Normal Life (1996) User Reviews (28)

Illogical Love

[CMUltra · 6/10 · 2 April 2007]

Normal Life is simply about the illogical love Chris (Luke Perry) has for Pam (Ashley Judd).

From the love-at-first-sight moment you know his attraction is there but, other than the physical appeal, you can't understand why. The first time he sees her, she's drunk and having a fight with what seems to be her boyfriend. She smashes a glass and cuts her hand. She's definitely attractive (Judd always is) so Chris overlooks her odd behavior and plays the knight in shining armor role as he tends to her cut.

The attraction is immediately so strong that he tracks her down at her workplace to see her again. He's a cop. When he sees her the second time she's sitting in her car outside her job smoking pot. He overlooks this as well and they go to an isolated area to lie in the grass and look at the stars. She's heavy into astronomy.

She initiates sex with him and, during the intercourse, he innocently says she's "crazy." She goes berserk, breaks off the copulation, runs screaming to her car and very nearly runs him over. He explains that he meant nothing bad by the comment and, once again, accepts her behavior.

This is the theme that continues. No matter what Pam does, Chris loves her. He's not blind. He recognizes Pam's attitudinal deficiencies and points them out to her. He struggles to help her change and become a better person. But when she doesn't change he must either leave her or change himself to fit her life. He does the latter.

Chris is not only a cop when the movie begins but also a straight arrow. He does not condone cutting corners, or police brutality. However he ignores his strict code of ethics when he finds Pam smoking pot the first time. That lets us know right away that, while he will try to change her, he is willing to sacrifice all of his personal standards to be with her. By the end of the movie he is a bank robber and a murderer.

Normal Life is a neat snapshot of what folks like Chris go through when they allow another person to become the end-all, be-all of their life. They begin to define their own life by the other person. They do not have the strength to let go. Some glimpses of Chris' parents are given but it is incomplete. We do not know if the family is truly dysfunctional or if there are difficulties exacerbated by his father's illness.

Perry was enjoyable as Chris. He played the character with a realistic edge. Chris was typically reserved and soft-spoken but Perry made it clear that there was high tension underneath.

Judd (one of my favorite actresses) was not so adept with Pam. In order to portray hysteria I think you have to go there, otherwise the acting is painfully obvious. That's what I saw here. In other scenes she did fine as she took Pam along the edge of a normal life. When Pam needed to turn on the charm, Judd excelled. The further Pam went the other direction, the more the performance suffered.

Well drawn characters of a hopelessly incompatible couple.

[raymond-15 · 7/10 · 30 August 2004]

An incompatible couple try to find a normal life. Differences of opinion constantly lead to outbursts of anger and threats of ending the partnership. Pam (Ashley Judd) is an irresponsible woman who makes up for the lack of excitement in her life by indulging in drugs and alcohol. She is certainly not content to be a housewife. Policeman Chris (Luke Perry) on the other hand is a level-headed husband who pampers her in every material way. He is soon in dreadful debt.

The turbulent life-style of these two main characters occupy the screen most of the time and we feel there is no hope for either of them. Indeed their incompatibility is enough to put one totally off marriage. Their shouting matches are quite savage and somewhat depressing.

When Chris resigns from the police force and discovers a new way to riches and living life to the full, excitement takes over and the characters are fired with a new enthusiasm. Pam insists she be a part of this new game and for a time she becomes a new woman.

The characters are well drawn, the car chases quite exciting. This change of mood spices up their sex lives clearly depicted in a series of bedroom scenes.

The final sequences are dramatic and exciting so stay with the film to the end. The old saying that "Crime does not pay" is clearly delivered and understood.

A decent, modern "Bonnie and Clyde"

[jpn · 7/10 · 29 October 1998]

I must admit that seeing 90210's Luke Perry in Normal Life's leading role did not inspire me, but after watching this film I was pleasantly surprised. The foreshadowing scene at the very start of the film gives a sense of foreboding doom that pervades the rest of the story. Pam (Ashley Judd) is a woman torn between living on the edge and having a normal, storybook life. Chris (Luke Perry) longs for such a life, but also seems to be excited by Pam's wild side. He goes from cop to bank robber in a first successful, but then futile attempt to make things right, which only seems to excite Pam more. Eventually their luck runs out, and the inevitable ensues. The last 15 minutes of this film are the best part with some surprising twists right near the end.

