Secrets

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!

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.

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.

I agree with reviewer 'holdencopywriter'. I had to look up the movie on IMDB to double check this actually was Christopher Plummer! He's a consistently good actor and fairly attractive in my opinion but he's the best I've ever seen him in this little caper. The main difference is he seems so relaxed. I always think of him as a bit stiff albeit charming and even pretentious sometimes. Here he's genuinely affable, natural and very, very sexy.

Now ... about the TV movie. It's typical of the cozy shows of the period.. "Murder She Wrote", "Columbo" etc., with a touch of "Dynasty" flair. Even Linda Purl looks nice and is acting well. She's never been a favorite of mine and I disliked her in "Lou Grant". She guest starred in so many series, "The Rockford Files", "Quincy" etc., but I could never understand why. Here I found her pretty and acting well.

The script is based on a Danielle Steele novel but the dialogue could be better. I found it enjoyable for it's genre. This TV movie includes all the "regulars" and the production and acting style predates it's "Hallmark" version. I much prefer it.