Mediocre movie of the week about a young girl who goes to visit her long lost mother and winds up getting caught in the web of an unstable stranger. This meeting leads to much sorrow for not only the girl but her only other living relative, her grandfather, who winds up in dutch with the state police. Ally Sheedy played, and looked, the part of a burnt out drunk with nothing to live for. Interesting enough story but not very believable and way too corny for my tastes.
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helpless_dancer28 July 2002
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becca1811 November 2002I recently seen this film and I have to say that I will never look at Don Diamont ("Ray Wilcox") the same way again, he has the "Creepy Rapist" act down pat, even when I watch him in The Young & the Restless he creeps me out (and he plays a nice guy), Rachael Leigh Cooks ("Emma") part in this film is convincing enough but doesn't show the best of her talent, the film itself is interesting enough and Ally Sheedy gives a brilliant performance as Emma's mother who is drunk and out of it for most of the film.
I reccomend it to anyone who wants to look at some of Rachael's early work and all those Don Diamont fans who want to see him in a completely different to type role. -
jaycub9 June 2003****Contains Spoilers****
As a fan of Rachael Leigh Cook, I watched for this show to finally come on so that I could see it. I taped it so I could watch it several times, and there is something about this show that really bothers me!
I recognize that this was a made-for-TV movie. Not only that, but it was made for Lifetime, which is a channel that I despise. Because it was made for TV, I can ignore the huge plot holes. I can ignore the massive lack of character development in Ally Sheedy's character. I can overlook the fact that George C. Scott and Rachael Leigh Cook, both of whom are very talented actors, were definately not reaching the best of their abilities. I can look past the fact that Don Diamont's character was so cliche'd, that you knew when you saw him he was the villain. I can even pass over the obvious mistake in the timeline (She's raped during her winter break, and then over a year later she has the baby from it.)
The major thing that I can't get over is this: There are two trials for the custody of the child. In the first trial, custody is awarded to the child's father because he is "better educated, has a degree from a community college, and has a full time job." In the second trial the judgement is reversed because the Judge feels that there is lack of evidence that Emma (RLC's character)is an unfit mother, and custody shouldn't be taken from the primary caretaker and given to someone with no previous interaction with the child.
The problem is this: Nowhere during the course of these trials is the fact that a thirtysomthing year old man raped a 15 year old girl and got her pregnant taken into consideration! Whether it was a rape or not, he had sex with a minor! Wouldn't that be taken into consideration when the judge is choosing him for custody because he's a "mature adult?" Mature adults don't have sex with minors!
It's not the worst cable movie that you would ever see, but it's not a great show either. ** out of **** -
blackattack5 February 2009I watched this movie at like 4 in the morning and let me tell you... I ended up staying up to watch it while it was on again like four hours later.
I think that everyone in this movie is just so beautifully cast. you have don diamont playing the dark yet handsome older guy who becomes attracted to rachel leigh cook who despite being younger can really hold her own. George C. Scott breaks hearts as the strict but loving grandpa who would do anything to help his granddaughter. Ally Sheedy shows her range by playing distant and often drunk mom.
Let's just say...i would love to own this movie. -
hearthlight25 February 2008A very sensitive topic--15 y/o girl abandoned by mother as a baby and who goes to visit her, continues to be ignored, is raped by her mom's boyfriend, becomes pregnant. There was not enough depth displayed of this situation. Too much of time is taken up on the chase with the truckers transporting the baby. (Interesting, this baby with asthma--you never see him cry-- except once--, be fed, have is diaper changed during the whole truck transport ordeal.) I would have liked to have seen more of the interrelationships, more focus on the fact that this girl was a minor--this should have stood up in court immediately.
And this was a true story! It deserved a better telling than that!!
If it weren't for the subject matter, I would have given this closer to a 0 rating. I rented this from the library. Only later I found out it was a made for TV movie.
oh well -
Well, I just happened to catch it around on TV this morning, at first, I wasn't really impressed by the introduction, there was just a mine and stuff, I didn't know that this film actually carried such a strong storyline, of family love and strength as a whole. I felt for Emma when she was raped, when she almost lost the custody of her son to that RAY, her grandfather was really caring and great. I really feel that Rachael Leigh Cook fully extended her talents in acting, in this particular movie. She is worth to be commended :) Keep up the good work Rachael !
