The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds... It Leads

Okay. Right up front, I was basically done with Rita Moreno's character after her first appearance in the series. In this TV movie, she was just tiring.

Yes, the mood was indeed a somber one with this entry. Nevertheless, I did find myself enjoying it (and it was great to see Beth again!).

I bought the DVD box set of the series and the TV movies. Having read the reviews of this movie, I decided to watch all of the movies in reverse order. I thought it would be best to get this one out of the way as quickly as possible., However, I did find this one to be better than expected. At least I had no trouble hanging with it, and yes, ultimately enjoying it.

But oh my, the ending was not something I would ever associate with a Rockford entry.

I'll take my Rockford any way I can get him, so I was thrilled when these TV movies came out. This one, however, is not in the usual lighthearted Rockford style. It's pretty heavy.

Rita (Rita Moreno) is back with her husband (Hal Linden) who is a teacher. When he's accused of child molestation because of his resemblance to a police sketch, he is put on suspension. This devastates him completely. Rita appeals to both Rockford and Beth (Gretchen Corbett) to help him.

A serious story about how the media can destroy a man - similar to the Richard Jewell case. Apparently it was filmed in 1997, probably i response to that, but wasn't released until 1999.

James Garner by this time had some trouble walking at times, due to the fact that he always did his own stunts and the series nearly killed him. And good for him, it doesn't look like he had plastic surgery. He's always good, always watchable, always adorable.

Angel was particularly bad news in this episode. All the performances were marvelous. Rita Moreno looked gorgeous and what fun earrings she wore.

All in all, well worth seeing, but don't expect a lot of humor. The '70s were over.

This was the last movie of the series, I believe that there are two additional ones that were never shown. It is sort of a close out, a lot of the old cast appears in it. At this point James Garner said he was getting too old, one foot chase shows him hobbling out of the pickup, I guess he was too old for the Firebird at this point, to catch the bad guy. As a fan, I appreciated the series being tied in with the movies, and should be the model for Hollywood to follow. If there ever was a Rockford big screen movie made and if it was soon, perhaps James Garner could play Rocky.

Of the six movies that were shown I would recommend all of them, particularly I Love LA, which was the first and the highest rated.

As a TV movie psychological thriller, this is passable. However, it doesn't fit the style or the wit and charm of The Rockford Files we know and love. Too serious, too heavy-handed. It is overly pessimistic, and isn't befitting at all to the last installment of The Rockford Files. For a show that got an abrupt ending during its seasonal run, this final TV movie was an opportunity to celebrate Rockford, the wonderful characters, and showing another triumphant, witty, and satisfying James Rockford investigation, to end things right. It doesn't even end with the Rockford Files theme but some depressingly bleak piano solo. Seriously?

So, a real bit of a disappointment that way. As a thriller it is not great, and seems a bit unrealistic in its treatment of the falsely accused. I'm not sure exactly why the writers needed to take the final Rockford Files movie and turn it into such a serious indictment of the media and the police force. Just really kind of odd in its intensity.

If you are watching the Rockford movies in order, make an exception and don't watch this last. Swap it with the third to last or second to last movie, Punishment and Crime or Murders and Misdemeanors. They'll leave a much better taste in your mouth and they fit the Rockford style much better. This movie could have passed in my book as a mediocre installment in the middle of the TV movie series, but as the last one it's kind of unforgivable.

The Rockford movies in the Nineties were familiar and unchallenged, kind of like drinking a warm cup of cocoa. While Jim is more cranky than charming, Dennis is as put-upon as ever, Angel remains Angel and the Firebird's always getting dinged.

The first four were entertaining, but there's a real drop-off in quality after "Godfather Knows Best." I think that's when they stopped caring and just took the money. The movies also seemed to get darker and more violent. The last one, "If It Bleeds, It Leads" is actually a lousy way to wrap up the series. I remember hearing that it was the last one and had sat on a shelf for a year or two. When I saw it, I knew why. It's awful and depressing. Stay with the earlier TV movies if you need a Rockford Nineties fix.