Segredos e Mentiras

Okay, at first the topic may seem a bit far-fetched. As this was the early 90's, we were all hearing about co-dependency, there was a deluge of books on the subject, and there were many more recovery groups readily available.

Connie Sellecca is very good as the disillusioned wife, being manipulated by her husband, Kevin Dobson. Dobson is a U.S. attorney who rationalizes his behavior. Even Selleca's mother advises her to just "count your blessings". Denial and alcoholism are also issues. Don't discount the movie because of this however, I try to be temperate, and while this is the man at fault, it could also occur the other way.

In conclusion, worth a view for anyone experiencing marital discord. The film addresses key issues, and while specific to the co-dependency issue, the need for Sellecca to break out and take care of herself is a positive message.

The story is believable, and the characters are developed well enough to have an identifiable, though somewhat shallow, personality. The story unfolds as a sequence of events in a somewhat circumstantial, fashion and the behavior of the characters is, at best, not unexpected. "House of Secrets and Lies" is, however, not a bad way to pass some time.

As TV movies go, this is a pretty good one, dealing with codependency. Connie Selleca, who co-wrote the scrpit, is very good as a newswoman who suspects her husband of infidelity, despite his protests (and some evidence to the contrary). Kevin Dobson plays the husband.

This is a good study of an adult child of an alcoholic, with the attendant denial, the people pleasing, and the compulsivity. The Selleca character, as she puts it herself, grew up being told that her feelings were wrong, that black was white and white was black. As a result, she can't trust her instincts.

It's an emotional and painful journey for this character and portrayed somewhat realistically. I don't really agree with one of the posters, who claims that the woman would have left her husband right away. It doesn't happen that way when you're dealing with such damaged feelings and the fear of abandonment. A strong supporting cast includes Grace Zabriskie and Georgeann Johnson.

This is a story about marital infidelity and the stupidity of the wife who continues to be conned into believing everyone will live happily ever after. It was a rather dumb movie.

In real life, she would have left him very early in the movie and devoted herself to her career. By the time she finally got the picture and decided to leave, her career should have been down the tubes. No woman I've met would have done this.

Connie Selleca, whose acting rivals that of Ali McGraw as the worst actress ever to hit Hollywood or Made-for TV-Movies, has little redeeming value in this film. So much so that Kevin Dobson's infidelity is totally understandable. If Buck Rogers divorced her in real life, that should tell you something. As much as Kate Hepburn's quivering chin and teary eyes are an annoyance to devotees of serious acting in film, Connie Selleca's wooden gestures and her inability to deliver a line with any meaningful emotion are enough to invoke the "throw-up" doctrine for evaluating films: If an actor's inability to act creates such nausea that vomiting in unavoidable, then the film itself should be consigned to the nearest trash-bin. Ms. Selleca should do us all a favor and retire at once from the film biz.