desirable but harmless enough Dudes.

Vicki ends up putting her head between on the gentlemans lap, NO NOT LIKE THAT – She’s sick all over him after one too many cocktails… Tch. And, Janet – Well Janet ends up with one of the others.

In short, the girls all end up kind of paired off, there are some more awkward than others and the degrees of what we see differ. Kate and Janet both take their men home, Traci seemingly stops short and Vicki, well Vicki wonders about if anyone is eating her complimentary hotel chocolate.
The Boys left behind are left to prop up the bar. Well, the bar at the strip club, but still.

All good, right?

Well. Not really.

Kate wakes up alone, despite her asking for her man to stay the night. She’s sad that she has been let down again. She joins the other girls at breakfast, and there are obvious regrets about the night before from the three attached ladies. They somehow manage to pin and or blame their debauchery on Kate. Not really sure that’s fair, or accurate, but before you know it Kate is storming off.

And, honestly you can’t really blame her – I mean, c’mon Girls, take some responsibility for your actions…

The trip is cut short and the ride home is strained.

When they all arrive back at home, but the night away has changed them all in some way, and it isn’t long before the fellas they left back at home pick up on this.Initial suspicions are aroused when the ladies are home early, their partners all comment on it for one reason or another. It isn’t long before their trip slowly comes back to haunt them in one way or another.

Janet is the first to fall, she keeps her relationship with the man she met in Palm Springs going, her husband, John (Dan Cortese) finds out who then tells the rest of the husbands. Traci is next under suspicion from her husband Tony (D.B. Sweeney) and when Traci won’t confirm or deny anything he runs to the other husbands and before you can blink it’s Vicki under suspicion from her husband, Matt (Johnathon Schaech).

But maybe, just maybe Tony shouldn’t have pressed the issue with Traci…

… And maybe, just maybe Kate and Janet need to have a sit down at some point and talk, things, through.

I won’t say more than that. I’ve actually said more than I meant to do already, it’s not the easiest film to try and describe without going into more detail.

Did I enjoy it? Well. Yes, actually – Yes and no – It was a very different viewing experience than when I first watched it some 10 to 15 years ago (!!) – BUT – I’m a very different person also. I think my enjoyment might have come more from experience than anything else. Perhaps I wasn’t mature enough to appreciate the film the first time around.

It’s sort of a coming of age movie for grown ups. One, not so much about camaraderie among friends that you’ll think you’ll have for life. But more the reality of what can happen with those friends you’ll think you’ll have for life. A less optimistic view of the world.The film is billed as a dramedy, but it isn’t, really, It’s more drama than anything else. The relationships between the four couples on screen are quite relatable, and at times border on the uncomfortable. I think that’s the “No” of my “Yes and No”. If I wondered what I was doing with my life when I put the DVD in the player then at least by the end of it I’d know that I wasn’t the only one.

The whole movie is interspersed with scene relevant commentary from Drew Pinksky and Adam Carolla, which. I’m not sure if they were a thing or not at the time the movie was released, but. Their inclusion doesn’t seem to make a great deal of sense now. Especially to us in the UK who never really got Drew Pinksky and Adam Carolla anyways. And I might even argue we should be thankful for that after this offering from them.

Virginia Madsen plays a blinder in this one, I wouldn’t say it’s her best work, but man – Yeah – This is still the kind of work you want to see from her. Cute, quirky, honest and earnest. It’s a different side of her acting range than we normally see. Gone is the strong femme fatale type, hell even the “sexy” type. Instead we see a very real person portrayed, one that everyone will be able to emphasise with on some level. It’s a very human, vulnerable turn that she pulls off here.

Got to be fair to Brooke Shields in this one as well, I thought her go at Kate was pretty damn good as well. I’ve not seen her a lot in films, not normally my cup of tea, but – Yeah, fair play, I can see what some of the fuss is about her here.

Of course, Brooke Shields and Virginia Madsen would get together again years later for The Hot Flashes, another film about the highs and lows of life as a woman. Virginia Madsen has also acted with D B Sweeney before in the popular 80’s film Fire with Fire and would do again on the TV Show, The Event.