Good performances & well plotted

[bob the moo · 16 October 2001]

The film starts with the FBI arresting Luke Perry during a car robbery and tracks back to two years prior. It is at this point that Perry first meets Ashley Judd and his life begins to change. Essentially he becomes trapped by his love with a woman that is clearly no good for him - leading to fights, crime and his eventual capture.

Perry takes a huge leap away from his 90210 posterboy image with a good haunted performance as the man forced to live outside his small-town "normal life" by Judd's desire for more excitement than a small town can give.

Ashley Judd is excellent as Pam, constantly riddled with suffering and inconsistency as she flies around emotionally, cuts herself with knives and puts guns to her head and only finds peace when taking drugs, spending money or stealing. The only criticism is that she is required to be nude almost once every ten minutes - this doesn't develop her character and made me think that the director wanted to have it there to satisfy the men in the audience, it almost like she was being exploited.

Overall the film is well plotted and makes Perry's change almost believable - however his final change doesn't totally make sense. That said it's a pretty emotional ride that doesn't let you get bored at any point, is well acted and well scripted. All through the film you can't help but feel sad for Perry as he is henpecked, corrupted and ultimately tormented by Judd's childish alluring Pam.

Great Movie, but Could Be Better with a Simple Modification in the Screenplay

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 23 March 2008]

When the honest and idealistic policeman Chris Anderson (Luke Perry) meets the gorgeous and sexy, but alcoholic and drug addicted Pam (Ashley Judd) in a bar, they date and have great sex. Chris immediately falls in love for Pam and marries her, but the reckless and emotionally unbalanced wife brings troubles to his relationship with his family and spends her credit card in futilities, leading the couple to financial problems. When Chris loses his job in the police department, he concludes that they are insolvent and decides to heist banks to resolve their financial issues.

I have just watched "Normal Life" for the second time and my opinion remains the same: it is a great movie, but could be better with a simple modification in the screenplay. In the beginning of the story, the fate of Chris and Pam is unnecessarily disclosed, and the viewer watches the film knowing that the FBI and the police arrest Chris and chase Pam and consequently breaking the tension or the imagination of the viewer. Ashley Judd astonishingly sexy and Luke Perry have great performances and chemistry in this modern Bonnie and Clyde story apparently based on true events. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Fronteiras do Crime" ("Borders of the Crime")

ONE OF ASHLEY'S GOOD FILMS!

[shepardjessica-1 · 7/10 · 24 October 2004]

This was surprisingly good (based on a true story) about a young couple who get in over their heads. Luke Perry (who I've never liked as an actor) is believable as the cop-husband who loses track. Ashley Judd, a lovely and talented actress who makes too many bad films, is edgy, sardonic, and nihilistic in a beautiful and frightening way. She cooks the space surrounding her and it's a joy to see.

A 7 out of 10. Best performance = Ashley Judd. If Ms. Judd made more films like this, she would be respected more instead of being lusted after quite so much. She needs better advisers when it comes to her film choices (just my opinion; I think she's great). This film probably did no business, but it's worth your time and very human.

Everyone Is Normal Until You Get To Know Them.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 15 June 2010]

Not a terrible movie. The title is ironic. Luke Perry and wife Ashley Judd lead anything but a normal life. He's a diligent cop and she works in some sort of electronic assembly plant. The problem is that she becomes erratic. She starts boozing it up and taking drugs. She gets moody. She goes on wild spending sprees and gets them into terrible debt, while the distracted Luke Perry is so absorbed by her that he alienates his partners and is finally fired. She shows up late at work and is truculent with her boss and after a period in rehab she's cashiered as well. Perry and Judd have furious arguments over expenses in their modest apartment. What they have going for them is her occasional lucid periods and a tendency to rut like two chimpanzees in heat. In the print I just saw, some of the more lurid glandular encounters were cut, as were some scenes of self mutilation, and that's too bad because here the nature of the sex actually plays a part in the story.

Well, they have individual interests as well. Judd is a feverishly rapt amateur astronomer and Perry would just love to open his own book store. Perry has a bearded friend with whom he takes friendly motorcycle rides, and Judd has a lesbian friend from work. That's about it for this unhappy couple.

