Every Woman's Dream

OK, so a guy ends up married to two women. The women, who are both smart, attractive, and successful, are utterly clueless about his double life. He practically does handstands and jumps through hoops to keep up the deception. A potentially amusing situation in other stories. But in this case, the rapid turn of events crescendoes to such a tragic outcome that the viewer feels slammed by a jolting deceleration, from any humor, to horror.

Steven Schachter knows how to tell a story and keep up the appearances of a rich, good-looking man who surprisingly develops into a criminal. Step by step you discover the real Mitch Parker (Jeff Fahey) behind the curtain. Not only he deceives his second wife Liz Wells (Kim Cattrall) by being at the same time in the same town (!) with two women, but also his friends among whom there is a senator (Bob Belding played by John Sumner). The movie keeps up the realistic touch until the end and you feel that the script-writer (Martin Davidson and others based on a novel by Karen Kingsbury) and the director want to deliver us a message: never trust people who talk too well and too much.

I found it kind of boring...then narration...and in the beginning especially, the filming wasn't all that great. It's the type of movie that you could probably watch when you're at home, and there's nothing great on TV. It's about this man, Mitch Parker, who's leading a double life. He married a woman (with two children from a previous relationship), and marries another woman (whom he has met on a plane, played by Kim Cattrall from "Sex and the City"). He lies, cheats and cons people. The reason the movie was boring was because the filming was dull. For a movie made in 1997, it looked like something made in the early 90's (to me, anyway). I got so bored with it that near the end, I didn't really want to watch it anymore.

I think every young woman looking for the "perfect man" should watch this movie and learn from it. I recorded it for my 2 daughters, both of whom have had their hearts brokens by a smooth-talking "Mitch." Jeff Fahey is the perfect antihero. He's got Mitch's charming, albeit narcissistic, personalty down so well that the viewer can easily get caught up in his lies. In a scene where he practices telling the truth, I found myself cheering him on, hoping he would ultimately fess up and redeem himself. The film is true to reality here... these types never do,even when confronted with the overwhelming evidence of their lies. Underscored by the use of a whimisal soundtrack throughout the first 3/4 of the film, men like Mitch are often perceived as harmless and entertaining. The startling end brings us to the reality that Liz (wonderfully played by Kim Cattrall)never quite gets until its too late, reminding us how dangerous these seductive types really are.

This is a very good film, and one with which I can identify totally. The man I met, shortly after my 20 year unhappy marriage, was much like the man portrayed in this film, based upon true story. Mine ended with trying to extricate myself from him, calling police numerous times about stalking, ending in him breaking into my house trying to shoot me. The gun jammed, otherwise I'd be dead. After this episode, I educated myself about narcissistic personality disorder. The man I knew fit ALL the characteristics.