Would I recommend it? Well, if you’d asked me that before a second, more grown up viewing, I’d have said no. In retrospect, with a different head on my shoulders. Then, yes. Yes I would.

Availability:

Region 1 DVD is pretty easy to find on eBay and the like, but it’s not in abundance so if you’ve half an interest in this one you should grab it while you can.

Trailer:

Not for this one.

Teen Titans (The Prophecy)

Having wandered over to the dark side in her last comic book inspired voice over (Spider-Man), Virginia Madsen returned to the DC Universe to voice the character of Arella in the Teen Titans fourth season episode “The Prophecy”. The episode was aired in 2005 and is the 7th episode.

The episode is pretty deep onto a multi episode event so it’s pretty hard to try and give a brief summary without getting myself lost in details you won’t care about.

Virginia Madsens Arella is the mother of the one of the regular line ups of the cartoons Teen Titans, Raven.
Raven is suffering a crisis of conscience in the episode and seeks out her Mother for guidance.

Although I am a fan of the DC Universe, The Titans cartoon show isn’t something I’m overly familiar with, it’s a bit too much for the kids for me – I’ve seen the odd episode here and there and I believe it’s very good, but the art style and the tone puts me off just sitting down and watching it. Which , is a bit odd considering I’m a huge fan of the other animated series. Perhaps it’s all the bright colours or something, I don’t know.

Virginia’s role is short and sweet in this one, Arella has very little actual screen time and it’s the only episode to feature the character at all. As such, it kind of makes it hard to give any real commentary on it other than she brings her best to the role. Once again you probably wouldn’t know it has her just from watching, she brings the right amount of gravitas to it the situation and all in all fits right in.
Availability:

Not bad, you can find copies easy enough on DVD. I believe it’s a region free DVD, but you might want to check you can play it before you order.

Trailer:

Not for this one.

The Haunting in Connecticut

They say you should never judge a book by its cover, and I should perhaps remember that more. I wasn’t looking forward to watching The Haunting in Connecticut, I like horror films but generally not “based on a true haunted house story” horror films. Maybe Virginia Madsen back in a proper horror film could change that?

The true story aspect is the reason I’d never got around to watching this one before. I bought it ages ago and filed it away and thought very little of it since.

And, I might have been a little wrong about it. Putting the disc in the player I was both happy and surprised to see the Twisted Pictures logo at the start, they’ve been responsible for a lot of films I liked. It was a good start and enough to brighten its prospects. A little.

As the story goes, Sara (Virginia Madsen) and Peter (Martin Donovan) have a sick teenage child, Matt (Kyle Gallner), he’s got cancer and they are doing everything they can to help, naturally. They want to move closer to the hospital to lessen the strain on everyone and thanks to Sara being in the right place at the right time they end up finding a property quite quickly.The family move in, they each find their rooms with Matt choosing the basement with the mysterious door. Ominous.

And, funnily enough, not long after this Matt starts to experience weirdness in the form of visions with old men and corpse featuring prominently.

They quickly learn that the house used to be a Funeral Parlour which creeps them out but not enough for them to move out, for some reason. Even though there is dying teenager with visions of literal death in the house.

I mean, it takes a lot to spook me personally but one thing I do know is that I’d be questioning my decisions roundabout then.It’s pretty much a standard house horror story from there, but if it was truly that I wouldn’t have carried on watching it. It’s an interesting, if somewhat unbelievable premise that the rest of the story tells. And, for one of these films the level of gore is quite high, eyelids being removed and the like.

As it turns out, the “true events” that the film is based on, likely isn’t that true. It was part of the “Ed and Lorraine Warren” thing that they did, many of those “events” have since been discredited one way or another.

Which I wasn’t surprised to learn to be honest. At least this film wasn’t done it the same tone / voice as the other films based upon the Warrens activities (Annabelle etc).