In order to get them out of debt and to keep them together, Perry takes to holding up banks. As an ex-cop he knows how to do it. He fibs to Judd and tells her that he's putting in overtime as a security guard. When she improbably discovers his real source of income, she's not at all shocked. She finds it exciting. She's overjoyed and is finally able to achieve orgasm with Perry.

At her insistence, Perry takes her along on his next heist, but she's so elated she shoots a row of holes in the ceiling before he manages to yank her through the bank's door.

By this time it's clear that Judd is a Class A bipolar. She's right out of DSM IV-R. She's glum and given to cutting herself all over. The next minute she's wildly gleeful or sometimes irritable over nothing. Her judgment is impaired. Compared to Luke Perry, though, she's a chrome dome. He's one of the stupidest men who ever walked the earth. At one point she leaves him to live with her lesbian friend. When he begs her to come back home, she lays everything out for him in plain language, but it all bounces off him. Her truths are as ping pong balls.

It's not an unintelligent plot, reminiscent of a classic cheap noir called "Gun Crazy" with John Dahl and Sparkle Annie or whatever her name was. (I'm too lazy to look it up.) It's the kind of crazy story that might really happen to two screwballs.

Ashley Judd does a good job. She was superb in another crime drama, "Heat," as Val Kilmer's wife. She's demonstrated the limits of her range as an actress elsewhere but in this film her performance is unimpeachable.

Luke Perry is another matter. He seems to be a nice enough guy but as an actor he's sufficiently lightweight that he should stick to the small screen where "presence" matters less. He had the same problem that David Caruso had, but I can't put a name to it.

Judd's oddness is accurately shown. When the couple visit some relatives for a barbecue, instead of sitting at the table and drinking a beer with the adults, she immediately wanders off and kicks a ball back and forth with the family's child, ignoring the usual rules. Nothing dramatic, just askew. But otherwise the direction is flat and uninspired. (When Judd speaks at a group therapy session, she's shot from a high angle for no discernible reason.) It's kind of disappointing, coming as it does from the director of "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer."

No Redeeming Qualities

[mercury4 · 1/10 · 19 June 2008]

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.

.

[kaliphornia_dreemin · 9/10 · 25 August 2007]

I thought this was a great movie. Regardless of Luke Perry looking like he isn't much of a tough guy in most of his roles, he's still a pretty good actor. Ashley Judd is a phenomenal actress and was perfect, as usual, in her role.

For being a fact-based story, I was glad to see that it wasn't Hollywood-ed up, for lack of a better word. I just wish that when they make movies like this, they get more detailed about it so that the viewers can understand how being in love could drive someone to do what these two people did.

Anyway, I think people will enjoy this, if only for the fact that Mrs. Judd is unclothed through much of the movie...lol

good movie

[pepekwa · 7/10 · 3 October 2007]

I always like being surprised by films I've never heard of or come across and this one is a very good way to pass the time.

Luke perry was very good in one of his first "grown up roles" as a by the book cop who becomes obsessed with a clearly deranged ashley judd who does a good impression of a young angelina jolie. If you're a Judd fan, you'll be pleased to know there's several topless shots of said lady.

Tittle-tattle aside, this is a very entertaining movie to watch, it doesn't spend ages on building up characters but gives you all you need to know with the minimum of fuss which allows time for the film to progress nicely.

There are a few plot holes and there wont be any awards for acting but this was a decent enough thriller that should be checked out.

Stay away; boring drivel ahead

[dfranzen70 · 3/10 · 10 February 2015]

In Normal Life, Luke Perry and Ashley Judd play an odd couple who turn to a life of crime when things go bad. It sounds a little like the plot to Fun with Dick and Jane, only neither of these two clowns is as smart as Dick or Jane, either in that movie or in the kids' books.

Perry is Chris Anderson, a by-the-book cop who meets wacky, wild, wacked biker babe Pam (Judd) in a bar. He's instantly smitten; she's obviously unstable. It's true love at first sight, at least from his standpoint. Eventually, Pam comes around, and they get married. But as I've already noted twice in this paragraph, she has some mental issues. Whether it's hiding from Chris' parents when they come to visit or threatening to kill herself with one of Chris' many firearms, Pam clearly needs some kind of help. Even rehab, provoked by habitual tardiness to the research lab (!) that employs her, isn't the cure.

