Double Jeopardy

Woman gets convicted of killing her husband and spends six years in jail. While in prison, this woman finds out that her husband is still alive and well, and living under an assumed name with her son. Once out of prison, this woman makes it her mission in life to find her “dead” husband and get her son back. Double jeopardy refers to the fact that one cannot be tried for the same murder twice, so in her case, she could now kill her husband and get away with it.

A “video movie” is a film which doesn’t have enough oomph to recommend as a “going out of the house and to a theater night”, but can suffice as a lazy evening of lounging around in the apartment. This film is exactly that type of film. It offers very little thrills for a thriller, close to zero suspense, considering that everything is already given away in the stupid-ass trailer, and a couple of bogus action scenes. It did however supply us with an Ashley Judd in her acting best, Tommy Lee Jones in his acting the same, and an extremely interesting premise, which had many women foaming at the mouth (Count Mrs. JoBlo as a guilty party). Another good thing about this film was the pacing which was pretty fast. Considering that a lot of stuff actually does transpire, we are thankfully led through many of the basic scenes at a rapid pace, in order to get to the meat of the story, which basically has Judd chasing her “dead” husband.

The biggest problem with this film is that it offers very little in excitement and more importantly, very little in surprises or thrills. There were also a few plot holes here and there, which I can generally forgive in cheezy thrillers, and certain implausibilities, but all in all, they didn’t really gnaw at me as much as the fact that I definitely would have enjoyed this film so much more, had I not seen Paramount’s inane movie trailer. I am still recommending this film because on that level, and the level I speak of concerns cheese and lazy Sunday afternoons and videotapes, it can be deemed as an enjoyable trip through known territory. For others, you may want to see this flick because Ashley Judd is in it, and she is damn cute and a fine little actress in her own right. As for the rest of you, who don’t appreciate camp, hate the Judds and hate thrillers which don’t offer you many thrills, I suggest you skip this turkey and go rent another small, yet effective, Tommy Lee Jones thriller called THE FUGITIVE (8/10).

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian