Normal Life (1996)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

John McNaughton

Writers (WGA):

Peg Haller (written by) &
Bob Schneider (written by)

Release Date:

25 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Love Was Their Addiction, Crime Was The Drug.

Plot:

Chris is young idealistic cop who falls in love and gets married to Pam, a beautiful but emotionally...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Unemployed | Cop As Criminal | Female Nudity | Suicide

Cast

Ashley Judd	...	Pam Anderson
Luke Perry	...	Chris Anderson
Bruce A. Young	...	Agent Parker (as Bruce Young)
Jim True-Frost	...	Mike Anderson
Edmund Wyson	...	Darren
Michael Skewes	...	Officer Swift
Scott Cummins	...	Hank Chilton
Kevin Mukherji	...	Homeowner
Kate Walsh	...	Cindy Anderson
Tom Towles	...	Frank Anderson
Penelope Milford	...	Adele Anderson
Brian McCann	...	Justice of the Peace
Dawn Maxey	...	Eva
Kevin Hurley	...	Norman
Brian Blondell	...	Toy store clerk

MPAA:

Rated R for scenes of violence, sexuality, drug use and language.

Runtime:

101 min | Portugal:89 min | UK:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Astrocolor)

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #34237) | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA

Company:

Fine Line Features

Trivia:

The bar where Chris and Pam first meet is the Bartlett Tap, and is located in downtown Bartlett. It's a tavern that has been there since the 1800's.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Pam Anderson said her telescope was a Newtonian reflector; however, it was a long focal length 60mm refractor.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Chris Anderson: Lock and load. You ready?
[Pam nods]
Chris Anderson: Time to go.

No Redeeming Qualities

I'm surprised to see so many positive reviews for this movie. This is the first movie I've seen in a while with no redeeming qualities. It's a shame that I caught this yesterday afternoon on TV. I wasted time watching this garbage when I could've just watched something else.

The protagonist of the story is Chris Anderson portrayed by Luke Perry. Anderson is a good cop and overall a good guy. One night he meets a young attractive blonde in a bar. Always a great place to find the girl of your dreams. She's screaming and cursing (what a dream) at some guy who was lucky enough to get out of there. Anderson on the other hand isn't so lucky. He approaches the woman who has cut her hand from a broken glass. Anderson plays the knight in shining armor and helps her. They have a slow dance and she tells him her name is Pam. From the start, Anderson should've known there was something up with this dame. Don't get me wrong, Ashley Judd is a beautiful woman, blonde or brunette. But once you get to know Pam you'll wish you didn't. Anderson drops Pam off home and he decides to see her again. The more the movie goes on, Anderson gets to know Pam and the movie makes less and less sense.

Pam's behavior gets more and more neurotic and you realize along with Anderson that Pam is damaged goods. But for some reason, he loves her and wants to help her. Chris ends up asking Pam to be his wife.

He never really does help her. He just keeps beating a dead horse. Our idealistic cop turns into a complete idiot. He takes someone who is mentally ill and completely out of it. He thinks that by marrying her and making her his wife that is going to help her. Not only does Chris do nothing about her illness, he also turns a blind eye while she does drugs and drinks. As the marriage goes on, Pam gets sicker and Chris gets dumber. Pam goes to the store to buy a special telescope to view an eclipse. Instead she comes home with a knife. Instead of being worried he's angry that she spent $500. He comes home one night and sees that she has cut herself all over. His solution is to buy her a dog. Whenever Chris has Pam around his family it is obvious that she doesn't know how to interact with people. Chris gets mad and yells at her. When Anderson's father dies he tells Pam to get a dress and make sure that she's there. Pam shows up at the funeral parlor dressed like she's ready to go roller blading. Still Chris does absolutely nothing to help her. This is the woman in trouble that he was going to save and he doesn't have a clue.

The couple have financial trouble and they are barely able to live in the shack they're in. Chris loses his job as a cop and we are never told why. Later Pam loses her job because of her drug use. Chris comes home to find Pam with a gun to her head. By now, Anderson has to be a complete idiot to not see that his wife is suicidal. What does he do? He continues to leave her alone and tends to their money problems by becoming a bank robber. Like I said, as the movie goes on it makes less and less sense. There is even a ludicrous ending. Why bother to continue? This movie is very difficult to watch. Whoever made this has to be either crazy or just stupid. Poor Ashley Judd, who has a great body, is stuck shedding her clothes for no good reason. I've never seen a movie with such unnecessary nudity. Ashley Judd is filmed naked in many scenes just for the sake of being shown naked. Whoever made this movie must have something wrong with them.

I'm sorry I ever saw this movie. I hope I never come across it again. I almost didn't even want to waste my time writing a review, but I figured others should be warned. Don't even waste your time on this garbage. Ashley Judd fans especially should stay clear of this. The very talented and very attractive Ashley Judd is wasted. Actually, she is exploited. Luke Perry fans should stay clear of this too. Sometimes it looked like he was giving a decent performance when he was yelling, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was really yelling because he was sorry he got stuck making such a horrible and worthless movie. Stay clear of this trash.