Amiche nella verità

I actually flipped to Lifetime channel by mistake, just as this movie was beginning, and ended-up watching it.

It certainly deals with a serious issue, probably more prevalent than we realize, in terms of this type of attack of a young woman by an ego-maniacal fellow-student, who feels he's above the system, and, unfortunately, often is.

The cast here was believable, and the performances credible. A lot of these Canadian/Lifetime flicks are decidedly "over-the-top." However, this is one I might label as "under-the-top."

While appreciating the fact that it wasn't presented in an overblown fashion, this film somehow seemed like a record being played at a slower speed than proper, the 96 minutes seemed like many more, and it had the effect of looking like a shorter film, looped over-and-over, seemingly going on and on and on and ON - before reaching its inevitable and predictable conclusion.

Yet the engaging characters and performances made it better than the average film of this type, despite these criticisms.

And while these pictures often "milk" the climax, this one could have given it a bit more detail and length.

While the movie itself wasn't bad to watch since considering that rape is no laughing matter, what disappointed me was Melissa Joan Hart and her little sister Emily were in it since I really don't like them as actresses. And another point that disappointed me was that Teryl Rothery's character, Detective Brubaker, didn't get a lot of air time. She is such a great actress!

Not only is this an excellent vehicle for Melissa Joan Hart, the precocious little darling of the pre-teen sit-com, "Clarissa Explains It All," and lately of ABC's "Sabrina, the Teenaged Witch," but is a fine little MOW in its own right. The script is tidy, the direction steady and the story nonsensational, but uncompromised. The big-time college football culture is captured well.

Hart plays campus newspaper reporter Mary Stuartson who pursues the story of an attempted cover-up by "Cornwell University" of the date rape of her roommate by star quarterback Clay Roberts. Hart is modestly heroic as she works to nail Roberts, played with testosterone cockiness and an edge of psychopathology by, I believe, Lochlyn Munro.

This movie works especially well for Hart because as a reporter she gets to talk a lot, asking questions, and she is a great talker; and when talking her face becomes expressive and natural and very winning. If she is forced to just mug a lot, as she does on Sabrina, she tends to fall back on a repertoire of expressions that soon begins to repeat.

I realized while watching this that Melissa Joan Hart is at her best as a fighter. She's not just plunky, but she's strong, and that's really no surprise because, if you've been pursuing a career as an actress since you were a little kid, you'd be tough too.

Clarissa fans will be happy to see that Hart gets to model six or seven different hair-dos and a number of cute outfits, and there are several Clarissa-style close-ups of her with minimal makeup so that her freckles show and her big blue eyes, like marbles in well water, are shown to advantage.

Notable is the fine performance by Lisa Dean Ryan as Mary's friend who was raped.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)

This movie does show a lot for security both Campus & Police that shows that it has shown how Campus crimes were once hidden from Police and is getting to a point that more and more they can't hide it any more. Law is getting to a point where one of these days we can't hide crime like we used too. CourtTV has run it as some other channels have for the same reason. Too bad Melissa Joan Hart hasn't made anything off it or any many other movie's she's done.

A very slow paced but aggressive investigation by a campus journalist played by Melissa Joan Hart leads to the apprehension of an identified rapist who happened to be one of the outstanding football player of their campus. For Mary, there's no such thing as backing out for what she have started as she was really motivated to pursue the justice that her friend "Molly" deserves even if its the reputation of the whole campus administration which is at stake. As for the very poor intensity mood of playing the role of Mary, so is the way the movie evolves into a lousy concept of a thriller film w/c doesn't even earned a climax. The only accelerating factor was that it was topped by a very energetic, strong appealing "Melissa Joan Hart" who for the very first place should not supposed accepted the role because she have her self credited with great sitcom's such as her adoring "Clarissa" and "Sabrina" and what would be a possible feedback was that this film would be a stumbling block to her flourishing career. For what I know...she's the only cream of this CRAP.