Janet, a cocktail waitress at an officer's club, meets and falls in love with Ted Harduvel, one of the ace pilots assigned to the base. Their romance leads to marriage, but Janet was not a typical Air Force bride. Her disappointment is evident because she does not interplay with the other wives, in fact, she resents them. She is also not too happy when Ted has to go on missions overseas, something that leave her alone with her young daughter Kiki at home a bit bored.
When Ted enters the F-16 pilot program, he is assured by his instructors the aircraft is the latest in modern technology. Ted felt he would have to trust the instrument readings in order to do a good job. Unfortunately, on his way to Korea, his plane malfunctions and he crashes against a mountain. The Air Force is quick to blame Ted for a number of things, including drugs, and finally, the ultimate disgrace to any member of that unit, he is guilty of pilot error.
Janet gets angry. She begins trying to dig into the causes of her husband's accident, but she is fighting what appears is a lost cause. Not only will she be going against the US Air Force, but she will face the impossible trying to fight General Dynamics, the manufacturer of the troubled plane. Her plight brings her to a lawyer that comes to admire her instantly, Leo Morrone. He takes her case and they prevail ultimately as the jury finds the maker of the F-16, granting her three millions in damages, only to be overturned when the company appealed the award.
"Afterburn" is one of those made for television pictures that chronicles a real event. Director Robert Markowitz does a good job in staging the Elizabeth Chandler screenplay. How accurate the events are in the film, compared with real life, we as the audience will never know, but it offers an interesting account of the story. The television industry loves to deal with incidents such as the one in the film that shows individuals trying to battle government agencies.
Laura Dern is an intense actress that does justice to Janet Harduvel. She is a likable performer that has given us many interesting characters for our enjoyment. Vincent Spano is the dashing Ted. Robert Loggia appears as Leo Morrone. Michael Rooker plays Ted's best friend, Z. Also in the cast, Richard Jenkins, a wonderful actor with little to do.
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