L'altra donna

In the past I have really liked some of these Harlequin romance movies.

This one, from 1994, stars Justine Bateman, not one of my favorite actresses. Her character, Lisa, is brutally assaulted one night; she winds up in the hospital and has amnesia.

Everyone acts very strangely around her. Apparently she and her husband Paul (Peter Outerbridge) have not shared a bedroom for some time. His much younger sister, who lives with them, loathes her. Both she and her brother thinks she's faking. Also Paul has a room he keeps locked.

Gradually pieces of her life fall together, and it's obvious she is a different woman. Her husband had filed for divorce, but they fall in love again. But why did she grow cold toward him initially?

Up to a point, this was pretty good. We do find out about Lisa's coldness. But beyond that, I thought the big denouement at the cabin was ridiculous.

Attempts to make Bateman look attractive were in vain, however, in photos of her in the restaurant she owns, she has her hair off her face and looks quite different. She has a new outfit on in every scene.

Okay for what it was.

These productions are so predictable ... canadian men are woman mental and physical abusers .. this is but one of thousands of similar stories ... makes me ill to watch so it will you as well ... blech

I read where someone praised the actress playing the daughter in this amateur hour production. And I left during the bland reading from the teleprompter kitchen scene with the father daughter and the cook/maid/whatever she was placed there for woman who seemed t5hat she was not on the same hate the wife/mother page.

That entire conversation was flat and straight out of a 4th grade thanksgiving play arena. Better direction and better dialog could have made this better. As it stands as a finished product and these high rating on IMDb don't measure up.

Oh, I almost left out the dude in the hospital parking lot who enters the hospital after the husband leaves and conveniently has a nurses assistant leave a cart of flowers for him to snatch one as a ploy to I guess get into this woman's room in broad daylight??? Like your going to assault a person in a crowded hospital and get away with it??

Nope, can't see the high ratings with this type of nonsense.

A generous *** out of **********

I was cleaning my workroom this afternoon, and the movie I had put on finished, and "Another Woman" came on. Not usually watching TV movies, I thought of changing channels, but I was busy. Imagine my surprise when I realized that, for a Harlequin movie, it was well-scripted and the cast quite good. Justine Bateman and Peter Outerbridge play the main characters without descending into syrupiness and Amy Stewart was very good as the teenager who has been hurt and strikes back without being bratty. The supporting cast manages to support well and avoid being bland. Of course, we all know they will live happily-ever-after. I mean, it is based on a Harlequin novel. Still, the script was well-written and the characters well-developed. What's that, you say? The medical information was not accurate? Not to worry. This is an escapism movie, not a medical school biology class. Grab the pop corn, a comfy pillow, and kick back for a relaxing few hours.

OK I admit it, I really found this one charming. Not great, just a nice comfortable movie to watch while no one was home this afternoon. The couple is so cute, (although Peter Outerbridge was "cuter" in Better than Chocolate) and you just want them to fall back in love. Everyone should have such a life!

So if you have an afternoon and no one is home, sit on the couch, tuck your legs up and pass the bonbons . . .