Class Action (1991)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers (WGA):

Carolyn Shelby (written by) &
Christopher Ames (written by) ...

Release Date:

15 March 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

For the plaintiff...Jedediah Tucker Ward. For the defense...Margaret Eleanor Ward. Nothing Personal. It's just Father Vs. Daughter in the fight of their lives.

Plot:

Jeb Ward is an attorney who specializes in whistle blower, David vs. Goliath, type cases. He finds a...

Plot Keywords:

Father Daughter Relationship | Courtroom | Lawyer | Title Spoken By Character

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Gene Hackman	...	Jedediah Tucker Ward
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Maggie Ward
Colin Friels	...	Michael Grazier
Joanna Merlin	...	Estelle Ward
Laurence Fishburne	...	Nick Holbrook (as Larry Fishburne)
Donald Moffat	...	Quinn
Jan Rubes	...	Pavel
Matt Clark	...	Judge Symes
Fred Dalton Thompson	...	Dr. Getchell
Jonathan Silverman	...	Brian
Joan McMurtrey	...	Ann
Anne Ramsay	...	Deborah (as Anne Elizabeth Ramsay)
David Byron	...	Carl
Tim Hopper	...	Howie
Robert David Hall	...	Steven Kellen

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:15 | Finland:S | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Bix Restaurant - 56 Gold Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Interscope Communications

Trivia:

San Francisco mayor Art Agnos and city supervisor Angela Alioto can be glimpsed as extras in church congregation during Gene Hackman's homage speech to his deceased wife.

Goofs:

Continuity: Maggie's mother falls down the stairs. The position of her purse changes between shots.

Quotes:

Jedediah Tucker Ward: By the way, you so much as look at my daughter, they won't be able to identify you with dental records.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fight Club (1999)

Soundtrack:

The More I See You

Not really a courtroom drama...

As a fan of Hackman, Mastrantonio, and courtroom drama, I thought this might be another overlooked chestnut that might repay viewing. Well, I enjoyed the film thoroughly - but it was not really courtroom drama. So if that is what you're looking for, go elsewhere. People are in courtrooms, and there's some cross-examination, but that is not the core of the movie. The core is a story about a father-daughter relationship, and the ups and downs that the relationship can take. Criticized for being 'predictable' or 'smarmy', I found it to be a warm and occasionally humorous take on a plot that may have been presented before, but certainly bore presenting again, and I enjoyed the film very much.

Apted's directing is effective, though never innovative. The actors are all good - in fact, it is to their credit that they made simple lines and dialogue so effective. Hackman, of course, as always,is the professional he always is, and in Mastrantonio he has an actress who can take his words and put her own spin on them. Supporting cast is very solid, the music is early James Horner (good, but again nothing brilliant), setting and atmosphere were both average.

Overall, not a movie for a guy and his girl to watch, but a great movie for that girl and her father to watch. It would've been a great all-rounder if the drama had been in the court-room...