I didn't see all of this movie. The listings said it started at 1:30 (and it wasn't this movie that was listed) and that's when the recording started. But there was already a movie going on. I could wait until I see it all, if it airs in the near future, but I might forget the details. So I'll give my evaluation now.
This isn't funny enough to be a comedy but there are some laughs.
I know Mary Elizabeth Winstead from her role in the quirky comedy "BrainDead" and there are similarities between her character here and the one in that show. I liked her there and, although I didn't see her name until the closing credits and didn't know why she looked familiar, I liked her here. She has several scenes where she is just looking at something, and somehow that's enough. One scene where she is high on drugs is effectively done. The scene really communicates how weird things are, between her wild performance and the lack of audio other than music which appears to be for our benefit, not music they are hearing. And while Winstead does quite well as proper and responsible, she does have to recover from that one crazy night and achieves that. She also has to cry too, which is surprising, but it works.
Katie Nehra has her own style and a lot of enthusiasm. I like her too, as she shows Dakota a good time when he's supposed to be in school. I don't know what she does for a living, though that may have been part of what I missed, but I'm guessing it's nothing substantial, or perhaps she goes from job to job. In any case, she's never shown working in the part I saw. And I know how to describe her appearance. I got confused once when I realized there was an environmental problem and wondered if I might be seeing "Erin Brockovich". But she didn't look enough like Julia Roberts, and she never was the one fighting for justice.
Both women are likable in their own way.
I liked Skylar Gaertner as Dakota as well.
Derek Luke is quite charming as the developer when not being challenged, but he believes he is right and won't back down.
I did recognize Don Johnson, but only in the sense that I thought Roger looked like Don Johnson, but not enough like Don Johnson to be Don Johnson. I haven't had a lot of experience with this actor, but I saw him in several movies and in a WB TV series about a flawed lawyer. His best scene is in the play, but he does well elsewhere too., particularly where Roger seems to be losing his mind.
And regarding the play, it was just rehearsal, but at first I wasn't sure whether they were performing or the actors were being themselves just talking. That seems like good acting to me.
An interesting technique in the courtroom: Alex faces the judge and looks at her opponents. I don't think we ever see the judge.
The presence of Dakota shouldn't give anyone the impression kids should be watching. There is sex talk which is a little naughty for TV, but let's face it. Most prime-time shows have gotten this bad. But just in case you see it uncensored, for me the sound went out a lot.
It's certainly worth seeing.
This isn't funny enough to be a comedy but there are some laughs.
I know Mary Elizabeth Winstead from her role in the quirky comedy "BrainDead" and there are similarities between her character here and the one in that show. I liked her there and, although I didn't see her name until the closing credits and didn't know why she looked familiar, I liked her here. She has several scenes where she is just looking at something, and somehow that's enough. One scene where she is high on drugs is effectively done. The scene really communicates how weird things are, between her wild performance and the lack of audio other than music which appears to be for our benefit, not music they are hearing. And while Winstead does quite well as proper and responsible, she does have to recover from that one crazy night and achieves that. She also has to cry too, which is surprising, but it works.
Katie Nehra has her own style and a lot of enthusiasm. I like her too, as she shows Dakota a good time when he's supposed to be in school. I don't know what she does for a living, though that may have been part of what I missed, but I'm guessing it's nothing substantial, or perhaps she goes from job to job. In any case, she's never shown working in the part I saw. And I know how to describe her appearance. I got confused once when I realized there was an environmental problem and wondered if I might be seeing "Erin Brockovich". But she didn't look enough like Julia Roberts, and she never was the one fighting for justice.
Both women are likable in their own way.
I liked Skylar Gaertner as Dakota as well.
Derek Luke is quite charming as the developer when not being challenged, but he believes he is right and won't back down.
I did recognize Don Johnson, but only in the sense that I thought Roger looked like Don Johnson, but not enough like Don Johnson to be Don Johnson. I haven't had a lot of experience with this actor, but I saw him in several movies and in a WB TV series about a flawed lawyer. His best scene is in the play, but he does well elsewhere too., particularly where Roger seems to be losing his mind.
And regarding the play, it was just rehearsal, but at first I wasn't sure whether they were performing or the actors were being themselves just talking. That seems like good acting to me.
An interesting technique in the courtroom: Alex faces the judge and looks at her opponents. I don't think we ever see the judge.
The presence of Dakota shouldn't give anyone the impression kids should be watching. There is sex talk which is a little naughty for TV, but let's face it. Most prime-time shows have gotten this bad. But just in case you see it uncensored, for me the sound went out a lot.
It's certainly worth seeing.