Going back to the film itself, Virginia Madsen once again steals a movie from her co-stars. There were quite a few scenes where she stands out. I mean, I credit her with knowing the kind of movie she was in here and she puts in a quite frankly amazing performance all the same. Not once does she miss a beat. I don’t quite know why I was so impressed with her in this one over other roles, probably because I didn’t expect a lot.
Virginia herself quite liked idea of being in the film, in an interview with Deseret News she’d say “I’ve been looking for a good horror script since ‘Candyman,’ and I’ve been reading them for years, and I just could never find one. They were all either a gorefest or a good idea but a stupid ending. None of them were really character-driven,” until Haunting. I like the film very much I get a particular kick out of scaring the hell out of people; I don’t know why. So I want people to go out and see it.”

Is this one to watch? – Well, once is probably enough for me to watch it properly. It’s worth watching as a fan of Virginia to see how well she does with what she’s got.

Haunting in Connecticut also reunites Virginia Madsen and Amanda Crew who previously worked together in the indie film Crazy Kind of Love. Virginia would also go on to work with Kyle Gallner again in the WIGS web series, Jan, but he was grateful they’d met earlier when she took him under her wing on this one, speaking with The Hollywood News he would reflect back on his time with her one this film;

“Haunting in Connecticut was amazing. It was my first lead in a studio film and Virginia Madsen made sure she took me under her wing. Like the second, I mean, I had someone come get me at the airport and bring me to her. From there on out, I was under her wing. She took care of me the whole time. I learned a lot from her.”

And, there is a Haunting in Connecticut 2, which – Isn’t really a follow up to this one, just trading in on the name. No relation to this one though other than that so don’t go thinking you’ve another to watch if you do watch this one.

Availability:

Good, not hard to find at all on DVD, Blu-Ray and on some streaming channels. Though, you might need a VPN depending on where you are in the world and what services you have available to you.

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Trailer:

Diminished Capacity / Cardboard Memories

Diminished Capacity is a comedy from 2008 and was first screened in January of the same year at the Sundance Film Festival before hitting cinema screens in July. It’s based on a novel of the same name, written by Sherwood Kiraly.

It’s a quaint little movie. I think that’s the right word.

The story follows Cooper (Matthew Broderick) who is suffering from a bout of memory loss due to hitting his head against a wall in a bar fight in which he was collateral damage, it wasn’t his fight but he took a hit.

After being let go from his job as a Political Correspondent at a newspaper he finds himself heading home at his Mothers (Lois Smith) request to help take care of his Uncle Rollie (Alan Alda). His Uncle is also suffering from his own form of memory problems, his are age related though, Alzheimers, and he’s not getting any better from it. His Mother hopes Conner can persuade him to get more professional help.

This might not be as helpless as it all seems as it’s revealed that Uncle Rollie is in possession of a rare baseball card; Frank Schulte from the 1908 Chicago Cubs lineup. And, if they could convince Rollie to sell this card they could potentially put all their financial woes behind them and get Rollie the help he needs.
As he’s back home for the first time in a good while, the inevitable happens and he runs into his ex-girlfriend, Charlotte (our Virginia Madsen). Charlotte is single, good news for Connor. She had a husband, and a child, Dillon (Jimmy Bennett) now she’s back on the market. The two hit it off quite well and rekindle their acquaintance. Not in a romantic way, but a friend way.

One thing leads to another and before you know it, Connor, Uncle Rollie, Charlotte and Dillon are on the road to a Sports Memorabilia Convention to sell the card.

And, yeah – That about sums up the premise and you can probably work out the sentimental trip to the Convention that follows.

It’s not a bad film, and it’s not a good film. It has a lot of heart, I’ll say that much. The performances from all the cast are spot on. Matthew Broderick has a knack for this kind of sentimentality, Alan Alda is always a joy to watch and he pulls off the role with as much gravitas as you’d imagine he would.
Virginia Madsen does her whole “Single Mother with a heart of gold just waiting for her chance” thing in this one, it’s not a bad dialled in performance by any means – It’s nothing new though While all of the acting her,e is above par you wouldn’t expect anything less from the cast.

