Suburban Madness

Dr. Clara Harris was a successful dentist in Houston, Texas, the loving mother of two four year old twin boys, and the wife of Dr. David Harris, the orthodontist. Professionally, they were the ideal couple but they were not only ordinary but their marriage was crumbling. David cheated on Clara with a young receptionist/divorcée, Lisa. In the beginning, we see Clara drive her car over David in a murderous rage over the affair. The film is told from the perspective of the private investigator, Bobbi Bacha, whose practice deals with catching cheating spouses. In Texas, there is a law in the divorce court to benefit those spouses who are faithful and punish those who aren't. Clara slowly destroys herself in trying to save her marriage. It's a sad tale but pretty common.

I presume from this example, IF David Harris discovered his wife was having an affair, he would have been heroic if he slowly killed Amy Harris while her daughter screamed for him to stop. that's how the makers of this "based on real events" believe people should resolve their marital difficulties.

If revenge killing for having an affair is heroic then David Harris SHOULD have killed his wife because, in reality, she was cheating on her husband, a fact that was hidden from the viewer. This was proved by the private detective upon whose work the movie was based. That private detective has come out against this movie.

This movie claimed to have been based on real events but it was really based on half-truths. It caters not to those who seek truth or equity. It caters to sick, violent people who will use anything to justify domestic violence. Perhaps that's is the one good thing about this movie. It exposed that men are commonly victims of domestic violence at the hands of their wives.

I guess from the film we are supposed to feel sorry for this murderous, cheating wife who opted to kill her cheating husband. Rather than getting the maximum penalty she gets off with twenty years. Boo-hoo, what a tragedy. If the husband ran the wife over a few times he would have gotten the maximum penalty and CBS would be whining how he should have gotten more. No one should expect women to be treated like grown-ups until they accept their punishment like men.

Why did Amy Harris' own mother and brother say that she should not have had access to her own kids because of how dangerous she was. I guess all those facts would have interfered with this film's agenda.

Remember reading in the newspapers about this story from Houston, Texas when a wife decided to take the law into her own hands and run down her husband with a car. Sela Ward, (Bobbi Bacha) and Elizabeth Pena, (Dr.Clara Harris) both gave outstanding performances in their roles as friends who make plans to catch their husbands during play time.

Naturally, Hollywood did their very best to add all kinds of extras, such as affairs and a few brief love scenes and two girls who seem to have fallen in love with each other and found a new experience in their young lives.

This is more of a comedy than a murder and the entire film goes pretty flat for a story and even the ending is horrible.

This story is described as 'stranger-than-fiction'. I'm sorry to hear that it was true. It begins with orthodontist Dr. Clara Harris running over her husband three times, and the commentary on talk shows about what she did. After that, the movie goes back six months.

But what I enjoyed about this movie was the performance of Sela Ward as private investigator Bobbi Bacha. I liked her so much as this character, not just investigating suspected infidelity but also dealing with her daughter's wedding, that I would watch a series based on the character. Bobbi is an expert on failed marriages, having been through several herself.

Lisa Singer (Kate Greenhouse) is divorced and so pathetic that even though she has no real qualifications, Clara's husband David hires her for his dental practice. After all, she is determined to do what she has to--and apparently she does! She has qualifications she didn't even mention.

No wonder David was tempted: Clara was once beautiful but she is now old and fat. Actually, that's David's perception; Clara is actually like most women her age. And at the start of the movie and later on, she isn't bad looking.

But when she first appeared I didn't recognize her. I saw an older, plain-looking Hispanic dentist portrayed by a talented actress who I expected to have only a small supporting role. Elizabeth Pena did a very good job overall.

I really liked the country music in the bar. Much more 'real' than what gets played on radio.

It surprised me a lot to see that so many of these people went to church, because no one seemed to have any morals. I found some of Bobbi's other cases entertaining and even comical. It was strange that someone as smart as Bobbi took so long to realize a connection between two of her cases.

Anyway, if the movie is based on fact, than my major complaints don't mean much. I can't argue with what really happened. I thought Carla's solution to her problem was too drastic, and if I hadn't known the eventual outcome, I would have seen hope for her.

Well, well, well, I must say I actually do love this movie. I thought I would give it one more chance, so I took it out from my local library. I gotta admit it was a lot better then I remembered. Although, I do not sympathize with Clara Harris, I thought this movie was great.

It also brings up a good point of the two sins that were committed here, murder and adultery. Thy Shall Not Kill and Thy Shall Not Commit Adultery. They both committed sins here. Clara should have gotten more then 20 years. That was a pretty lenient sentence for what she did.

Kudos to the cast, crew and filmmakers. Two Thumbs Way Up! 10 out of 10 stars.

Now I will give more details. Clara Harris was a 44 year old Houston Texas, wife, mother aand dentist who was betrayed by her husband David Harris. When Clara found out about she ran him over with her Mercedes and killed him. She is now serving her 20 year sentence at the Gatesville Women's Correctional Facility in Gatesville, Texas. She will be eligible for parole after serving 10 years.

David Harris' parents still side with Clara and are hoping to get her sentenced reduced. They hoped that she would only get two years in prison and even begged for probation instead. Bobbi Basch was the private investagator that Clara hired to follow her philandering husband and his mistress.