The Ticket

Starring: Shannen Doherty

I watched this movie because Grandma loves to watch anything with Shannen in it. We laughed all the way through because the plot was so predictable and evil Rita screaming at her husband (or partner) was definitely one of the more memorable scenes, in typical Western (woman) style she insists on dominating him throughout the movie and humiliates and badgers him into agreeing to help her kill for the lottery ticket. Yes, Rita's has her weak lover wrapped around her greedy little finger.

Seen better movies but this movie did entertain us on an otherwise quiet evening. Grandma nearly choked when she heard Rita screech at Hank - or whatever the poor chaps name is.

Shannen Doherty was fun to watch and looked so unreal as the mother of this near-teenager. However, her acting skills made up for the obviously ill-considered age gap. Shannen is a true actor and this movie as are her others - really show how talented this lady is. Having said that, if it wasn't for Shannen holding the plot together I may have fallen asleep. Apart from Doherty's pukka acting skills, I 'd give the movie a feeble 5 out of 10.

To call this film 'formula' is truly understating the case. To put it in the Action/Adventure category is almost a joke. Why do 8-figure lottery winners venture out in a Cessna to claim their prize? For a million, you could build a team of gold robots to build you an airport, then charter a jet to come in and fly you out. Shannen Doherty gives yet another unmemorable performance, James Marshall looks bored most of the time. Our supervillains with high-powered rifles and snowmobiles are reminiscent or Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater in Ruthless People. Or am I thinking of Romancing the Stone? These are parodies, caricatures from movies of the past. The moral? When running for your life, *always* go back for your gear. If that means diving through a window while on fire, or getting shot at while pulling a massive, heavy sled, so be it. You must never forget - you must *always* go back for your gear. And we're in North America, right?

Why does the generator put out "...about 220..." volts to run household lights? Don't quit your day jobs, guys.

It is unlikely that anyone with any common sense would build a fire in the middle of a wood floor. At least one of the buildings in the weather station at Fire Creek should have had a fireplace or stove. There were enough furnishings and clothes left behind that it is unlikely that a stove would have been removed. Then we have the problem of the lottery ticket itself. All the winner would have to do would be to fill in the winner's information, including signature, in ink, and the ticket would no longer be a "bearer" instrument that would be useful to thieves. We also see a strange near-drowning when the son plops himself face forward into the creek while trying to get water and doesn't struggle a bit. Of course, all of this is forgotten when the viewer is exposed to the shrill and wooden acting of Heidi Swedberg, the actress portraying the lead villain. Her acting was so bad that I even forgot that she is a beautiful woman.

I've actually been waiting a long time to see this movie, as strange as that sounds. I was going to watch it a few years ago on TV, but wasn't able to and I've been keeping an eye out for it in the listings ever since. The story sounded good and Shannen Doherty has made some good TV movies. This is one of them. I thought the story was solid. It was simple and easy to follow.

At the beginning of the movie, we really get a sense of the struggles this family is going through. The husband, Keith, is doing his best to find work, but there's not much out there for him. Money problems are only one reason the marriage is falling apart and CeeCee, the wife, decides to leave Keith, and move away in order to start a new life with a stable job. I liked the way they developed her character. She wasn't selfish and shallow by staying with the husband just because he won the lottery. He convinced her that their marriage deserved another chance and that having money would just give them options for the future.

The couple and their son Eric travel to Denver to claim the prize money. Keith is a pilot and he borrows a plane from the charter company he works for. He makes the mistake of showing his boss the ticket before leaving, giving her just enough time to sabotage the plane - draining the fuel tank, cutting off the radio and removing most of the survival pack. The plane crashes miles away from civilization on a snowy mountain and the family has to do whatever it takes to survive and elude the people who are hot on their trail after the ticket.

I enjoyed this movie immensely. I felt it was very well-written and executed. There were no parts I felt were unbelievable or implausible. One of the comments on this movie talk about a plot hole. There was no such plot hole. The family didn't make false tracks because they had to get someplace where they'd be found. Misleading Rita and Chuck, the ones who rigged the plane to crash, would only waste time and energy. The family did exactly what anyone in the same situation would do. The many obstacles they had to overcome showed their ingenuity and strong will to survive. This is a great flick for a late night. You'll be rooting for the good guys and you won't be able to guess what's coming next.

However the voltage of the generator was NOT one of them Tarkaan. I don't think I've ever seen a portable electric generator that DIDN'T put out 220 volts. The two I have put out both 110 and 220V through three plug-ins.

The flying sequences weren't bad. Unlike most movies, the plane didn't immediately crash as soon as it ran out of fuel. The post 1967 Cessna 210, which had been retro-fitted with a three blade prop, was quite believable in the way that it DIDN'T break completely up on impact. Usually plane crashes in movies are immediate and devastating to the aircraft as well as all the occupants. They almost ALWAYS catch fire, but the writers stopped themselves short of that. Of course they mentioned that the plane was out of gas, so it couldn't go up in a ball of flame. (Unlike the snowmobile near the end of the movie.)