Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack

This is the first time, married couple Hartman + Black act in front of a camera for a TV-movie. Insiders talk about a Clint Black, who had to convince his wife to take the female leading part as "Ponder Favor" and it was a real faux pas for Lisa Hartman to comply with Black's request: In my opinion the acting and writing are so bad that this movie, though based on fact, is almost beyond belief! Especially Clint Black ("Jack Favor") sets a sad example of a country singer who tries to be a serious actor: Every time "Ponder" comes to visit him in jail, a painful scene is guaranteed in which he struggles to shed a tear or grit his tears! Oh Clint, ummm "Jack", you're such a heroe! Without an equivalent vis-à-vis as an actor it's not a big astonishment that professional actress Lisa Hartman doesn't act "professional". The same movie with another casting would have been a hit... probably... Who knows? So even the "People weekly" magazine named "Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack Favor" as one of the worst TV-movies of the year 1998! I gave it a 2!

Clint Black and his wife, Lisa Hartman, really "click" in this story about Cadillac Jack. I saw the movie for the first time on TV September 12, 2002. I had no idea that this was based on a true story. The story line was well written and Clint and Lisa are the absolute best couple that could have played these parts. Kudos to them both.

Released to TV in 1998, "Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack" (1998) is a crime drama based on the true story of Texas Rodeo star Jack Favor (Clint Black), who is framed for a double murder in 1967 and wrongly imprisoned in Angola prison, Louisiana. His wife (Lisa Hartman) works to apprehend justice while, on the inside, Jack uses his talents to inspire his fellow inmates.

The tone is a meshing of "The Onion Field" (1979) and "Brubaker" (1980), but of course with a different story and less polished production values due to the TV budget. Nevertheless, the drama is compelling enough and even moving in the second half.

I found both Clint and Lisa convincing and don't see where people say Clint's a lousy actor. He may not be Robert Redford, but he ain't bad. Yet he wasn't the best physical fit for Cadillac Jack since Clint is 5'9" while the rodeo star was 6'2". Then again, the same thing was done with Joaquin Phoenix playing Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line" (2005) so I guess it's not a big deal.

The film runs 1 hour, 31 minutes and was shot in northeast Texas (Farmersville, McKinney & Cleburne).

GRADE: B/B-

I'm a big Clint Black fan so I really wanted to like this movie, but it was as cheesy a t.v. movie as they come...full of slow motion special effects and photo ops for his wife to strike her signature poses.

The oddest thing was that Mac Davis was listed as a character in the beginning of the movie. Being a Davis fan as well, I waited for him to appear, only to be disappointed. (we rented this from netflix so perhaps it was a different cut?) After returning to the opening credits to see his character listed as "Clayton", I could recall only one reference to this character - a phone conversation.

Black isn't a terrible actor, and it took guts to take on this part - but I felt that this true story deserved a better telling.

I'm sure they made this TV movie to cash in on the Clint Black name, but I think it would have been a more compelling movie had the screenplay been better written, and had it starred anyone but Black. The singer/actor crossover thing almost never works (Masked and Anonymous, starring Bob Dylan, is another example of horrid crash-N-burn. And that film had lots of REAL actors).

This goes both ways. In the early 1930's, John Wayne was making "Poverty Row" westerns and they decided to make him "Singin' Sandy". I love John Wayne movies, but the poor man couldn't sing a note. They dubbed his singing with a voice so far removed from Wayne's that it was ridiculous. (Check Riders Of Destiny on Youtube for THAT little chunk of dreck. The movie starts right off with a song.) Wayne became very embarrassed when he made personal appearances and children clamored for him to sing a song. He got rid of Singin' Sandy just as fast as he could, much to the benefit of all.

Cadillac Jack deserves a good turn on screen, but Clint simply cannot act, and the screenplay is a cliché-ridden mess. It looks like a huge mistake for all involved. If, in your eyes, Clint Black can simply do no wrong, then this movie might be up your alley. For everyone else, not so much. It's not "Monster A - Go Go" bad, but it's a pretty poor film.