We know within five minutes of the movie's start that this won't end well for either Chris or Pam, as they're in the process of being caught by the FBI after a robbery. The rest of the story is told in flashback, so the focus is really on how the pair got to the point of robbing banks, and successfully.

Neither of the leads stands out here. Perry is almost unrecognizable, sporting a standard-issue cop mustache, and his character is alternately clever and stupid. Chris sticks by his dotty wife even when it's clear her actions are having a severely detrimental effect on his work, family, and friends. Judd fares a little better, but not much. Judd is eye candy that can actually act, and she does an acceptable job with a complex character. Still and all, Pam is so far around the bend that it's hard to relate to her. Sure, being unpredictable is generally a good trait for a character to have, but if there's not even a passing nod to coherence, then it's all for naught. You may as well have Pam twirling a hula hoop with her neck while dressed as a pirate for all the sense her character seems to have.

Not much to see here, just a flat, toneless story of two unlucky saps who, frankly, got what they had coming anyway.

Actually very good - Ashely & Luke are excellent!

[phd_travel · 8/10 · 9 February 2012]

Good cop marries unstable woman. Through financial difficulties he is led to a life of bank robbery - a modern day Bonnie & Clyde.

Ashley Judd and Luke Perry both act very well. How come I never heard of it? I am a fan of hers. Luke is quite suited to the role he doesn't look ill at ease as he did in some post 90210 movies. Actually haven't seen him in such a dramatic role before. Ashley is quite lovely and plays this screwed up trashy complex character quite well. She shows range. Quite moving and it is timely given the recession now. Kind of a fable of the American dream gone wrong. A modern day American tragedy. Based on a true story - so the plot is realistically bizarre. Quite touching and intense.

Watch it. This movie should have been more famous.

Good-Looking Cast, Superficial Treatment

[mackjay2 · 7/10 · 6 July 2021]

Superficial look at l'amour fou and its consequences. Two very good-looking people meet by chance and enter into a life of crime. Besides a mutual attraction it's hard to see why this pair stay together, even get married. We don't get enough background for the characters. There's nothing wrong with the acting. Ashley Judd has the showier part to play--a bipolar nightmare--and she gives it her all, only occasionally flirting with excess; and she looks great Luke Perry's character puts up with more than most me would stand. With his slight build, a mustache adding some maturity to the character, he's quite sympathetic, even when plot turns goes a little beyond credibility (although this is based on true-life incidents). In sum, it's more like a made-for-TV movie. It will certainly hold a viewer's attention, and others in the cast are more than adequate.

Pointless

[actionfilm-2 · 2/10 · 27 May 2013]

Yes, negative review here and sure I know, based on a true story, but there are countless true stories out there that actually lead somewhere. The filmmakers thought there was something to be said here, Myself I'm not so sure. Here we get a pair of unstable and socially inept human beings that possess a twisted "love" for one another and we are asked, by way of the filmmaking tone and approach, to sympathize with their "plight". Problem is it was impossible (for me) to warm up to these two even in the slightest. Were the character's interesting? No, not in today's light. Obviously I'm in the minority here as most of the reviews posted loved this film. Now I enjoy nihilism as much as the next person, but this film's attempt to play on one's heartstrings was lost on me here, especially as the music turned sad and sappy at the finale with the pair's predictable fate. A better approach, without sacrificing much in the way of Hollywood's "true story" element, would have been to have celebrated law enforcement's part in protecting the public from their criminal existence, at the very least I'm sure the pair's neighbor's would like to thank the police.

Far more psychologically fierce than Bonnie and Clyde

[MOSSBIE · 23 November 2008]

