The Rockford Files: I Still Love L.A.

James Garner returns 15 years later to the Rockford files as movies of the week. In this first installment, we find gym divorced yeah, and living through the LA riots. His closest friends are still old Angel Martin and Lt. Dennis Becker, and he's still a Private Investigator living in a double wide at 29 Cove rd, Paradise Cove.. Malibu. The more you watch the movie, The more you love it. It's a great story and it only gets better from there.

During the course of a riot in Los Angeles with the police rather occupied an old time film star from the 50s and 60s is shot to death in her own driveway. The police arrest her two grown kids, Geoffrey Naufts and Shannon Kenny, for the crime. They've retained Joanna Cassidy who at one time was married to a well known private eye.

That would be Jim Rockford as James Garner reprises his role from his 70s television series The Rockford Files. They may not be married any more, but Cassidy doesn't doubt his professionalism. These two spoiled Hollywood brats can certainly afford the Rockford price of $100.00 a day plus expenses.

The kids are arrested and Joe Santos does the arresting, but later they offer as a defense the fact that their stepfather former ballplayer Joe Campanella sexually abused them while practicing Satanic rituals in his basement.

Jim Rockford was definitely one of the more cynical characters that television ever brought us. But even he has his heroes and he refuses to believe all American Joe Campanella could be into Satanism. Especially since he visited Campanella before Campanella makes an admission to it. Then it became on the house after Campanella was found hanging from his basement roof and the cops call it suicide.

Stuart Margolin as Angel Martin is back and though he's really not part of the plot every Rockford Files episode was a bit better when he was in it.

Garner and Cassidy also worked well together. Garner is a little older with a lot more belly to him. But still the same razor sharp cynical mind. It was a nice return.

Fans of the "Rockford Files" series will be glad to see the return of Jim Rockford and some of his supporting players, and many elements of the series make this telefilm watchable. The plot of this film is not the best, however; the central mystery is neither intricate nor particularly suspenseful. What dominates the action is a prevalent cynicism about our show business society in general and Hollywood in particular. The guest actors do a fine job, particularly Joanna Cassidy and Geoffrey Nauffts, but the tawdry little story at the center of the film leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.