A Crime of Passion

Though on the surface this is a fairly routine made for TV murder mystery about a wealthy medical doctor who is a widower falling for a pretty stripper who reminds him of his deceased wife, it works best as a psychological character study of a tormented topless dancer who wants more out of life that she has experienced, including world travel and a respectable family. When all this is thwarted by her husband's snobby friends, his older daughter's rejection, and nostalgia for her old lifestyle, she seeks a vent for her frustrations. I know of no Hollywood film that successfully deals with prostitution or stripping in a realistic way. "Pretty Woman" was a successful glamorization of the world's oldest profession, bearing no resemblance to the real world of the high-class call girl. At least this film does try (without complete success) to actually get inside the mind and heart of a typical stripper. What it finds there is a ball of confusion between what is and what could be. The acting is top of the line for a TV movie, with standout performances by many of the supporting actors. The music to strip by could have been better. Prince's "Darling Nikki" by the Foo Fighters or something comparable would have created a more realistic atmosphere. But all in all a very worthwhile flick.

as Marci, a young woman who works at "The Brink" ( a seeming metaphor for her life) until she meets her doctor, well-portrayed by Powers Boothe.

Tracey Gold is the caretaker daughter, who takes care of her father (and his assets) and resents the fact that Marci (Rowan) has now entered the picture.

Basically, there is the usual friction. The new stepmother dynamic. Rowan makes a lot of her TV movie roles believable, and is quite versatile. While glamorous and sometimes wanton, she also seems to be the type of woman with a good head on her shoulders. She is not just eye candy for the doctor.

There is a plot involved. David Chokachi portrays Rowan's sometime boyfriend. This movie is worth watching for Rowan, who is good in many of her recent roles. Powers Boothe is always excellent, although this plot was a bit hard to believe in that a man of his intelligence and at his level, could not see the writing on the wall, but this was based on a true story, and sometimes love really is blind!. 8/10.

I've seen this movie twice and watched it while cooking dinner. It was good enough to discuss who did it and feel surprised at the end. That's about all you can ask. There were some good looking folk in it, too. What I'd call pretty much a typical lifetime movie. To me, that's a good thing. With commercials, one can pay attention to the movie no matter what, see some recognizable actors, become interested in new actors as they begin their career. There's something comforting about being in the house watching lifetime movies as if nothing bad was happening in the real world... that's something we all need lately. If this movie's on in another five years, I might be watching it again!!