Both films were based on characters and the budgets were many millions of dollars apart in spite of the fact, in B and C we NEVER get to know either of the characters and what today is so outdated, is made up by the incredible performance of Ashley Judd, who employs no clichés of a a wild drunk and does not reveal herself as a clearly bipolar,drugged out mess. Later, to his credit the script writer does not delve into her childhood past beyond one scene,thus throwing pity at her.This is way truer than fashion icon Bonnie whose famous line "we rob banks" thrilled people and made heroes out of them and Theodora Van Runkle.Most surprising is Luke Perry (with bad mustache created to make him not so baby faced)who is really good and we get a glimpse of how honorable a man is who falls for a gorgeous unpredictable girl/woman whose heroes and myths lie in astronomy and chaos and lack of fear.I have known two women like them and been in love with them who were equally beautiful and could be so appealing and sexy one minute and the next out of their minds. In their case it was a lot of speed when it was legal,and they fascinated a lot of guys whose lives they messed up before dumping them prior to me. I had to leave them because they had such power. One married 5 times to millionaires and institutionalized while the other is now the most normal mother who looks great and goes to PTA meetings.She was exactly like the Judd character while the other drove around Hollywood with shotguns her classic sports cars and a Bentleys drinking champagne.Exactly like Judd's character. This film is far more real and explains the unexplainable but it usually has to do with drugs and booze while in B and C it was fashionable to love the underdog during the depression and feel compassion for them. Ashley Judd, again is a genuinely intelligent and gorgeous actress with an educational b.g. which is astonishing and may have influenced the director/writer to involve her in the astronomy which was a masterful quirky touch.The dialogue rings true and again Perry and her amaze.

Strange and ultimately unsatisfying

[SKG-2 · 7/10 · 27 April 1999]

I don't know why, but I haven't been able to get into the films of director John McNaughton. Of the films of his I've seen(HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, MAD DOG AND GLORY, WILD THINGS, and this), I can see obvious talent, but for some reason he hasn't put it all together for me(HENRY, the best of those, was tighter, but had some problems). At least here, I can detail what went wrong for me. For one, there were too many shouting matches(someone ought to tell actors that yelling is not the only way to express anger). For another, I've never really liked Luke Perry, and he runs the gamut of expressions here from A to B. Ashley Judd is quite good here, giving an intuitive performance, and never quite answering what's wrong with her character, but letting us guess for ourselves(of course, she's a drug addict and alcoholic, but there seems to be more to it). And the details of this supposedly true story seem fascinating. I just wish it added up to more.

Modern Bonnie and Clyde

[searchanddestroy-1 · 7/10 · 23 October 2021]

You can prefer of course the genuine movie from Artie Penn or even Joseph Lewis' GUN CRAZY, though in this last movie, Peggy Cummingss character is close to the female lead here. This story which I talk now is inspired by actual events and also remade a couple of years later in the movie IN THE LINE OF DUTY, starring Bruce Campbell. In this film, I appreciate the details concerning the pre heist logistics, with the relay cars, how Luke Perry steals and park them so that after the heists, he can get them. It may be boring to watch but very useful. A pretty efficient TV movie.

A real disappointment

[hall895 · 3/10 · 26 March 2007]

Normal Life starts out with great promise, with a great burst of energy right at the start. But that energy fizzles out very quickly and what we are left with is a rather bad movie. The film follows a husband and wife who happen to rob banks for a living. The movie begins with their last, ultimately failed, robbery. We see the husband arrested and the wife lead police on a high-speed chase as she attempts to get away. And then we go back in time, back to the beginning, to see how these two ill-fated lovers met and what brought them to the rather unfortunate situation we have just seen. Turns out the husband, Chris, as played by Luke Perry, is a former cop. And the wife, Pam, as played by Ashley Judd, is completely and utterly nuts. A whole team of psychiatrists couldn't help this girl. But Chris thinks he can and he'll do anything to make her happy. Suffice to say their relationship doesn't quite work out as he envisioned. A happily married couple they are not.

Eventually Chris loses his job as a cop and starts robbing banks. When Pam discovers what he is doing she is rather excited and suddenly much more enamored with her husband than she had been. And she wants in on the action. So they start robbing banks together and eventually we end up back where we started at the film's beginning. Back where it seemed the film had some promise. But Normal Life never lives up to that promise. It's terribly scripted. Much of the dialogue is utterly ridiculous. The acting leaves much to be desired, most notably with Perry going over the top again and again in his attempts to convey anger and frustration. He's constantly over-emoting and at times it's so laughable it's hard for the viewer to stifle a chuckle. Which is a problem because this is not meant to be a comedy.

The seemingly endless confrontations and arguments between Chris and Pam become rather monotonous after a while. It's just the same thing over and over again. Every few minutes the two leads have a fight about something. It's like clockwork. It's also exceedingly dull. The story never moves along. We just spend the whole time watching these two people bicker and watching Pam have one psychotic episode after another. OK, their relationship isn't quite working out, we get it. Move along, please. It's a frustrating movie to watch because it started with such promise and then just does not work at all. You get the feeling it should have been a lot better than it is. As it is it's a rather tedious movie.

