Have You Seen My Son (1996 TV Movie) User Reviews

OK for a sleepy afternoon 'whatever'....

[donmage · 5/10 · 17 January 2006]

Just about every movie Lisa Hartman (Black) does is good, if you are into "babe" movies. This movie has a very interesting premise, with "realistic" notions creeping in, at some points, and incredulity at others. Believable? Some of it. Will keep you riveted? Not quite likely, unless you're semi-comatose. But, as an attempt at drama for a rainy Saturday afternoon when you might want something with which to gristle for a bit, this movie can involve you just a bit. This isn't a great movie, by any stretch, nor a particular very good one either, but certainly not a bad movie, for what it attempts. Mom wants her asthmatic little boy who is kidnapped by her separated seldom-do-well husband, with support from her nasty self-indulgent ma-in-law, and a simpleton waitress who doesn't know which direction the Sun rises and sets. There aren't too many characters in this movie whom you will care about, except for Mom, the son and the lawyer. Everyone else you will likely detest. The movie should have been called "A Kidnapping In Idiotsville Anystate USA". Long-time actress former hot-looking Anne Frances ("Honey West") 'allows' age to demonstrate its expectant ravages with too much make-up, and that is good for the type of person she portrays. You will not like the way she looks, but you will detest her character. For a dude looking at a "babe" movie, this one is OK for a sleepy afternoon, though you will not be too disappointed if you fell asleep on it.

Confused

[abbiesmama · 6/10 · 25 February 2023]

Decent movie, but I don't understand why the kid had a gravestone if he wasn't dead? They never explained that. I guess we just have to assume that Ace's father wanted Lael to believe he was dead so she would stop looking for him..... Maybe Mike created the gravestone to throw Lael off? Definitely a made for tv movie but I find them very interesting. Think it might have been on Lifetime movie network at some point. This review requires 161 more words so I guess I gotta keep rambling🙄 not very well known actors but that's normal for a Lifetime movie😂 overall it was a decent movie. Worth the time.

Overbearing!

[skarylarry-93400 · 5/10 · 30 April 2022]

ACE, ACE, ACE! I GOT SICK OF HIS MOTHER SAYING ACE! THE FATHER ISN'T GONNA LET HIM DIE FROM HIS ILLNESS! SHE IS TOO MUCH! ACE ACE ACE ACE! ENOUGH ALREADY!

Even Lisa Hartman Black Could Not Save This One

[markdefaziomusic · 2/10 · 10 November 2021]

Although I would always want to see Lisa Hartman Black in any movie she is in because of her incredible skills as an actress, these tv movies hire THE worst screenwriters and directors. Case in point, the opening scene shows her early in the morning in her son's bedroom who is still sleeping. She then goes out for a jog. The clincher is her son at the time is only 6! She is a woman legally separated from her husband and she decides to leave her 6 year old son home alone while she goes out for a jog?

A little later she finds her ex steals her son so she goes to his house and conveniently he left a spare key to his home underneath a planter by the front door(how did she know where it was if she did not ever live there?). She enters and finds a note he left for her(again, how did he know she would be able to get in his house but let's forget that for now? Saying they are never coming back. She goes to the police and tells them her son has been kidnapped but never shows the letter to the police.

I could go on but this is a typical tv movie with too many holes in it.

Acting not so great, major plot errors

[matthewjwilkinson · 2/10 · 7 October 2023]

The acting is mediocre at best. Lisa Hartman does a pretty good job as the mom. And the boy isn't bad either. But William Russ isn't very talented as the dad. But the plot errors were really what ruined the movie for me. The first big error is when Mike has disappeared with her son and she gets a message from Mike on her phone, saying that she needs to give the boy's medical records to Mike's mom so that Mike's mom can get them to Mike. Does she take the recording to the police? No, that would make too much sense. Because the recording proves that Mike's mom knows where he is, and can be arrested for aiding in the kidnapping. That's a pretty simple, silly plot error.

Worst movie....EVER!!!

[CrazyOldBen · 15 September 2001]

This movie was the most illogical and stupid movie EVER made. If the FBI would have been called in once it was officially a kidnapping, the movie would have been over in 20 minutes and all of the people involved would have been in jail. Instead, the people searching for the kidnapped kid, bumble their way through two hours of absolutely unpredictable stupidity.

Another Example Of Useless Cops

[jimcarter1959 · 8/10 · 9 January 2020]

A day late and a dollar short cops forces a mother to do the legwork searching for her kidnapped son. It's always a pleasure to see Lisa Hartman. The supporting cast is excellent also.

Not a bad film for a made for TV movie.

[bluestorm-51975 · 8/10 · 31 January 2019]

So I seen this on Light TV today, and to me this isn't a film that you'd expect to see on a positive geared channel. But there isn't anything you would see on those Lifetime movies, just a few gun points and shots but no one gets murdered or anything. The story is about a mother who is looking for her kid who is sick with asthma, that got kidnapped by her ex husband. She boldly goes to cross the border to Mexico in order to find out where he has been and to get her son back. Some of the people wouldn't bother to help her, but some of the locals in Mexico were friendly to her. After a wrong turn almost got her in distraught (finding a cross with her son's name on it, this part got me almost crying actually, that would be messed up to have this happen on a positive geared channel), she almost was going to shoot her ex and his wife, until she found out her son was safe in the car. She made it with her son and her friend managed to pick them up at the border towards home. So it was a pretty good movie, usually I don't watch things like this, but like I said, this was not one of those crazy Lifetime films and the story really geared me in. The woman done everything, even at risk for her son, and it paid off well for her at the end.

A chase using dingys...come on!

[sonicreducers · 1 November 2001]

Without saying anything more, let me just tell you that this movie includes a "high speed" chase down a river on two non-motorized dingys (rafts). Draw your own conclusions.

Quite entertaining for a TV movie.

[OllieSuave-007 · 8/10 · 17 September 2014]

This is a quite an entertaining movie about a divorced mom who goes through highs and lows, in the country of Mexico, to find her son who has been abducted by her ex-husband.

The acting wasn't bad and I thought the pace of the plot gain much momentum. Just the the main objective of the mother going through foreign lands and going through hoops and obstacles to find her son is pretty captivating. The subplot of her racing against time because of her son's poor health due to asthma adds onto the story's excitement.

It is, of course, not the greatest movie out there, but is by far not one of the worst. It is kind of refreshing to see a thrilling drama movie, especially a made-for-TV one, that is not one of those sappy, puppy love romance flicks or action/adventure wannabes. Instead, it is a nice story that shows the heights and sacrifices a mother would take to rescue her son - a strong showing of a mother's love for her child.

Grade B