Secrets

Jane Adams (Linda Purl) is a former TV soap actress who has retired to be the Pasedena housewife of Dan (John Bennet Perry) who is abusive. However producer Mel Wexler (Christopher Plummer) wants her for his ensemble cast of a new TV series entitled Manhattan. Jane gets romantically involved with co-star Zack Taylor (Gary Collins), and they help each other, with Zack being blackmailed for a video of sex with a minor, and Zack coming to Jane's rescue when Dan threatens her life.

Purl wears an amusing black wig when pretending to be a child welfare officer to expose the blackmailer, but unfortunately is dressed in a series of unflattering outfits. Her partnership with Collins gives them an awkward kiss and and an unconvincing sex scene, with the problem being Collins, though Purl is good when Jane is confronted by Dan and she answers him fearfully.

The teleplay by William Bast and Paul Huson, based on the novel by Danielle Steel, presents a narrative that is as trite as the glimpses of Manhattan that we see. Although it may be true in Hollywood, ever cast member has a secret which is counter-productive to their work, and the theme is voiced in `Keeping secrets takes up a lot of energy'. The one given the most time is that of Billy Warrick (Ben Browden), cast as the ubiquitous hunk though married in real life to a drug addict, former actress Sandy Westfield (Brenda Bakke). When Sandy is killed, Billy is tried for murder, and the cast all appear at the trial as a `family'. The other main secret is that of Sabina Quarles (Stephanie Beacham) who has an illegitimate dying son she is always flying out to see, though she is also sleeping with Mel.

Whilst the dialogue is on the level of `A drug addict is nobody's wife' and a Manhattan love scene is re-enacted line for line, there is one laugh in `I'm not about to put millions of dollars behind an unknown, although it was his behind that sold all those blue jeans'.

Director Peter H Hunt provides some ineffectual montages of the production process, a laugh with `That's lunch' after a cast slap, and an interrogating policeman eating a hamburger. Plummer and Purl survive without totally embarrassing themselves, but Beacham's poor-man's Joan Collins routine with deliberate mannered delivery undermines the flood of tears when she confesses her secret.

This is a lame duck of a TV movie. Effectively a soap opera about a soap opera, the ensemble cast shuttle back and forth between the art of creating fiction and the terrible secrets that threaten to expose them all.The story feels stretched but curiously littered with as many holes as a golf course. It's nowhere as good as it should be and lacks the acerbic put-downs one would expect from Stephanie Beachem as the improbably named Sabina Quarles. The problem with Beacham's character is that we are lulled into thinking she is a reincarnation of her former alter ego, Sable, from Dynasty; the reality is she's as bland as the rest of the cast. It's also a slow movie with more formulaic banter than a toothpaste advert.

Okay, it's not the best show you'll ever see. The lead actress is mannered and phony. The supporting cast is pretty bad, especially the actress and the blue jean ad guy. The script is bland. However, I suggest you fast forward past all that to get to the Christopher Plummer scenes. As always, he turns in a solid performance. And he's very attractive in this film. Very. I mean very. Yum. Who cares about the supporting actor who is said to be so attractive in his blue jean ad. I didn't even notice him, except how bad his acting was. It was Christopher Plummer I noticed. I did a screen capture of him from the DVD and I have it as my desktop wallpaper. Yum.

Secrets is by far one of the best movies adapted from a Danielle Steel novel. There are brilliant performances from all the actors, especially the beautiful Stephanie Beacham as Sabina Quarles. There is the right blend of subtle humor and drama, which makes this one of my favourite programmes ever. I'm so glad i bought it!

I have read some reviews which slam this film for being uneventful and dare I say bland.

First of all I would like to say that the title of this drama is Danielle Steele's Secrets, this is important because no offence to Ms Steele but her books are hardly War and Peace or Lord of the Rings. She has cornered the market in soap operas on paper, holiday books that are read once, enjoyed and then used to raise funds for the disadvantaged at your local charity shop. This is by no means a complaint or a sign of disrespect to the lady, she is good at what she does and is well loved.

So with this in mind the film had no illusions at being a blockbuster. It is flashy, glammy, 80's (even though it was filmed at the beginning of the 90's the influence is still there) and lightweight.

The story line presents all the scenarios from the beginning, each are worked through in succession and all happily concluded by the end. Personally speaking in this day and age of movies with non-endings or bittersweet tales that show that dreams and hopes and romance are not only dead but very suspect that they ever existed I find little bits of escapism like this a breath of fresh air.

The stars are not looking to win awards, just do a little TV movie which to the heavyweights such as Stephanie Beecham and Christopher Plummer keeps their hands in, their profile current and their bank account healthy. For some of the up and coming stars such as Ben Browder and Josie Bisset it provided a useful stepping stone to bring them to the attention of other directors, etc. which lead to their later more high profile appearances.

So all in all, this is a likable pulp novel dramatisation which is as entertaining, stylish and forgettable as the book. Just perfect for a rainy afternoon and a box of quality street and a nice cuppa.