Escaping Dad

The fair thing to say about this film is to define it as correct. It is just a puzzle with each piece in in right place. And, no doubts, that is a real, substacial good point. Not bad acting, few holes, a fist of unrealistic situations, a too idealistic end but , in essence, nothing bad. Yes, the idea is familiar and it was used in better manner but Sunny Mabrey, Jason Wiles,Trevor Donovan are more than decent in their roles and the script far to be awful.

23 July 2017: I remember when I was in college, I was a cinema major and one of my college professors told the class that there aren't any new ideas, every film or t.v show has been done at least once. All that has changed is a new twist on an old film idea.

He then made a good valid point of telling the class of an old 70's movie starring Clint Eastwood, "Play Misty For Me" in 1971 and then came a similar film with Michael Douglas, "Fatal Attraction" in 1987 and then African American version film with Martin Lawrence, "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" in 1996 all have one thing in common, after a 1 night stand, the woman will not stop and becomes a stalker.

So alone comes a pretty good made for t.v movie "Escaping Dad" which is very similar to beautiful and talented Jennifer Lopez in the movie "Enough" in 2002. By the way this version has actor Casper Van Dien's daughter in it and the abusive husband is just like the one in the film "Enough", but instead of wife/mother with one kid, in this version, it's mom and two kids. Husband is the same in both films, a well-established man in the town and has influence with the public. I liked Jenny Lopez's film more, but this one is not bad. 7 up.

The movie was good very interesting until you get to the end it seems as if they ran out of time and just hurried up with it as if they were late for lunch. The women I thought could have been more strong than timid especially if she is running from her hubby with her two kids.

This is the story of an abused wife, Erin (Mabrey) on the run from her violent husband, Darren (Wiles). As soon as he realises what's happening, she's picked up the children, Amy (Van Dien) and Charlie (Walken), and has hit the road on the way to the safety of her friend. Being the DA, Darren pulls a few strings and tells a few lies and has an Amber Alert put on his runaway family.

To be truthful, there's not much new in this story. However, it's well scripted and structured which helps to keep it interesting. There is a slight twist to the tale, though it feels like it's an add-on to make things more engaging. For me, this second story arc wasn't required as the story itself is fine. Along with the directing and acting you have a decent and above average TV Thriller.

The only thing in the story that's a little weak is Erin's steadfastness at not telling her daughter the truth. I can understand not letting her young son in on the awfulness of life and marriage but Amy is in her late teens and should be able to handle it. However, I did like that Amy still stuck by her mother, even though she hadn't been told the facts and constantly moaned about going home.

Even though Kohn doesn't add anything new to the direction of the movie, he still brings across a tension, which appears to creep through the film. It's always there, though at times it becomes more evident. He also uses light to subtly create atmosphere. For example, he adds lens flare and haze to make the day look brighter while the runaways are driving. While in the car there's the air of unease, especially on Erin's face.

In fact, Sunny Mabrey is brilliant in the portrayal of Erin. In most of her scenes, she has that air of nervousness. You can believe she's constantly worrying about what could happen... what will Darren do next to find her? How far will he go? Jason Wiles is good at adding menace to the film as Darren. He's a strong single-minded man who wants everything his way and will do anything to make that happen, and Wiles gets this across in every scene. Even the supporting cast get into their characterisations, there's a trucker who appears a little creepy and untrustworthy; his name is Trucker Pete and David Ury portrays this well, though he's only on screen a few seconds.

This is one of those TV Thrillers I'd watch again. It was enjoyable and passed an hour and a half so I didn't have to go out in the snow. So if it's a bad day or a lazy Sunday, then this film is a good way to spend your time.

But I'm soooo tired of LMN movies with teenagers who disrespect their mothers. Awful.