Pacte sous le soleil

If you're a fan of Jane Seymour, you're going to want to watch this tv movie she co-produced, which shows it was important to her! She's absolutely gorgeous as always, but she goes against type in this '90s thriller. No one ever called her the next Meryl Streep, so if you rent it, you're obviously not in it for the acting. You're in it for her beauty, and you won't be disappointed.

Jane is a gum-chewing, low-class, skimpy-dressed Southern girl who stops at a gas station in Arizona in the middle of the night. A really creepy drifter approaches her car and asks for a ride, and because she's an idiot, she agrees. In the next scene, we see the hitchhiker's dead body dumped off the side of the road. Jane checks into a small motel run by Don Ameche and tries to keep a low profile. But will the police catch up with her? What about the other mysterious guest, Stephen Meadows? Is he really interested in her, or is after information? You can watch this somewhat cheesy movie during date night if you want, because if you talk through it, you won't miss much.

Not bad for a TV movie. Not quite the performance from Jane Seymour as seen in one of my all time favorites, SOMEWHERE IN TIME. In this she plays a Southern accent gal who is out to get her young daughter back. Why do the English have such good Southern accents? Ala Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in GONE WITH THE WIND. Well, this ain't no GWTW. Directed by James Keach and written by Duane Poole, this 1992 movie was showed last night, fifteen years later. Miss Seymour still looks good, by the way, but I didn't buy the femme fa-tale bit she played in this movie. In fact I thought she missed the boat completely. However, playing opposite her was a good looking hunk, Stephen Meadows, as a guy we think is on the make for our heroine. Whether in his swimming trunks or his BVDs, this guy is hot. He also has the more interesting part to play and meets the challenge quite well. Won't reveal any more about that. What else has this guy done since then? And why isn't he working more often. It was a surprise to see Don Ameche in this. Playing a tottering old grump of a motel manager, he almost stole the film. This must have been one of his last films. What a legend he was. Steve Railsback, whom I don't know, played the husband and was given probably the worst lines in the movie, but managed to get them across without too much embarrassment. Rounding out the leading roles is Ray Wise as a detective on the search for the killer. With what he had, he did well. But, this picture belongs to Meadows. Let's see more of this guy.

Don Ameche plays the quirky manager of the Arizona motel where Jane Seymour is staying, while trying to retrieve her kidnapped daughter. Seems her ex husband, Ray Wise, who took her daughter, has been located by a private eye, who in turn is putting the squeeze on Seymour for money to reveal the husband's hiding place. The plot is unpredictable, involving roadside murders, a frame up, and unexpected twists, however sizable plot holes and confusion abounds. The story is far from dull, but smacks of audience manipulation. Seeing Jane Seymour in a nice assortment of mini dresses is never a bad thing however. "Sunstroke" is recommended viewing if you can overlook it's minor flaws. - MERK

Executive produced by Jane Seymour and director James Keach, Seymour is Teresa Winters from Georgia who has come to Scottsdale, Arizona searching for her daughter Jennifer (Kristina Betts). Waiting to hear from her ex-husband Larry (Ray Wise), Teresa meets Greg Foster (Stephen Meadows) at their shared motel and they begin an affair. However Greg has another agenda.

Seymour uses a southern American accent, which raises her pitch when she yells, making her sound more ferocious in one scene that she normally appears. She is styled with tight clothes and baring flesh, sweating, and trying a sultry eyes half closed look, but sensuality only works when the person doesn't make it so contrived. Seymour is also seen dancing, has sex in a public swimming pool, and gets one camp line `You've reached the line. Don't cross it'.

The teleplay by Duane Poole has some interest when Teresa has ambiguity as to whether she is a local killer and we think Greg is being manipulated by a femme fatale, but as soon as Teresa discovers something in Greg's room, the narrative is reduced to a woman in peril from a `sociopath'.

Keach-lookalike Meadows gives the more interesting performance since his change of character wipes out our memory of the guiless person we had known, Don Ameche is funny as the motel manager, but poor Wise gets the worse lines and fails to rise above them.