Shown on French television under the title "Mariage Sans Amour". On reading the script for this one, I was really hoping for something spicier and more interesting than this. The theme of "false disappearance" has been treated before and better in other films. The thing which upset me most in this film was the total unattractiveness of the female character Tia. I could not feel any emotion for this character, whatever may have happened to her in the film. I did not find her physically attractive either and whilst Nick was a reasonably attractive person, I did not find that the actor performed well. The best performance was doubtless her husband John but when I say best, it was the best of a bad lot. The unsurprising ending leaves the spectator with the impression of having wasted his/her time to end up as they did. I am a great fan of USA TV films, more so than of today's cinema. Many are excellent, some less so. This one, for reasons of plot and characters is easily forgettable !!
8 Reviews
"Fascinating"
caa8212 February 2008
Warning: Spoilers
This film would be rated 2*, per se, and give it another 2* for it being fascinating.
"Plan 9 from Outer Space" is the all-time worst movie, a classic for its so-bad-it's-good characteristic, and its unintended humor. For me, there is also the wonderfully-terrible opus, starring Bruce Jenner and The Village People, "Can't Stop the Music," also worth 10* for its awfulness.
But unfortunately, this Lifetime offering falls just a bit short in camp awfulness for a higher rating. But on a quiet Saturday morning, before going on to a busy day following, it was interesting in its own way to warrant the whole two hours.
** Possible "spoiler following, although I don't see what there is to "spoil." **
Tia loves Nick, becomes pregnant. Nick goes on an adventuresome assignment abroad, rife with international intrigue, and is reported dead. She marries John, a gadzillionaire developer, who proves to be a cold fish, distant and a hell-bent-for-leather, ruthless business tycoon.
The thing is, all three of these folks evoke zero sympathy or empathy, and together possess less charisma than the inbred kid on the bridge, playing the banjo in "Deliverance."
But the main fascination warranting sticking-around to the end is that the "villain" (not the worst you'll ever encounter, by far) is the most sympathetic/likable one of the lot, and played the actor providing the best performance among these three leads (hardly high praise).
"Plan 9 from Outer Space" is the all-time worst movie, a classic for its so-bad-it's-good characteristic, and its unintended humor. For me, there is also the wonderfully-terrible opus, starring Bruce Jenner and The Village People, "Can't Stop the Music," also worth 10* for its awfulness.
But unfortunately, this Lifetime offering falls just a bit short in camp awfulness for a higher rating. But on a quiet Saturday morning, before going on to a busy day following, it was interesting in its own way to warrant the whole two hours.
** Possible "spoiler following, although I don't see what there is to "spoil." **
Tia loves Nick, becomes pregnant. Nick goes on an adventuresome assignment abroad, rife with international intrigue, and is reported dead. She marries John, a gadzillionaire developer, who proves to be a cold fish, distant and a hell-bent-for-leather, ruthless business tycoon.
The thing is, all three of these folks evoke zero sympathy or empathy, and together possess less charisma than the inbred kid on the bridge, playing the banjo in "Deliverance."
But the main fascination warranting sticking-around to the end is that the "villain" (not the worst you'll ever encounter, by far) is the most sympathetic/likable one of the lot, and played the actor providing the best performance among these three leads (hardly high praise).
This was pretty terrible...
juneebuggy19 March 2015
...For whatever reason though I got hooked into the soap opera-ish storyline; following a pregnant woman who learns that her true love has been killed and marries her wealthy boss, years later her lover turns up alive, forcing her to choose between him and the man providing a luxurious life for her and her child.
I was intrigued, even though I've seen this plot done a hundred times before. And then despite the fact that it was super badly executed (poor acting, unlikeable lead, jumpy story) I got to a point with it where I just had to see it through to the end -such is Lifetime.
I think my biggest problem with this was the woman playing the female lead (Jessica Tuck), she was just awful. As well as being too old for the part her acting skills were wooden and melodramatic. The big scene were she discovers that her lover Nick has been killed, via a phone call was so badly done that I actually laughed out loud.
The dude playing the rich husband (Andrew Airlie) was decent as was the BFF character, used as a sounding board for the most part so the main gal can explain how she is feeling to the viewer (because she can't act it). 2/17/15 Downtown Vancouver plays some big city in Washington state.
I was intrigued, even though I've seen this plot done a hundred times before. And then despite the fact that it was super badly executed (poor acting, unlikeable lead, jumpy story) I got to a point with it where I just had to see it through to the end -such is Lifetime.
