O Jogo da Espera

Made in Canada, 2001's "The Waiting Game" stars Chris Potter, Chandra West, Paula Abdul, and Art Hindle. Using the same characters as the novel, a new plot was devised.

I'll be honest and say that I actually am not sure what it was about. It was a little slow moving, and I think I tuned out during part of it. It concerns a young woman Sarah (West) who works in an art gallery with her friend Amy (Abdul). Sarah has an uncle, Lowell (Art Hindle) who is supposedly a diplomat. Actually he works for the CIA. He's acting strangely - he has a box of Mexican artifacts shipped to the gallery, and when it arrives, all the pieces are junk. Yet he wants it kept out of the way.

When Sarah goes out to his house, she finds a man there, Tim Jennings (Chris Potter) who claims he is there to fix Lowell's computer. Lowell is nowhere to be found. We see Lowell - he's in some kind of cabin sending emails as Jehovah to someone named Gabriel.

We're not supposed to be sure who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, but it's easy to tell.

Some of these Harlequin films aren't bad. This isn't bad but it's not great. For one thing, the plot is convoluted. For another, the acting with a couple of exceptions isn't the greatest. Art Hindle is good and who can fault Chris Potter, from a show I loved, Wild Card - he's always good. Paula Abdul is in it as well. She's a good singer.

If you're a fan of Chris Potter, you will want to check this out. He's adorable and has a great quality.

"The Waiting Game" is based on a thoroughly enjoyable romantic novel of the same name (1985) by Jayne Ann Krentz who also writes historical novels as Amanda Quick and futuristic novels as Jayne Castle. The movie uses the book's characters' names and their essential personalities, but the plot is totally different. Both the book and movie are enjoyable in their own genres, although I originally watched this Canadian-produced Showtime Harlequin-romance series production just to be able to see Ms. Krentz's work put on the screen. She is probably one of the best writers of dialog in the business, and I thought this book (and many others she has written) would translate well into a movie on its own merits. In that I was disappointed.

However, the movie producers made excellent choices in actors and actresses and is notable as an early work of American Idol's Paula Abdul, who does a good job playing the main character's sidekick. Good suspense, gorgeous cast, a surprising plot twist, and a happy ending make it an excellent movie to see on a rainy afternoon with a couple of gal pals.

Compared to other Harlequin's movies,this one sucks !! The Sarah character is such a stooge in this one...!!

The Waiting Game was not a bad movie...it was a little soft, but it was mildly entertaining. I don't have much to say about the performances, other than to say that Abdul is an excellent dancer... The two real standout performances came from Hindle and Cooper, both of whom turned in excellent performances. There are a couple of fairly spicy parts to the movie with the movie ending, in classic style with a sexual "climax" which builds throughout the movie. It's worth a look, but don't go out of your way.

I only watched this movie for one reason and it was only to see Paula Abdul, which she didn't even have a big part. I found that quite disappointing.

After i watched this movie i turned to the people i was watching it with and said "what was it about?" A room of 6 adults had no idea what it was about, we were confused! The movie was hard to follow, and not really interesting.

One of my brothers got up half way during the movie and left the room.

The acting wasn't too bad at all. I think all the actors did a great job. I think it would have been better if it was easier to understand!

I would give it an 6/10