Martha Behind Bars

Got to see this last night on the Lifetime channel, and I have to say it wasn't worth the wait - what a ridiculous waste of time, for all concerned. Gale Harold (a brilliant actor) was completely underused, and Shepherd, although she turned in another competent portrayal of Stewart, was given nothing even remotely inspired to work with. The whole thing felt contrived from the get-go, with no sense of reality; this got even more pronounced during the actual prison segment, which was depicted more like a sorority house with a bad cook, no linen and no tablecloths. None of the characters felt like living, breathing, genuine people, and the script never went beneath the surface to reveal anything that felt truthful; it was like Stewart herself had given them permission to do the movie but also warned them not to include one second of footage that would humiliate her (or, in actuality, humanize her) in any way.

CBS's schedule was thrown off by the football game last night, so I didn't get in on this from the beginning. And I have yet to see the first installment in the Martha saga. But I liked this made-for-TV movie well enough. There are a couple of scenes in the prison that make it worthwhile. I am thinking particularly of the ones in the mess room and those involving the Christmas decoration contest. The sweater her fellow cons present to Martha as she's leaving the prison is priceless. As an actress, Cybil Shepherd is far better suited to the scenes in prison than to those in the corporate boardroom, a thought she'd probably sympathize with. The supporting cast is first-rate. Don't expect to learn a lot about what makes Martha tick, but, if you like Cybil Shepherd, or Martha Stewart for that matter, this should interest you.