It’s worth a watch, it’s likely nothing you haven’t seen before but it’s still worth a watch for the performances alone. It’ll touch your soul in all the right places and maybe give you a little hope that things aren’t that bad at the same time.

Availability:

Good, not hard to find on DVD and on some streaming services depending on your location (or access to a VPN).

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Trailer:

The Astronaut Farmer

The Astronaut Farmer is a 2006 film, and it’s a film about following your dreams first and foremost. Virginia Madsen seems to end up in a lot of these kinds of films I’ve noticed, or maybe there is just a lot more of these films than I realised.

Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) is a former Air Force Pilot and would be astronaut, he was enrolled in the space program with the military before being forced to pull out of it. Rather sadly it was after his Father commited suicide admist the growing debt the familes ranch and gotten itself into. This caused Charles to cancel his dreams and return home to save it.

He got to live a happy life with his wife, Audrey (Virignia Madsen), his son Shepard (Max Theirot), and two daughters, Stanley (Jasper Polish) and Sunshine (Logan Polish) – BUT, years later with the itch still bugging him Charles decides he’s going to build his own rocket in one of his Barns.

He manages to build a replica of the Murcury-Atlas rocket, and fair play to him, he pulls it off and gets it spaceworthy all on his lonesome.

It’s only when he starts asking around about how to get hold of some rocket fuel to power it that things start to come unstuck. The FBI and FAA get themselves involved, along with the public who show an interest in his project.
The Media latch on to Charles and his plans for his home made rocket and turn him into a sensation, much to the dismay of the aforementioned FBI and FAA.

Ultimately they decide that an ordinary hard working fellow like Charles can’t possibly give any ideas to the rest of the ordinary hard working folk and they tell Charles he can’t go ahead with his launch. Having sunk too much money into the whole thing for it not to work, Charles ultimately decides to stick it to the man and launch his rocket anyways.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd. Yeah. You’re going to have to watch it to see what actually happens. I’ve avoided spoiling other films and I’m not about to start with this one now.

Normally I would not like this kind of film. I don’t go in for sentimental films for the most part, but this one has a heart to it.

I also liked that Bruce Willis showed up in a cameo role. From the start I was reminded of Billy Bob Thorntons character in Armageddon where he played Dan Truman. a man who always wanted to goto space but couldn’t due to not being physically up to it. When Bruce turned up to give him the nod, yeah. Do approve.

Virginia Madsen’s part is that of the supportive wife, and as always she pulls it off admirably. I mean I wish she wasn’t playing this kind of role at this point in her career, but at least she’s obviously putting the effort in, probably because she was having such a good time on set.

Speaking with The AV Club in 2013 she’d rate The Astronaut Farmer as her most favourite film to work on to date, espeically working with Billy Bob Thornon;

“Because that was Billy Bob [Thornton], you know? And I like these guys. I like men who are real manly men. I like being around a lot of testosterone. But the real stuff. Not the misogynistic, self-conscious guys who don’t really have confidence but who are trying to pretend. Like, if they’re mean to women or demeaning to women, that somehow makes them manly? These kinds of men just make you feel at ease, because they like women. They’re not threatened by women, and they like them strong. And Billy Bob, I just completely fell in love with him. Granted, in that kind of safe actor way… [Laughs.]

But oh, I just love that man. He’s just one of my favorites ever to work with. We were in New Mexico, and we had these really cool artist twins who were our directors—the Polish brothers—and they had these little beautiful daughters who played our daughters in the movie. They weren’t professional actors, so they were lovely and sweet, and I got to play with them all day long and do arts and crafts. And I got to dance with Billy Bob Thornton! I mean, God, how much better could it be? [Laughs.]”

Would I recommend this one? Well, normally, no – But as i said – This one has heart and it’s worth a watch. I think if it’d been anyone else but Billy Bob Thornton doing his earnest American Hero thing then it might have been a different story, but. Yeah this one works.

Availability:

You practically trip over copies looking on eBay and other online stores.

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Firewall

Firewall. Firewall. Firewall. Where to start?

