First Daughter

"First Daughter" has deficits in all the usual made-for-television ways. Poor technical consulting, contrived miniclimaxes every so often followed by cut-to-black for commercial breaks, 2nd tier acting talent, low budget, etc. Nonetheless, this predictable fabrication manages it's genre attributes well mixing comedy, romance, suspense, action, etc. resulting in an entertaining watch.

The film was quite good but what strange locational settings have been selected for this movie. I watched with great interest as location after location that I am familiar with appeared on my screen. You see I have walked across the very bridge that is used for the final climatic scenes. (Maldon Bridge on the southern outskirts of Sydney)It's in a lonely valley and is a very rickety unstable structure that crosses a virtually dry creek bed. Ah the magic of the movies. To see the bridge blown up and have it crossing a far more substantial river. Kind of weird. Great Movie, but if you are a Sydneysider the realism may be spoiled.

(Some Spoilers) A tit for tat war between the US Government and a militia group called the "American Freedom Fighters" lead by their combat and political supreme commander Michael Smith, David Wheeler, is the central story in the made for TV movie "First Daughter".

After an ATF raid at the American freedom Fighters headquarters in Michigan the "Freedom Fighters" struck back at a Berverly Hills fund raising dinner for Presdent Jonathan Hayes, Gregory Harrison, that resulted in the deaths of a dozen freedom fighters and secret service agents. During the fire fight secret service agent Alex McGeregor ,Mariel Hemingway,saved the president's life by pushing him out of the presidential limousine after it was hit by an armor-piercing anti-tank rocket that almost tore it in half.

Called unprofessional for not following orders by her boss Daily, Alan Dale, Alex faces dismissal from the secret service, Daily's a by-the-book fanatic who had his brain stuck up his butt for so long that he was unable to use any God-given common sense that might enter it, even if the President of the United States life was at stake.

Despite Daily's objection President Hayes assigns Agent McGeregor to look after his bratty and 16 year-old daughter Jess, Monica Keena,on a field trip with her friends in the isolated Colorado Rockies. Which also happens to be where the members of the militia the "American freedom Fighters" are hanging out in. Right after the shoot-out in Beverly Hills the ATF tracked down the Freedom Fighters in rural Minnasota. After another bloody shootout the ATF captured it's leader Michael Smith. The Freedom fighters seeing Jess and her friends alone in the woods see their golden opportunity to have their leader freed from prison, with Jess held as hostage and facing death if he's not.

Pretty good thriller with Mariel Hemingway very physical in her role as agent Alex McGregor who slugs it out with the "Freedom Fighters" as well as her off-the-wall and by-the-book boss Daily and the man in charge of the camping troop that included Jess. Agent Grant Coleman, ,Dough Savant, after getting good and drunk got his wrist almost broken after he tried to get too close and friendly with Alex.

Grant later saved Alex's life when she stepped on a trip-wire, set by the Freedom Fighters,that had her change her very negative feelings about him. The Freedom Fighters Troy Dirk & Troy's younger brother Eric, Dominic Purcell Diamond Dallas Page & Chris Sadrinna, capture Jess after wiping out all the secret service agents and a number of the campers and demand an exchange of her for their leader Michael Smith.

Exciting ending with Alex saving Jess' life and then being chased by Troy in a deadly and dangerous rubber raft ride with Troy getting some sense knocked into his head by Daily. In the end Daily finally realized that Alex was right all along in her actions that saved the president life. Like she was in saving the life of his daughter Jess.

Good movie I like Alex, she is the type of woman who would not lose with any situation. Beside the story is made us tense which is missing in many movies now. The story it just not about lover, but about how to fight in the jungle to save president's daughter.

For once, a TV movie with Aussies pretending to be Americans, instead of the more common reverse. Americans trying to sound like Aussies always sound lame.

But for once WE were the lame ones! Yay!

As an Aussie, I found this movie great, just for the accents. The plot was not bad for a made-for-TV, and the acting was OK. But the best bit was listening to the "American" characters whose accents would slip from Yank to Oz and back to Yank in the same sentence... especially one of the President's Generals, played by the dad from "Hey Dad!" (one of the funniest shows in Oz TV history)