An American Affair (1997) User Reviews

*1/2*

[edwagreen · 2/10 · 3 December 2016]

Hell hath no fury when two friends begin an affair with an aspiring District Attorney and when one becomes pregnant, he marries her only for her to lose the baby. In the meantime, he is still carrying on with the friend while doing unethical things such as framing the son of the senator whose senate seat he wants desperately.

Just when things become interesting when the wife is shot to death after she finds him in bed with her girlfriend, the film goes downhill rapidly as it turns into the macabre. Having buried his wife, they return home and begin hearing her voices and eventually her ghost.

Robert Vaughn, who died recently, was lucky that he had but one scene in this awful film, where he plays a professor who has the ability to show a woman virtually not breathing while in the water. This phenomenon shall play a key role in this film where revenge is self-evident, but so poorly done.

Poor acting; poor script

[KMTowe · 1/10 · 8 July 2000]

We didn't finish this rented film. The story (as far as we could stomach it) was "hokey". The screenplay and the script were almost comical! Maybe it was supposed to be a spoof, but if so, we missed it entirely! I wouldn't recommend this rental to anyone, unless they had virtually nothing else to do! It seems noteworthy that there are few other reviews of this awful presentation on the WWW.

To be fair...

[aetherialuna · 8/10 · 4 May 2022]

I see this film has some pretty sorry reviews, and I feel like it needs a little positive input. First of all, this was a 90's made-for-tv movie so we need not judge by such intense standards... it is a good movie in the context of semi-low budget films made to air on television. It is a pretty standard love triangle story with some good twists. Acting is not the worst I have seen, by far. The only thing I found comical was that (for some reason) Corbin Bernsen is cast as both Dist. Atty. Sam Brady (main character) and Sen. John Crawford (supporting character) and the "two" of them are in the same scene several times... Surely they could have found another guy for the role of the senator, or implied that the two characters are relatives to explain the familial likeness... I digress. Anyway, not a bad movie at all. If you were into 90's cable tv thrillers you will dig it. If that's not your thing, then this is not a film you will enjoy, simple as that.

so bad it's good!

[emilycoco · 7/10 · 16 September 2007]

Oh my god, this has to be the best/worst made-for-TV movie I have ever seen. The plot, such as it is, is just bizarre. You think you are watching your generic Lifetime flick about a woman whose family/life is torn apart by a cheating/lying/fill-in-the-blank man. But then it morphs into some kind of sinister murder cover-up, and takes a turn for the supernatural, and then veers again into the utterly ridiculous.

It starts with these two women who seem to be polar opposites but who are somehow the best of friends. One is a bookish, free-thinking yoga type, and the other is this cartoonishly sexual vixen. Despite their differences, they overtly vow (who DOES this?) to never let a man get in the way of their friendship ("us first, men second"). Then, of course, the very next scene they meet a man who will get in the way of their relationship. There are no clues as to why this man, in particular, is the man that has managed to break down their seemingly impenetrable bond, but whatever. We learn that ours is not to ask questions. The man ultimately impregnates one of them while still being obsessed with the other one.

From here, the movie devolves into an increasingly bizarre series of situations, in which each character makes inexplicably bad decisions given their circumstances. Finally, the whole thing culminates in the most ridiculous final scene of a movie I've ever seen. It kind of ties everything up, but it really only answers the 'how' and not the 'why'. Seriously, the ending is so bad it is hilarious, and I would watch the whole thing just for the payoff.

The movie is not for the faint-hearted, but if you enjoy a good laugh at the expense of some earnest director somewhere, this one's for you. I for one really love Lifetime movies, and this unintentionally (I think?) hilarious movie was a nice reprieve from the prodigious vehicles about psychic detectives or overprotective mothers who save their child from some vice.

*SPOILER* I'm sorry, I tried to write the review without saying it, but the last line, "that's what you get when you mess with an American senator" followed by the impregnator getting kicked in the balls is just so so awesome. Watch it for this if nothing else!