Couple Romantic = Couple Problems

[tombstoneangel · 10/10 · 2 May 2014]

A young cop named Chris and a beautiful woman named Pam, begin a deep romance, but the more volatile is the known relationship, Chris has serious problems are at work, and Pam is emotionally unstable, but the two love much, their situation gets worse when they start having economic problems, and the two end up robbing banks.

This is a genuine high quality motion picture, everything is perfect, John McNaughton's clever with the camera, his work is mature; Luke Perry and Ashley Judd convey feelings, both are extraordinary in their characters, Normal Life is a beautiful and sad drama, it makes you think about the American dream; the script is fantastic; this movie has a very special cinematographic language, personally I was very moved.

The best thing about this movie is Luke Perry, Ashley Judd, John McNaughton, and its universal theme; wonderful entertainment.

One of my secret favorite movies ...

[dan-470 · 9/10 · 29 December 2020]

A weird little film from John McNaughton, taking an A level cast and adding B Movie sludge to it. It feels like Ashley Judd and Luke Perry trusted their director and each other. as they're pretty excellent and also unhinged. It's not going to feel like what you're used to, and that's what makes it unique and great.

You know the true story behind it

[npacione · 10/10 · 10 October 2015]

Edited for Additional Insights

I know all the locale and I am not going to trying not to do a spoiler with this one because I know the story about Jeffery and Jill Erickson.

The bank robbers who made off with $180,000 and funded a used book store. I went looking for photos of Jeff Erickson as I was doing my presentation and I was sitting beside myself when I noticed that Luke Perry with the the mustache even looked like Jeff Erickson to the t.

Luke Perry's performance is easy his best role; very convincing in playing the character based on Jeffery and I am wondering how much about the news story did he read into getting ready for the role. I was 20 years old when I caught this on HBO. I remember parts of the case in detail as my mother was one of their book store customers in 1991.

I am not going to link up the Chicago Tribune articles because they might give too much of the plot away but it's been so long with this.

Those of you who are reviewing this movie; how much do some of you know the real story behind it? This movie is based upon a very real news story that broke in the early 1990s as I was a Sophomore when it was fully surfaced.

I do remember the movie and the case. Roselle did produce the Bonnie and Clyde as I wrote about this on FictionPress.

The story I wrote from the events was called Bonnie 'n Clyde: 60172 as my own book An Eye In Shadows provided some insight about the case too.

The ISBN: 9781682731086 is how you can find this and you want to do further reading on the case you can do so here if you haven't read the articles about it. I went through the old articles about the case and wondered how much did the director research about this as he's from Chicago.

It's a very unique character study piece and I do encourage those of you who are Illinois based writers to explore the case some because there is a story there. This movie I am looking at from a local's standpoint and it is well written at to boot. Those of you who never been to the area and want to look into the locations -- I know each one where they are at.

Normal Life if you're looking at it from a Chicagoan perspective who grew up around Roselle, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, and Hanover Park -- you're thinking about this film if you seen it and wonder, "Where were you doing when you learned about this?" It's the kind of movie you want to sit down with your friends in a diner who had never been to Chicago before and seen the film, you want to tell them "This really happened!"

My five year memoir An Eye In Shadows discusses this in the 1991-1992 part of the book as my mother was one of his customers in passing.

Interesting look at two lower class minds

[Wizard-8 · 19 April 2010]

"Normal Life" was barely given a theatrical release by its studio, Fine Line. That's a shame, because there is a lot that is worthy in this movie. John McNaughton was a good choice to direct this movie, because in "Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer", he showed he had a talent for showing those in lower class positions with low self esteem - just like the two main characters in this movie. These characters have high ambitions and try to do better (at least initially), but they are shot down by themselves and their surrounding society. They want, but don't get, respect. The movie is focused on their insides, not much on what surrounds them like their jobs. They are drawn together because they are two lost souls - they at least have that to share. The two actors are excellent in their roles (Luke Perry sheds his pretty-boy image completely here.) The movie is not perfect - there are a few details that are not explained (like what exactly is used to justify Perry's character's firing from his job.) Also, the movie is a bit too long, more noticeably in the first half of the movie - cutting fifteen or so minutes from the movie would have helped. But despite these faults, the movie is still well worth seeking out.