I think my biggest problem with this was the woman playing the female lead (Jessica Tuck), she was just awful. As well as being too old for the part her acting skills were wooden and melodramatic. The big scene were she discovers that her lover Nick has been killed, via a phone call was so badly done that I actually laughed out loud.
The dude playing the rich husband (Andrew Airlie) was decent as was the BFF character, used as a sounding board for the most part so the main gal can explain how she is feeling to the viewer (because she can't act it). 2/17/15 Downtown Vancouver plays some big city in Washington state.
Not the best, but good enough
vchimpanzee27 April 2010
Tia is a leasing agent for Bleekham Development, located in a large city where people drive cars with Washington State license plates. Her boss John is interested in her, but she doesn't really want to date him.
While visiting one of the buildings she is responsible for, Tia sees a painting crew sitting around drinking and threatens to report them to the boss. Turns out Nick IS the boss. And he is attracted to Tia. And she is attracted to him.
Outside of construction, Nick has two major interests, gardening and mountain climbing. After his father died at 40, Nick wants to live life to the fullest. Tia can enjoy working in the community flower garden Nick likes, but mountain climbing is a little too involved. And Nick, who seems ideal otherwise, seems to make that a higher priority than Tia--especially when he gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit Kyrgyzstan.
Tia gets pregnant but is reluctant to tell Nick because she's not sure how he'll react. One thing is certain: she doesn't want to give up the child or not be a committed mother, because she was given up and has only recently found out who her real mother is.
John continues his efforts to woo Tia, and she even accuses him of making the Kyrgyzstan trip possible so Nick and Tia can be separated. Tia, wearing a hot red dress, goes on her first date with John, and it seems pleasant enough.
Then something happens that makes John look a lot more attractive than Nick. Actually, John becomes the only choice. But is John any better? Actually, John could be a much worse choice. He's very controlling, and he even buys the garden to develop it; Tia thinks it's just a reminder she was once with Nick.
And Tia gets put in a situation where she has to choose between following federal laws about inspections or having a frustrated client back out of a major project. The project boss assures her the job can be done safely if she'll just sign certain papers. And so John has ammunition just in case Tia ever crosses him.
I don't see any special reason to recommend this movie. Everyone talks about how beautiful Tia is. She's sort of pretty, I guess. She's very determined.
Jennifer Spence is Tia's pretty best friend, and a little better than the other actors.
Nick is nice enough, yet rugged. John is your typical greedy developer, letting nothing stand in his way, not even pesky government rules.
But this has been done a hundred times before. There are a couple of unusual twists, and the ending is interesting enough.
It's entertaining, just not special.
While visiting one of the buildings she is responsible for, Tia sees a painting crew sitting around drinking and threatens to report them to the boss. Turns out Nick IS the boss. And he is attracted to Tia. And she is attracted to him.
Outside of construction, Nick has two major interests, gardening and mountain climbing. After his father died at 40, Nick wants to live life to the fullest. Tia can enjoy working in the community flower garden Nick likes, but mountain climbing is a little too involved. And Nick, who seems ideal otherwise, seems to make that a higher priority than Tia--especially when he gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit Kyrgyzstan.
Tia gets pregnant but is reluctant to tell Nick because she's not sure how he'll react. One thing is certain: she doesn't want to give up the child or not be a committed mother, because she was given up and has only recently found out who her real mother is.
John continues his efforts to woo Tia, and she even accuses him of making the Kyrgyzstan trip possible so Nick and Tia can be separated. Tia, wearing a hot red dress, goes on her first date with John, and it seems pleasant enough.
Then something happens that makes John look a lot more attractive than Nick. Actually, John becomes the only choice. But is John any better? Actually, John could be a much worse choice. He's very controlling, and he even buys the garden to develop it; Tia thinks it's just a reminder she was once with Nick.
And Tia gets put in a situation where she has to choose between following federal laws about inspections or having a frustrated client back out of a major project. The project boss assures her the job can be done safely if she'll just sign certain papers. And so John has ammunition just in case Tia ever crosses him.
I don't see any special reason to recommend this movie. Everyone talks about how beautiful Tia is. She's sort of pretty, I guess. She's very determined.
Jennifer Spence is Tia's pretty best friend, and a little better than the other actors.
Nick is nice enough, yet rugged. John is your typical greedy developer, letting nothing stand in his way, not even pesky government rules.
