For My Daughter's Honor

Yeeeeaaaaahhhh, if you could just take a seat right over there, that'd be greeeeeeaaaaaat.

Gary Cole has remained an interesting character actor for me. It seems every performance he has given regardless of how big is always of superior quality.

From In the Line of Fire, to the Brady Bunch movies, to Office Space and I am sure many more Cole is one of our most underrated actors who in my opinion doesn't get enough credit.

I also enjoyed Nichole Tom in Beethoven 1&2 growing up as well as The Nanny so I was eager to check this out.

As some of the other reviewers have noted don't expect this to be an Oscar winner. It has the feel of a 90's made for TV movie for a reason.

I was also disappointed in the ending which I will not give away but it made me angry for a reason I will keep anonymous.

Movies on the subject of pedophilia have never been my cup of tea. Although it won five Oscars I hated American Beauty with a passion for this reason.

However this being based on a true story and handled with some intelligence in shining light on an issue that needs some attention didn't bother me.

In a way this is entertainment as both Cole and Tom are very good and elevate the movie highly with their superb performances.

But unlike American Beauty which was meant purely to entertain and express a disgusting form of art this movie has a message and one not to be ignored at that.

I recommend for performances and sensitivity exercises in dealing with a difficult subject matter.

Unlike some made for TV movies this doesn't have a cheesy feel to it and feels very real.

Give this a stream on Amazon Freevee if the subject matter interests you or you like the actors.

Not the most comfortable film to watch but deals on a very important issue in our society and overall handles it well.

It may look like a low budget TV movie but the acting is better than that and the payoff while predictable makes it better than your typical TV movie or after school special.

Frustrating to be sure but that is the point I feel as this is not the most pleasant subject matter out there for a movie.

Has its flaws to be sure but overall I recommend. I respect Cole even more after this and wish he would have had more leading roles and more appreciation as an actor.

He may not be an Oscar winner but he is an excellent character actor who I feel has never gotten his due. This movie along with the aforementioned rates him highly as an excellent actor for me. And while Tom played ordinary teenaged roles in Beethoven and The Nanny she more than holds her own acting in this.

FOR MY DAUGHTER'S HONOR\INNOCENT SEDUCTION

BASIC PLOT: A teenage high school student, Amy Nash, (played by Nicholle Tom) is seduced by her biology teacher, Pete Nash (played by Gary Cole).

WHAT WORKS: *The acting in this is very believable, both Gary Cole and Nicholle Tomdo a great job. The potrayal of small town Texas (where the original incident took place) in the 1980's is very accurate. Football is God, women have their place etc. The movie portrays this accurately.

Everyone always blames the women who are sexually violated. Movies that force us to confront this fact, may make us uncomfortable, but it's a good thing. We should never be afraid to confront our own biasis. The fact that a legal precedent was set when the girl sued, should be celebrated.

*Having grown up in the time and place this true story takes place, I can relate. I was never taken advantage of by an older adult, but we as teenagers had our own lives. Helicopter parenting is detrimental to all involved, and the answer here is not to smother your children, but to give them good life skills BEFORE you push them out of the nest. Amy confesses to Coach Nash that all her parents do is fight, and they don't even notice the family unit anymore. He responds by understanding that it's "rough on her," and that "parents get so caught up in their own problems, they don't see the affect it's having on their own kids". HE IS RIGHT. She wouldn't be vulnerable to him, if she had a strong foundation at home. Kids look for stability, if they have good role models at home, they can have more freedom, and still make good choices. Give you kids a soft place to land, a sympathetic, non-judgmental ear, and they will surprise you with good decision making.

*On a personal note: I think it is so sad where we have ended up as a society. Principal Arnet (played by Tom Virtue) says to a teacher who is expressing concern over Coach Nash's behavior with the girls, that all kids need affection, that's why he had bumper stickers made up that say, 'have you hugged your student today'. How sad we now live in a world where there is NO contact between anybody, and Principal Arnet's sentiment, that sometimes kids need a hug, would have him drawn and quartered. I am in no way condoning his blind eye, but instead understand his yearning to see the good in people. That can blind us to bad behavior, but the opposite, being fearful of everyone, is just as bad.

I had a TERRIBLE childhood, and my teenage years were bad. But I had a teacher in the '80's, Mr. McElvain at Rider High, in WF, TX, who saw that I was in trouble, and wrote me a note telling me I was smart, capable and deserving of love especially from myself. I carried that letter with me for all of my teenage years, and would take it out and read it, especially after I was removed from my parents home. Have we, as a society, really decided that a teacher can't hug a student who needs it, or write a letter to a student encouraging her to better things? I know that letter wouldn't be written today, and that's sad, because it saved my life-literally. We SHOULD NOT as a society, let a few bad apples, rob us of our human compassion, and need for others.

*One of my HUGE pet peeves is bad accents in movies. I have often thought I should have been a dialect coach for Southern accents (I am from Texas). I was expecting to have the accents in this movie grate on my nerves, but aside from a few hiccups, they aren't that bad.

*I love using the band The Mavericks as the soundtrack, it really works.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *I don't know the true ages of the girls involved in the real story, but here to move the plot along, they have 16 year old Kimberly Jones (played by nm074908), Amy's best friend, tell the principal, that Amy and Coach Nash are having an affair. This is highly improbable. Kimberly had been participating in Coach Nash's bad behavior, just not anything sexual. Kimberly got Coach Nash to buy the girls wine coolers, break into the school's library, and take his truck 4 wheelin'. She is complicit in all these goings on, she would not suddenly rat on her friend (and herself), especially for no reason. Teenagers live in a closed society, and usually they don't break ranks, even if they don't like each other. Kids don't rat out other kids for no reason. It doesn't feel genuine, and kicks you out of the movie.

TO RECOMMEND OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IT THE QUESTION: I would recommend this movie. It's tough to watch, but it's done well, and for the most part, it's believable. That is no small feat for a small budget, Made-For-TV movie.

CLOSING NOTES: *This is a Made-For-TV movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.

Nicholle Tom (of Beethoven fame) is excellent as a 14-year-old pupil at a high school. You can see she just has a crush on him, where his feelings are much creepier towards her. But the fact that she was half willing to sleep with him, doesn't mean that he raped her. I'm sure people who have been in that situation will feel differently however. All in all a good cast helped make this movie point out several facts and good important points to be made. The fact that it wasn't graphical in the sexual scenes made it more enjoyable. As most movies concentrate on just sex. Whereas 'Indecent Seduction' focused on the emotional sides of both the pupil - who at such a young age is feeling vulnerable enough already, and the teacher. The end result was what I expected. So for people who haven't seen it, I won't spoil the ending. You can laugh, cry and sympathesie with all characters. So I recommend anyone to watch it, and see for yourself whether or not I am right with my comments.

Very thought provoking, without being overly sexually explicit. At 16, Amy is unusually overly innocent. She would be menstruating, therefore would have some knowledge of sex. However, the teacher (coach Nash) being a known paedophile should not have been allowed to teach. He had already had a 'run in' with the school over a previous relationship the year before with another female student. The school were aware of his preoccupation with female students and should have been keeping an eye on him, plus he should have been reported the previous year. His sentence was incredibly light. Amy's parents handled the situation well, the school failed them, the other students failed her. Amy gets my vote for her determination to see justice prevail.