A fine and gripping psychological thriller about the dark side of love

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 4 July 2010]

Idealistic and compassionate cop Chris Anderson (an excellent performance by Luke Perry) marries the beautiful and alluring, but extremely troubled, unstable, selfish, and self-destructive Pam (superbly played with gut-wrenching anguish by Ashley Judd). When Pam's constant spending puts them in a severe financial hole, Chris resorts to robbing banks in order to pay off their mounting bills. Director John McNaughton, working from a sharp and incisive script by Peg Haller and Bob Schneider, expertly explores the grim underside of an extremely dysfunctional love gone seriously awry, the dangers of falling for and becoming involved with the wrong person, and how a bad person can have a profound toxic effect on another basically descent person while firmly grounding the bleak, despairing, and nihilistic story in a totally plausible everyday suburbanite reality. The two leads both do sterling work: Perry's Chris makes for a touching and sympathetic protagonist as he does everything he can to make the incredibly messed-up Pam happy while Judd brings a castic humor, raw energy, and fierce intensity to Pam that positively bursts off the screen. Moreover, there are sound supporting turns by Jim True-Frost as Chris' loyal friend Mike, Dawn Maxey as Pam's smitten lesbian coworker Eva, Kate Walsh as Chris' concerned sister Cindy, Michael Skewes as the antagonistic Officer Swift, and Tom Towles as Chris' sickly dad Frank. The uncompromisingly downbeat ending packs a powerful emotional gut punch. Both Jean de Segonzac's polished cinematography and the moody score by McNaughton and Ken Hale are up to speed. A real bang-up sleeper of a grim and haunting movie.

Bonnie and Clyde need therapy.

[The_Film_Cricket · 20 March 2014]

There is a theory about misguided, abused women that with a little patience and understanding that he can somehow be just exactly the savior she needs. That would apply to Chris Anderson (Luke Perry), who meets such a woman in a bar one night after she has a fight with her boyfriend. Her name is Pam (Ashley Judd) and she cuts herself but he asks her to dance anyway. They fall in love, move in together and get married. He is so obsessed by her that we sense that he would do anything to make her happy.

This is not an easy task since Pam is not always a pleasant person. She is a hateful manic-depressive, who has had suicide attempts, drinks too much and dreams of falling through a black hole. She is always seeming to want to push Chris' button just to see how much he can take. The role of savior seems to keep him from strangling her. He will stick this out no matter what.

He loses his job as a police officer and eventually turns to robbing banks in order to fulfill her needs (namely spending his money hand over fist) and his own. She is excited about the idea that he has turned to crime. Finally, he has found something that makes her happy.

The movie was directed by John McNaughton who specializes in films about people drawn to the other side of the law. He made the far darker 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer' but in both films we see people who for one reason or another must commit crimes, not for the money but for the need to do so.

The movie is nothing without the performance of Ashley Judd who does a complete turn around from her equally great performance in 'Ruby in Paradise'. There she was a sweet woman looking to be independent. Here, (in a role many actresses would have turned down), she plays a rather nasty, disturbed woman who found a puppet who is willing to dance for her.

Embarrassing.

[Doctor_Bombay · 6 May 1999]

More often than not, an early title card that reads "inspired by a true story" translates to a film maker's apology for what is going to be an embarrassing work. And electronic titles as well, the cheapest possible-cheap like they use for the late-night cable movies suggests this project was scrapped-pieces pasted together into something presentable, but hardly watchable.

And when you're right, you're right.

Good, lonely boy meets bad, bad girl, in a bad, bad, bad, movie

It seems inappropriate to criticize the actors, as I can't imagine there was even a script. Every scene seems to be a series of bad improvs, almost amateurish audition pieces. I was a John McNaughton fan based on his first feature: "Henry:Portrait of a Serial Killer", a low budget, but high-energy, inventive piece of film making. But this mess is only familiar to that film as regards overall production value.

By my count this makes 5 movies in a row where the high point of Ashley Judd's performance seems to be her undressing and /or use of dirty language. This list includes her role as the young Norma Jean Baker (Marilyn Monroe). Maybe a case of life imitates art?