Her Best Friend's Husband

Still not over the death of her husband a couple of years earlier, a widow by the name of "Jane Thornton" (Cheryl Ladd) takes a flight from New York to attend a surprise birthday party for her best friend "Mandy Roberts" (Bess Armstrong) in Seattle. Naturally, Mandy is delighted to see her best friend but later turns the tables on Jane by confiding that she is terribly unhappy in her marriage and is going to file for divorce from her husband, "Will Roberts" (William R. Moses) in the near future. This unexpected news not only shocks Jane, but it completely devastates Will who realized Mandy had been rather cold and aloof lately but never suspected how unhappy she really was. Be that as it may, as Will drives her to the airport for her return flight back to New York, she is taken by complete surprise when Will reaches out and kisses her in an extremely passionate manner. But it's only when she returns to Seattle several months later that she discovers that Will isn't the only one starved for affection. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be a better romantic-drama than I initially expected with both Cheryl Ladd and Bess Armstrong performing quite well in their respective roles. Admittedly, the made-for-television format may have lessened the overall impact but even so I enjoyed this film for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

The title of this rather tired film should be called I'm In Love With My Best Friend's Husband! Such a simple plot seen in countless other films etc, I can't help but think to myself why time and effort was wasted in making this. As a fan of Cheryl Ladd, she proves herself a worthwhile actress. However, it's Bess Armstrong who steals the show. Her reaction at finding out her friend's betrayal seems very true-to-life; her marriage may have been on the rocks, but it's still a shock to discover that he is involved with a person extremely close to you. Had it had been someone unknown to her, this movie would simply not exist!

My Best Friend's Husband could be factual in that sense, but the plot is certainly nothing new. In a nutshell, this film is one cliché after another, but viewers might be able to feel the emotion and anger towards the characters, and that is what makes it a little more interesting. 4/10

This made for tv-movie tells the story of best friends Mandy Roberts (Bess Armstrong) and Jane Thornten (Cheryl Ladd) who find themselves at a crossroads. Mandy is the stifled wife of Will (William R. Moses) and mother to college student daughter, Kelly (Lindy Booth), but she longs to be more. When Mandy gets the nerve to ask for a divorce and open her own business she asks Jane for support. The widowed Jane obliges begrudgingly, but feels for the wounded Will and Kelly. Naturally (and predictably) Will and Jane fall in love. How will Mandy react? Will Jane's conscience let her love Will? What will Kelly do when she finds out? We know the answers already, but it's still fun to watch. A standout in this cast is up-and-coming Canadian actress Lindy Booth as Kelly. She is a joy to watch in anything, but it is especially exciting to see her featured so prominently here.

Jane is a busy New York attorney who did not have time to come to the funeral when her best friend Mandy lost her father. But for Mandy's birthday, she is flying to Seattle and taking some time off.

Mandy is not happy. She never sees her architect husband Will except when they are in bed. She wants a divorce. And she wants to start her own design business, to be located in a building owned by furniture designer Elliott. Mandy also thinks that two years after Peter died, Jane needs to start dating again, and Jane and Elliott seem to get along.

Mandy and Will have a daughter Kelly who is in college and dating Sam, a rock musician. Kelly doesn't think her parents will approve. Jane has connections that might help Sam's career.

From the movie's title, you can probably guess what will happen. I won't give too much away, but I will say characters have mature reactions to the events that take place ... eventually. They set examples for people who might behave otherwise in the real world, because situations like this happen all the time.

Lindy Booth was absolutely adorable as Kelly. I hated to see her sad, but Booth handled both perky and depressed well.

Cheryl Ladd looks cute with short hair. And, at least when this movie was made, she had nice legs for tennis and ... other activities.

Bess Armstrong wasn't much to look at and all her character seemed to do was complain, and yet I didn't find her unpleasant. It has been a lot of years since she was so cute in "On Our Own", and I would say she looks her age. But she must have done a good job with this role, because a guy should automatically run and hide on hearing the first words in this paragraph.

If you cry during movies, make sure to stock an ample supply of Kleenex.

Absolutely nothing says, "I'm your BEST friend.", like sleeping with said friend's estranged husband.

It's a scary feeling knowing that this movie is being beamed out via satellite and other civilizations may honestly think that we're the imbeciles that most Lifetime movies portray us to be. I have to go, my best friend's husband is here to pick me up for our romantic weekend in Bali.