Clean and Narrow

A little predictable, but good entertainment. No big name actors, yet good performance all around. I saw this late at night on HBO, almost skipped it but was drawn in by the first few minutes. Definetely worth watching, but I wouldn't pay to see this one. Looks like a straight to video offering.

One main reason I would recommend this film is the performance of Jeff Blizzard "AKA Casanova Jones". It was his first movie, and although not listed in the credits he was a key actor.

Today Jeff Blizzard is seen all over Los Angeles as the lead in a band called Casanova Jones. The music is inspired and ground breaking. I also like the performances of Wings Hauser and William Kat in the film. Brought back fond memories of the Great American Hero and the Seize of Firebase Gloria.

Jeff Blizzard also did another Independent film called "Battlefield Mine". This film is in its raw form, but also not bad. I have an uncut copy of the Clean and Narrow and watch it occasionally.

I did the subtitles for this picture's Dutch DVD release. My expectations beforehand were not great, but i was quickly drawn in by a gripping opening scene and remained more or less captivated for the duration of the movie. A mood of small town discontentment and inevitable disaster is competently evoked and abides throughout, leading up to a somewhat predictable yet satisfactory conclusion. "The clean and narrow" is not without its fair share of clichés, primarily when referring to some archetypal characters that seem to surface time and again in low budget features of this kind. Its storyline offers little in the way of twists and turns to take its viewers by surprise. Having said that, i generally tend to assess the merits of a motion picture by asking myself whether i can relate to its protagonists while i'm watching, and whether i care to see what happens next. On this occasion i most definitely did. In a psychological sense, the movie's predominant theme of man's desire to break free from his restraints, and his inability to do so (inspiring him to resort to desperate acts), is only marginally explored. In this case these restraints translate into a checkered past that catches up with our leading man, as well as a dead-end

town from which there is no escape. There is some serious chemistry between Jack Noseworthy (Buddy) and Laura Leighton (Marie), who can boast an excellent performance. Both their relationship and the one between Buddy and Marie's retarded brother Ferguson are credibly and at times even movingly portrayed. Rather than the aforementioned subject matter, or the subplot of Chief Brand and his wife (convincingly played by Wings Hauser and Sondra Locke) having to come to terms with the death of their son, it's these scenes that infuse this movie with whatever degree of emotional depth it's got. Barring none as far as i recall, the other cast members do a fine job as well. Notwithstanding its minor limitations, i'd say "The clean and narrow" is a commendable effort and 90 minutes well spent.

The Clean and Narrow is not all that original or exciting and is not really worth watching. It's a story of an ex-con, Buddy (Jeff Noseworthy) who, after claiming he's going clean, gets involved in a botched robbery with 2 friends of his that leaves a man dead. The Sheriff and his Deputy (Paul Francis) go investigate and quickly figure the three as who they think did it, but without enough evidence to arrest them. The Deputy, meanwhile, has a long-standing crush on Buddy's wife, Marie (Laura Leighton), and while Buddy's away, tries to make advances on her, making himself the evil cop in the process. Buddy tries to hide his involvement in the crime from his wife, but has to find a way out of his predicament. As I said, the story isn't all that great, and the ending isn't a whole lot better. Laura Leighton, my favorite actress from Melrose Place (and the reason I bothered with the movie), does a good job as Marie. Overall, however, the movie isn't really worth the hour and a half it runs, so unless your a fan of Leighton, this is one to skip. I give the movie 3/10 stars.