At the beginning, I guess.

Firewall is a 2006 thriller film, it’s a tech heist kind of movie that was popular at the time, for a short while at least.

Jack Stanfield (Harrison Ford) is the Chief of Security at a Bank in Seattle. He’s forced into helping criminal Bill Cox (Paul Bettany) into transferring money from his bank into his offshore accounts.

Jack, of course, want’s no part of this but Bill has taken his wife Beth (Virginia Madsen) and his two kids hostage in their home so he’s forced into going along with his plan, but he constantly looks for ways out of the situation.
And, yeah. It’s a film that we’ve seen in one form or another many, many times over the years. Firewall brings nothing to the table and ends up being just another formulaic film which hits all the right notes at the right points until it finishes in exactly the way you think it’s going to end.

Virginia’s part in the movie is disappointing. It was her first outing on the big screen since 2004s smash film Sideways, and I won’t lie – I was pretty chuffed to hear she was going to be in a big movie starring alongside Harrison Ford, THE Harrison Ford.

But, how quickly that waned.

It’s another movie where she doesn’t have a great deal to do, anybody could have been his wife. I mean, she does her best to play the scared Wife and Mother in the whole situation, that much is evident. But, it’s another one where she’s wasted. Putting her in a role like this, of course you’re going to get quality but, come on, she deserves more.

She can’t, of course, save a bad movie, especially being underused like she is here. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a terrible movie, I sat through the rewatch so that’s a good thing. But, it’s far from a great one. It’s a no brainer film, popcorn fodder at most.
Speaking about the movie while on the promotional tour with radiofree.com she seemed to have fun making the movie at least, at least working with Harrison Ford, well… And kissing the (lucky) fella at least.

“Yeah. I kind of snuck that in there. He didn’t know I was going to do it. [laughs] And plus it was my first day, and that was the scene, so I just thought, “Well, I’ll go for it.” And I did!

I didn’t plan it, but I just thought, “Well, we don’t have any opportunity to embrace in this movie.” And I wanted to see a marriage. I didn’t want to just be the screen wife in the background. And he didn’t want me to be that way, either. He really fought for every human moment that I had in this movie so that I wasn’t reduced to that. And my hat’s off to him, because he gave that to me. This was my first time in many, many years being in a studio picture. And it was my first time being on a movie this big. So I didn’t want to make waves, I guess. I didn’t feel intimidated, I just wanted to observe, and I don’t know that I would have been as demonstrative as I usually can be on a set with moments that I want as an actor. I think I would have just been like, “That’s cool…” But he stepped up for me.”

I’d like to say it’s worth a watch, but it’s not something you should go out of your way to see. I probably wouldn’t have bothered watching it again if it wasn’t for this project. I wasn’t even sure if I’d make it to the end when it started playing in the machine.

If you’re bored and flicking through the channels and it’s on, then keep it on, watch it for what it is without expecting too much and you’ll be fine.

Availability:

Good. Easy to find on DVD and Blu-Ray, and for cheap. It’s on streaming channels depending on your location.

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Trailer:

Just Ask My Children

Just Ask My Children is 2001 Made for TV Biopic movie from Lifetime. It tells the story of a couple caught up in the now infamous Kern Contry child abuse trails.

And, as much as I do enjoy biopics, even made for TV Movie ones (especially made for TV Ones?), this film sickens my soul.

Not because it’s a bad film, but the fact that it exists. It shouldn’t exist. The events portrayed in the film shouldn’t have happened. It makes me mad that, despite this happening before, it’s happened since. No lessons learned, nothing taken away from it.

Through the trials over 30 people where convicted on some level of child abuse, Just Ask My Children focuses it’s story on two of those people, but never forget while you’re watching this isn’t just happening to the people you’re seeing on screen, it was a wide spread event.

It’s the 8th of April 1982, in Bakersfield, California the Kniffen family, Scott (Jeffrey Nording) and Brenda (Virginia Madsen) are enjoying some quality time in their home with their sons Brian (6) and Brendan (8).

