Reviews
Cagney & Lacey: The Return (1994)
Two great women detectives (and actresses) successfully reunited.
It is usually wise to avoid most "return" television movies - but I loved Cagney and Lacey - The Return. The plot brings back two great characters - Cagney and Lacey - later in their lives. Things have changed. Lacey has quit the force and Cagney is now a lieutenant working for the D.A.'s office. They've lost touch, but circumstances bring them back together again. So, we get to watch two great actresses, Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly reprise two great roles. Mary Beth is trying to get back into the work force and is meeting with very little success and - stand back - Cagney is going through menopause. This movie remains true to the series. It is quality drama that concentrates on the personal lives and the interaction between two complex women dealing with a tough and dangerous job. Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly are amazing actresses playing two of the greatest characters ever portrayed on television. The movie isn't quite as great as the series, but what is? I recommend it as a good movie - especially for fans of Cagney and Lacey or for anyone searching for good drama about women.
Cagney & Lacey (1981)
One of the greatest dramas on television.
Cagney and Lacey was an amazing television series that addressed several tough issues through the eyes of two women protagonists. One of the only dramas on television to star two women, Cagney and Lacey was remarkable in portraying women as serious participants in a tough and dangerous profession. The series starred Tyne Daly (4 Emmys) and Sharon Gless (2 Emmys) - in my opinion the best acting team on television. The show featured two very different women bickering, laughing, crying together and backing each other up through a series of triumphs and crises. The women were not victims - they were ordinary women doing a rough job and doing it well. The characters and the story line developed over the run of the show. Mary Beth had a baby; almost lost a son and fought cancer. Chris struggled through a series of unsuccessful relationships; was promoted to sergeant and faced her alcoholism. This show wasn't just a cop show - it was a show about two women who happened to be cops. The series was canceled three times and has the distinction of being the first series to returned to the schedule because of massive fan protest at the original cancelation. Well worth watching if you get the chance. It is, however, rarely shown on television.
Cagney & Lacey: Pilot (1981)
Women detectives on the NYPD? Meet Cagney and Lacey!
This was the pilot movie for the television series Cagney and Lacey. Tyne Daly is Mary Beth Lacey and Loretta Switt is the first of three actresses to play Christine Cagney. The premise: two female uniformed cops (two of the first on the NYPD)are promoted to detective and struggle to be taken seriously as cops by their fellow detectives. In the meantime they are stuck on hooker detail. Cagney, of course, takes things into her own hands and tackles a diamond-smuggling case on her own. Many of the elements of the later television show are there: the relationship between the two women; the conflict between job and personal life and the role of women in a "man's profession". Lacey is a tough sensible cop who is also a dedicated mother trying to fit both work and family into her life. Cagney was born to be a cop - she is single, driven, and likes to play a single hand. Together they are a great team. I liked the movie and would recommend it for fans of Cagney and Lacey and as a cop movie with a twist.
Cutthroat Island (1995)
A Great Pirate Movie with a Twist.
Robert Louis Stevenson would love this movie! It has all the elements of a great pirate epic: swash-buckling; battles at sea; sword fights; amazing action; a dashing hero rescuing a plucky lover and even a monkey! And to give it that twist over other films of the genre: the hero is a woman! When that woman is played by Geena Davis - well, who could ask for more? I loved this movie so much I bought a copy to watch with friends. What could have been a typical action/romance turns into an amazing romp filled with pyrotechnics and the right dash of tongue-in-cheek. The action is gripping and the characters carry a time-honored plot very well. Watch it - you just might like it.
Revenge of the Stepford Wives (1980)
Lame plot but great fun!
OK, so the plot is far-fetched, lame and offensive - the movie is a hoot! Keep in mind that I would watch anything with Sharon Gless - but she and Julie Kavner are a good team. A young Don Johnson appears as bland and clued-out Kavner's cop husband. Sharon, the reporter, arrives to do a story on the perfect town of Stepford. She hires Julie as an assistant who promptly gets nabbed by the Stepford gang. Her husband is in on it, of course. Sharon sets out to save Julie - Don and the whole town set out to stop her. Lots of chases, peril and the bad guys get what they deserve. Save it for a rainy day when you want a taste of some familiar TV faces in their early years.
Hardhat and Legs (1980)
A sophisticated romantic comedy highlighting the talents of Sharon Gless.
I enjoyed this movie. The light saxophone theme music sets the tone for a sophisticated romantic comedy. Set in a time when a woman who divorces her husband is still suspected of being a "bad" mother, this story follows a very likeable Sharon Gless in her battle to start a new life. Kevin Dobson is good as the very persistent construction worker who first falls for her legs and then for the woman herself. Gless is great as a very classy professor of human sexuality pursued by a very determined blue-collar guy with a gambling problem. My favourite scene? She meets his wonderful Italian family - and his mom (a tough sell as far as Sharon is concerned). She wins them over in a delightful and charming way. OK - I loved the final scene too. Anyway, the movie has a few plot problems and you do have to forgive the late 70's atmosphere (and attitudes) but I would recommend it if you enjoy sophisticated romantic comedies, and especially if you enjoy the work of Sharon Gless.