The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel

Tommie was NOT the Madam ,Jeanette is .Tommie worked for her daughter as well as Monica .. I know this as facts ..

Eye-popping for TV to say the least. Put the blame on the genes or the panties? Tommie(Ellen Burstyn)is an old time New Orleans prostitute who answers the phone and keeps the books for the family business...a very popular two story brothel on Canal Street in The Big Easy. The business is owned and operated by Tommie's daughter, Jeanette(Annabella Sciorra). Jeanette's daughter, Monica(Dominigue Swain), has learned and enjoyed the tricks of the trade taught her by her mother and grandmother; but wants to break the cycle and get away from the trade for the sake of her own baby daughter. But with business, pleasure and family all rolled into one, it is a very difficult task to break away from a destiny so pre-designed.

One of their most valued clients, a well known local doctor(Adrian Roberts), is arrested for insurance fraud and wants to "sell out" the ladies to the FBI in hopes of beating the rap. The Feds arrest the women on charges of racketeering and drug trafficking. But a clever scheme involving Tommie's little black book containing high profile clients keeps the women from the big lock up. Also in the cast are: Anthony Michael Frederick, Douglas M. Griffin, Sewell Whitney and Russ Comegys. Pretty bold for prime time network TV. Go into this with both eyes wide open.

This is an excellent show with great acting and production values. It is colorful. I thought (perhaps mistakenly) that it was a pilot for some kind of series and I was disappointed that it did not go on.

The show is set in New Orleans. It makes good use of its unique location; you get a totally different feeling from the usual Hollywood movie. Annabella Sciorra looks zaftig, and she wears her new curves well. I appreciated seeing a woman with actual curves and hips on screen portraying a sexy character.

The main plot line concerns generations of New Orleans women running a brothel out of their house. They run up against trouble and have to try to find their way out.

Tommie is the Madam in this family of New Orleans prostitutes. Her daughter Jeanette didn't seem to have much of a choice about going into the business, and Jeanette's teenage daughter, Monica, has a daughter of her own, and she is having trouble keeping the daughter because of her family situation. Meanwhile, the FBI is looking for some way to shut the brothel down.

This is based on a true story, and the Sept. 11 attacks become relevant to the plot. The movie's best part came near the end, and Annabella Sciorra, Ellyn Burstyn and Dominique Swain all gave their best performances at that time, as did Gary Grubbs as an FBI investigator. The movie was not technically a comedy, but the ending certainly was funny.