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HotToastyRag9 December 2022The premise of Country Justice (also titled Family Rescue) is easy enough to predict, but the second half completely derails and takes you on a wild wide. At the start, young mother Ally Sheedy abandons her daughter so she can live a more reckless and selfish life. She leaves her baby with her father, George C. Scott, and takes off. Fifteen years later, Rachael Leigh Cook is curious about her mother, even though she loves and respects her grandfather. On a whim, she buys a bus ticket and leaves George a note, but when Ally isn't glad to see her, she's very disheartened. Ally's boyfriend, Don Diamont, is very attentive to Rachael - too attentive. So, yes, it's easy to guess what happens next.
Parts of Country Justice have the potential to really affect the audience, but most of it felt like a cheap tv movie - which happened to get George C. Scott to play the lead. I liked him as the steady grandfather who puts his family first no matter the cost, and it was interesting to see Mary Anne from The Babysitter's Club going through such a dramatic ordeal. But much of the plot was very far fetched. You're going to have to really be in the mood for a melodramatic tv flick to get engrossed in this one.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. It doesn't go into detail, but there is a rape scene involving a teenager, so I wouldn't let my kids watch it. -
Marie-723 August 2001This movie was a joyful surprise. Seldom did we see George C Scott in such a tender role. Just goes to prove what a well rounded actor he was; how we shall miss him! What a delight to see a whole town pulling together to help neighbors. How funny to see those rugged truck drivers cradeling that little baby. The expressions on their faces were wonderful to see. I don't know what made me tape it but I am glad I did as I shall watch it again and again (something I seldom do.) I gave it to my neighbor to watch also. Hollywood: we want more movies like this; no sex, no foul language and no nudity. Are you listening????
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But so are the days of their lives. A superb cast and excellent production can't hide deficiencies in the trashy soap opera like script that I parody as soap opera titles above, three Los Angeles based daytime dramas that from 1984 forward have featured this television film's handsome but dastardly villain, Don Diamont. He is the no count good for nuttin' boyfriend of the too drunk to see it Ally Sheedy. She's estranged from father George C. Scott who has lovingly raised her daughter (the awesome Rachael Leigh Cook) who wants to get to know her mother, and on her first night visiting, is raped by Diamont after he gets her drunk. Rushing back to her grandfather, she of course discovers that she's pregnant, and in a ridiculous twist, the court grants Diamont custody!
The white trash elements of this film reminds me of several exploitation movies made in the 1930's, particularly "Child Bride", one of the most offensive movies ever made. Beautifully filmed in a snowy Virginia winter, this just isn't the smart, pretty film it thinks it is, and poor Diamont has several degrading scenes where he has to psychotically profess his love for the woman he raped, even after he's just met her. This seems loaded with the agenda that rural people (particularly straight white men) are slimeballs, manipulating the audience with the most absurd plot developments. Scott comes off sensationally, his grandfatherly love for Cook touching, continuing on to the fourth generation. But it's a complete waste of Sheedy's talent, and poor Diamont gets the worst deal as an overly written pervert that never rises above a one dimensional viewpoint. A scene where a church congregation hides the on the run Scott in church just crashes this down even further. -
turtlewax18230 November 2002Was it just me, or did it feel like the makers were trying to squeeze too much into an hour and a half? First you have Emma (Cook), trying to contact her estranged mother. Then you have a rape incident. Then she becomes pregnant. The baby is then diagnosed with severe asthma. The grandfather (Scott) decides it's for the best if he adopts the baby and then will be able to use his healthcare to cover the child's medical bills. Now we wind up in a court battle, which ends with custody being awarded to the father. And just when you thought every cliche in the book was presented, they go another step and we see dear old gramps going on the run with the baby. I find it highly coincidental that this old man just happens to have family and friends who are truckers and able to carry him all over different states. I think Grandpa should have blown Ray's brains out one of the times he came onto his property. He would have been in his legal rights to do so, then none of this would have happened in the first place. The ending is enough to make you gag (The baby is eventually brought back home, charges are dropped against grandpa, and mom finally takes an interest in her daughter's, and father's lives). You should only watch it if nothing else is on tv, on one of those boring Sunday evenings.