Suburban Madness

Dr. Clara Harris was a successful dentist in Houston, Texas, the loving mother of two four year old twin boys, and the wife of Dr. David Harris, the orthodontist. Professionally, they were the ideal couple but they were not only ordinary but their marriage was crumbling. David cheated on Clara with a young receptionist/divorcée, Lisa. In the beginning, we see Clara drive her car over David in a murderous rage over the affair. The film is told from the perspective of the private investigator, Bobbi Bacha, whose practice deals with catching cheating spouses. In Texas, there is a law in the divorce court to benefit those spouses who are faithful and punish those who aren't. Clara slowly destroys herself in trying to save her marriage. It's a sad tale but pretty common.

I presume from this example, IF David Harris discovered his wife was having an affair, he would have been heroic if he slowly killed Amy Harris while her daughter screamed for him to stop. that's how the makers of this "based on real events" believe people should resolve their marital difficulties.

If revenge killing for having an affair is heroic then David Harris SHOULD have killed his wife because, in reality, she was cheating on her husband, a fact that was hidden from the viewer. This was proved by the private detective upon whose work the movie was based. That private detective has come out against this movie.

This movie claimed to have been based on real events but it was really based on half-truths. It caters not to those who seek truth or equity. It caters to sick, violent people who will use anything to justify domestic violence. Perhaps that's is the one good thing about this movie. It exposed that men are commonly victims of domestic violence at the hands of their wives.

I guess from the film we are supposed to feel sorry for this murderous, cheating wife who opted to kill her cheating husband. Rather than getting the maximum penalty she gets off with twenty years. Boo-hoo, what a tragedy. If the husband ran the wife over a few times he would have gotten the maximum penalty and CBS would be whining how he should have gotten more. No one should expect women to be treated like grown-ups until they accept their punishment like men.

Why did Amy Harris' own mother and brother say that she should not have had access to her own kids because of how dangerous she was. I guess all those facts would have interfered with this film's agenda.

Well, well, well, I must say I actually do love this movie. I thought I would give it one more chance, so I took it out from my local library. I gotta admit it was a lot better then I remembered. Although, I do not sympathize with Clara Harris, I thought this movie was great.

It also brings up a good point of the two sins that were committed here, murder and adultery. Thy Shall Not Kill and Thy Shall Not Commit Adultery. They both committed sins here. Clara should have gotten more then 20 years. That was a pretty lenient sentence for what she did.

Kudos to the cast, crew and filmmakers. Two Thumbs Way Up! 10 out of 10 stars.

Now I will give more details. Clara Harris was a 44 year old Houston Texas, wife, mother aand dentist who was betrayed by her husband David Harris. When Clara found out about she ran him over with her Mercedes and killed him. She is now serving her 20 year sentence at the Gatesville Women's Correctional Facility in Gatesville, Texas. She will be eligible for parole after serving 10 years.

David Harris' parents still side with Clara and are hoping to get her sentenced reduced. They hoped that she would only get two years in prison and even begged for probation instead. Bobbi Basch was the private investagator that Clara hired to follow her philandering husband and his mistress.

This is a TV movie based on the real story of Houston dentist Clara Harris, who ran over her husband with her car three times after discovering that he has been having an affair with another woman.

The events of the film are somewhat dramatic moments of how the seemingly wonderful Harris family slowly declines after husband Davis Harris begins an affair with his just-hired secretary at his and his wife Clara's dental practice. All these events lead on to that fateful moment, with Sela Ward playing private investigator Bobbi Bacha who narrates the story from her point of view.

The movie is not too bad, and the acting was about average. The plot's momentum goes at a steady pace, but the movie does lack suspense and intrigue that would make the viewing experience more captivating and attention grabbing. The portrayal of Davis and Clara Harris was lopsided, as you are also asked to emphasize with Clara, whom was portrayed as a pretty desperate woman in the story, while not seeing any positive aspects, if only a little, in the adulterous Davis Harris.

Overall, it's an OK little movie to waste some time with.

Grade C

Remember reading in the newspapers about this story from Houston, Texas when a wife decided to take the law into her own hands and run down her husband with a car. Sela Ward, (Bobbi Bacha) and Elizabeth Pena, (Dr.Clara Harris) both gave outstanding performances in their roles as friends who make plans to catch their husbands during play time.

Naturally, Hollywood did their very best to add all kinds of extras, such as affairs and a few brief love scenes and two girls who seem to have fallen in love with each other and found a new experience in their young lives.

This is more of a comedy than a murder and the entire film goes pretty flat for a story and even the ending is horrible.