Brenda is an 80’s American Homemaking American Wife- who also taught at a Bible School. Scott is an Inventory Manager for a Diesel Shop. They are living the 80’s American Dream, an almost idyllic existence.

There’s a knock on the door. Their lives are changed forever. It’s the Police, they storm in and arrest the two parents, accusing them of Satanic Ritual abuse against their sons.
Among the accusations that would come to be thrown at them were claims that they’d molested their sons, hung them from ceilings by hooks and forced to engage in various depraved acts for the camera.

It was from the mouths of Brian and Brendan that these accusations were being made.

But not their minds. They were being coached into making the accusations by the police investigating the claims against their parents. The children were told that if they cooperated and told them “the truth” then they would soon be back with their parents.

When questioned on their own, they were both told that the other sibling had already told them what had happened and that they just needed to confirm the heinous accusations were true.

The children would both deny the accusations and repeatedly tell the Officers that nothing like what they saying had ever happened.
No evidence was ever found to back up the claims of abuse.

Despite all of this the details of the arrests where made public via the media, pretty much condemning all the parents and heavily praising the work of the Police in bringing these criminals to justice.

During the trials of the Kniffens the “evidence” against them was another barrage of half truths and outright lies brought to the court by the prosecution and the Kniffens would be convicted for a total of 240 years in Prison.
Just As My Children details all of this, and the Kniffens fight for justice to clear their names.

I won’t go into more detail here, not because I don’t want to *spoil* anything, it’s a historical case which makes it kind of hard for me to do – But I believe that people should watch this film and do their own research into the events surrounding it so they are aware of just what can happen when madness takes over.

Virginia Madsen plays Brenda Kniffen brilliantly, it’s probably some of her finest work committed to film. It’s not just her, the whole film is excellently made and everyone involved puts in some serious effort to bring this story to the screen. Everyone involved with the film should be commended for their efforts on this one.

It’s genuinely a shame this film wasn’t more recognised at the time of it’s release, but, it’s first showing coincided with the 9/11 attacks in America in 2001 and therefore, obviously, there were more important and relevant things for the Country to be concentrating on right then.
And, it was a shame because the Kniffens deserved to have their story told. But, alas, a small voice in a very large, and understandable crowd. Life isn’t fair and can be hideously cruel, sometimes more than once.

Availability:

Good. Still shown on TV from time to time and copies of the film on DVD are easy to find.

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Lying in Wait

Oieeeee. Lying in Wait is an odd one. Just, odd. It’s from 2001 and I believe was straight to video and DVD on release.

Babee Gordon (Thomas Newton) is going out his life pretty much keeping himself to himself, just being a bachelor doing bachelor things. One day he gets new neighbours, Keith and Vera Miller (Rutger Hauer and Virginia Madsen respectively).
He slowly gets drawn into a friendship with them, impressed by Keith and his way with the ladies, but he can’t help but develop feelings of his own for a lady, Vera (I mean, who wouldn’t?).

One night after a party Vera is driving them home, but ends up crashing the car, badly. She escapes with minor injuries but Keith ends up with severe brain damage which debilitates him, rendering him unable to speak and confined to a wheel chair.

From there strange things start happening, deaths and the like, that nobody can really explain, and it all gets rather, weird.
It’s another film that I’m scared of spoiling too much if you haven’t seen it so I don’t want to get into details. It wouldn’t take much for you to guess if I said too much.

So, would I recommend you watch it? Yeah. Ish. It’s not a brilliant film, but if you’re looking for an excuse to watch a Virginia Madsen film you’ve not seen then you can probably do a lot worse than this one to be honest. But, be warned that it can be odd.
It’s low budget for sure, but both Rutger Hauer and Virginia Madsen put in fine performances here, probably better than the film actually deserves which raises it up another notch. I’m not a massive fan of Mr Hauer for the most part, but he definitely has his place in Hollywood and this is one of them.

Availability:

Not hard to find on Region 1 DVD, and cheap.

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Lying in Wait - Production Stills 1 image

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