Simply Perfect

Nice effects though.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's 1983. Police receives a complaint from Judy Johnson of her son's molestation at the McMartin family-run pre-school daycare center in Manhattan Beach, California. Eventually over 60 children make accusations of outrageous abuse at the school run by 76 year old Virginia McMartin (Sada Thompson) prodded by child-psychiatrist Kee McFarlane (Lolita Davidovich) and her questionable techniques. Virginia's grandson Ray Buckey (Henry Thomas) is at the center of the accusations. Callous defense lawyer Danny Davis (James Woods) is eager to take the case stoked into a media circus by Wayne Satz. Lael Rubin (Mercedes Ruehl) is self-righteous prosecutor. They arrest Ray, Virginia, his sister Peggy Ann (Alison Elliott), mother Peggy (Shirley Knight), and teachers Betty Raidor and Babette Spinler. Prosecutor Glenn Stevens pulls the case together discovering it to be built upon conflicting testimonies from the children.This is a compelling true story. It's told from the defense's side although I'm not sure what the prosecution's side would be. It's a harrowing case. James Woods brings his energetic persona to full force. The case is riveting and utterly memorable. It is a great award-winning TV movie from HBO.

This is a magnificent drama, and one of the best I have seen for many years. It is based on a true story. A family running a pre-school are accused of child molestation. The vicious public and press hysteria show how accusations can lead to the ruination of so many lives, whether or not the accusations are true. In the movie we see how the prosecution gets caught up in the mass hysteria and through politics and emotions they try everything to secure convictions against the accused. From the point of view of defense lawyers the picture shows how difficult it is to get juries to acquit people when facing such charges and despite the evidence for not guilty verdicts. The trial of the accused takes center stage in the movie and the actual transcripts of the trial are used in the picture. If that is the case then there is no doubt there was insufficient evidence to find any of the accused people guilty, but watch the film to see if that actually happened. The script, direction, acting, editing and everything else in the film is superb. It had me on the edge of my seat throughout its' more than 2 hours. I thought the outstanding acting performance came from Mercedes Ruehl playing the lead prosecutor. Well done to HBO for making this superb masterpiece. 10/10.

Tremendously disturbing and well-acted film. What is most troubling is the fact that this episode really occurred. Remarkable portrayal of how easily something like this can get so totally out of control. It is hard to imagine this feeding frenzy among, supposedly, educated and sophisticated people. James Woods is dead-on perfect as an initially slimy, opportunistic attorney, who finds himself slowly horrified by what he finds himself in the middle of. His courtroom questioning of Dr. McFarlane (Lolita Davidovich)is riveting. An impressive, well-done movie, but extremely troubling for what it says about our justice system.

This (true) story of a family falsely accused of child abuse was just stunningly transformed into film - more than seven years of suffering transformed into two and a half hours of film. The plot is real, the atmosphere intense, the acting perfect - particularly so from James Woods and Shirley Knight.A must-see. 9/10.