But this has been done a hundred times before. There are a couple of unusual twists, and the ending is interesting enough.
It's entertaining, just not special.
Waste of My Time
sophybliss2 February 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Bad acting all around, a totally unsympathetic female lead, and poor writing to boot. How did this piece of junk ever get produced?
The premise is interesting even if it has been done before: woman finds herself pregnant and her lover is killed in an accident so she accepts a marriage proposal from her wealthy boss. From the beginning I was thinking "Ah, the old David/Bathsheba story" and sure enough, the boss financed the climbing expedition that (supposedly) killed off the lover. This part was never really explained well. He financed it, but did he make the accident happen? Who was holding Nick captive all the while he was thought dead?
The female lead was not very good. She came off cold as ice and I couldn't understand why either guy would want her. I actually had more sympathy for the boss than her when she was trying to divorce him to go back to Nick. She was bad, but actually none of the actors were good enough to make me have an emotional response to their characters.
I watched this on a rainy day with nothing else to do and it was still a complete waste of time. My brain would have been better off napping!
The premise is interesting even if it has been done before: woman finds herself pregnant and her lover is killed in an accident so she accepts a marriage proposal from her wealthy boss. From the beginning I was thinking "Ah, the old David/Bathsheba story" and sure enough, the boss financed the climbing expedition that (supposedly) killed off the lover. This part was never really explained well. He financed it, but did he make the accident happen? Who was holding Nick captive all the while he was thought dead?
The female lead was not very good. She came off cold as ice and I couldn't understand why either guy would want her. I actually had more sympathy for the boss than her when she was trying to divorce him to go back to Nick. She was bad, but actually none of the actors were good enough to make me have an emotional response to their characters.
I watched this on a rainy day with nothing else to do and it was still a complete waste of time. My brain would have been better off napping!
Stop its a trap ,please skip this movie
bnicolec200121 July 2011
You might start watching this movie when nothing else is on ,and who can blame you that is what happened to me. I thought this might be interesting maybe even some cute guys involved (just being honest I like a good hunk every once in a while) Lets just get to the point shall we this plot brings you to the edge of caring and just drops you off a cliff. Tia is bland , Nick is bland , and the only one with a little flavor is John and its not that much . I felt had they changed Tia out with the actress who played her best friend it might have been a little better . With tweaking here and there it could have been a decent rainy day movie ,but as it is now there is no build up to the plot twist. It seems as if the writers were simply like this just is now accept something I haven't prepared you for during the whole first part of this movie. At the end I felt sad and not for whom you think . Take the other reviewers advice skip this one, the plot sounds good but what is presented to the viewer is simply blah.
Unbelievably bad
Sonofamoviegeek15 September 2010
The premise of this movie is as old as the Bible. David, Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite are even invoked at one point in the hope of salvaging this turkey. Unfortunately, the Biblical characters are far more interesting than what is written. The cast's incompetence at the acting craft dooms whatever believability the script might have.
The shopworn Jessica Tuck attempts to portray a trophy wife but can't conceal her cold lifeless personality. Even if Jessica Tuck had some charm, Andrew Airlie is too weak-chinned and bland to be credible as a stud boss. Couldn't the production company afford a razor for Spencer Rochefort's chin? I could go on but you get the idea.
The shopworn Jessica Tuck attempts to portray a trophy wife but can't conceal her cold lifeless personality. Even if Jessica Tuck had some charm, Andrew Airlie is too weak-chinned and bland to be credible as a stud boss. Couldn't the production company afford a razor for Spencer Rochefort's chin? I could go on but you get the idea.
Truly terrible, lifeless, waste of a budget
Sjhm25 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Terrible. Pointless. Poorly executed. Stupid girl falls in love with free spirit; free spirit is allegedly killed in a climbing accident, so stupid girl who is pregnant by free spirit, marries a cold MISERABLE, whiny rich man with the personality of a floor map. That poisonous rich guy is also a cheat who avoids technical problems and responsibility for accidents on his construction sites by handing off responsibility for anything that might go wrong to unwitting subordinates, is a silly sting in the tail. It has been done a million times before, and truthfully, there is nothing really that wrong here except for the weak, tawdry, lifeless execution. There is no tension. None. Not a second's tension where you think that 'Tia' might be at risk of losing everything. Rich hubby is boring, and certainly no stud. Free spirit boyfriend is cute enough, but scarcely a thrill a minute. You come out the other side feeling vaguely confused about what you've just seen. Give it a miss.
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