Tuesday, May 27, 2014

The Fatal Framing


Last night I finally had the opportunity to watch the Perry movie The Fatal Framing, which MeTV aired on Friday.

I can’t say I was terribly impressed.

It seemed a lot like the focus was more on the guest-stars and Ken than on Perry and Della. There wasn’t much fun interaction to speak of and there wasn’t much time in court.

Topping it off was the fact that it felt very much like a Dean Hargrove venture. And I don’t at all mean that in a positive way; rather, I’m thinking again of how he liked inserting naughty little bits in Diagnosis Murder. He accomplished that in this film with a model Ken encounters who appears to be posing topless. It’s played for humor, and is followed up by the model and the artist repeatedly insisting they spent the night in bed together the night of the murder. The artist even starts running his bare foot over hers and up her leg. Lovely.

Of course, there were lots of affairs and such things going on in the original Perry series. But it was handled a lot more tastefully, in general. Even the one time there was a model posing in a very revealing way, that scene genuinely was amusing instead of just existing for the uncomfortable shock value. I really don’t care to see and hear Perry being modernized the way Dean Hargrove does it. I never really liked it on Diagnosis Murder, either.

I honestly couldn’t understand why Ken was so interested in that model. It seemed very shallow of him. She came across as a tramp, really only seeming different when she told him she was afraid he had the wrong idea about her. No, really?

I liked her a lot better when she revealed the truth in court, that she was lying about her and the artist and she was trying to get money to pay her dying husband’s hospital bills. But seriously, the way she was acting when Ken first saw her, what kind of impression did she expect him to take away about her?

I suppose it could be argued that perhaps Ken saw through her act and that she was a better person than she appeared. But it really seemed more like he was only interested because of her physical appearance and her mysteriousness. He reminded me a lot of Paul Jr. with that subplot.

It’s hard for me to find much good to say about this movie installment. As a Lord of the Rings fan, I greatly enjoyed seeing John Rhys-Davies. And it was interesting seeing David Soul as the initial murder victim, even though I haven’t yet been able to get into Starsky and Hutch. So far, that show is too off-beat for me and David Soul’s character is the one I like the least.

The model's artist friend has a violent temper. One of the best parts is where he goes nuts, screaming at Perry to get out after Perry accuses him of forging paintings. He breaks things and even slams his hand into the door trying to punch Perry. Then the idiot has the gall to say that Perry broke his hand. Perry deadpans as he replies that he can recommend a good lawyer.

I have to admit, I was pleased that kook was mixed up in the criminal plot. He was such a jerk I would have hated to see him get off because of not being involved. I suppose I did feel slightly bad for him when he was murdered too. Or maybe it was more that it seemed he shouldn’t get off that easy, particularly when it was revealed that he was the first killer.

It was sad for David Soul’s character’s wife to be part of the plot as well, since he claimed to have still loved her and wanted her back. On the other hand, however, since he stayed away for five years protecting his own skin and letting her think he was dead, it’s hard to believe he really loved her that much. I wonder if she ever loved him at all or if it was always just an act?

Her meltdown in court was rather disturbing, especially when she said how she saw her husband in the short-tempered artist’s eyes and she had to kill that guy because of that. I have a feeling she won’t be mentally fit to stand trial.

I’ve actually liked all the other Perry movies I’ve seen, more or less (the very first one is not a favorite), but this one really seems a dud. I hope the other movies I’ve recorded and not yet gotten to, The Glass Coffin and The Killer Kiss, are better.

Overall, I’m disappointed that MeTV’s television movie feature went out with this film. Couldn’t they have picked a better one? Hopefully they’ll bring the feature back in the fall with more (and better) Perry movies in the line-up.

Also, on another movie-related noted, I can’t recall if I mentioned it before, but the second set of six movies is on pre-order for DVD release. I assume this set will have The Lady in the Lake installment I enjoyed so much. Unfortunately, the price is again sky-high and ridiculous. $50+?! I want that movie, but not at that price! Come on, CBS, be reasonable! There aren’t many people who can afford that price for six television movies.

7 comments:

  1. I understand your frustration. Remember that he had cancer then. So perhaps that's why there weren't as many scenes. And they were older, so maybe that's why there weren't as many scenes focusing on them. So the action (for the most part) was shifted to Ken. Really did enjoy the fight scene that Perry had with one of the bad guys though lol. There's nothing like using a door to defend oneself.

    As for the murder... that's the sad thing. We were supposed to hope that she still cared for him.

    On a side note, I recognized one of the actresses in it from the tv show, Charmed :). The one African American actress, the one who worked in the art gallery (iirc). She seemed awfully familiar voice wise and face wise.

    Agreed about the price though. That's pretty expensive. You can try checking out Amazon during the summer along with Wal-Mart.. they have sales on dvds and movies every so often.

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    1. That's true. I'm wondering if a lot of the later movies are like that, including The Killer Kiss, since I think that was the very last one with Raymond?

      Perry versus that hot-tempered artist was definitely satisfying. LOL.

      Yeah, indeed.

      That's cool. :) I never got into Charmed.

      True. And towards the end of the year, when the holiday season starts, is also a great time for deals.

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  2. Killer Kiss is to a point from what I've seen clip wise. It's the only one where he was sitting almost the whole time, except for one scene. And he's sitting a lot in Skin Deep Scandal. He did more walking in Fatal Framing from what I can tell (could be wrong though).

    Tbh, I've noticed the leaning against stuff more now than when I first saw some of the movies. Funny how you spot things as you get older. They did a good job incorporating it.

    Definitely. Lol.

    Yea it is :). Secondary actors are a little harder to spot, but it's fun to see them in other projects. Oh. I watched it, it jumped the shark sometimes, but it was ok.

    Cool, will have to keep my eyes peeled.

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    1. That's sad for him to need to sit down throughout most of the film. But if the interaction with Della was better than in Fatal Framing, I'd be happy. Maybe I'll try Glass Coffin next, since I believe it's older.

      Yeah, they manage to make a lot of things look really natural so you don't think twice about it until later.

      I love catching sight of recognizable character actors. :) It's always a delight.

      I used to watch Sabrina religiously (mainly because of the cat), but I stopped after a while. In general, I've never been big on shows about witches and sorcerers, so I never tried Charmed. Which is strange, I suppose, since I write a lot of stories with supernatural and fantasy elements. But I use them mainly as means to an end, instead of downright being fond of them.

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  3. Yea it is. And it is, it was a couple of films back. Reckless was right after Fatal Framing and it's a nice one. So is Skin Deep (the moments between them in this one are cute and funny ones, more so than romantic per say, but it's still worth it). Killer Kiss has a good scene with them too, and it's a good one (from what I saw clip wise). Tell Tale is good from what I saw of the scenes... too few and far between though sadly :(. But most of the later ones, have him sitting down more. And I think in the latter she was sitting in the last one (she broke her hip, and he joked about it, saying that she should come over to his wheelchair and they could make it a wheelchair for two... how cute :P).

    Don't let that deter you from them. They're still good movies. The acting is still par for the course. No false notes.

    Yep. Total pros.

    Yea, and it's pretty neat.

    Cool, I did the same. Ah. Well it's worth it (for the most part). I see.

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    1. Good to hear there's good interaction in some of the other later ones. :) LOL, a wheelchair for two. Cute indeed.

      Honestly, the sitting down doesn't bother me at all. I just want good character interaction between the characters from the original series. Since all the other films I've seen have had that, I wouldn't be planning to drop the movies cold because of one dud. There's always at least one lesser effort in any series.

      Nice. :) Maybe I'll have to try Charmed sometime. I looked it up and it does sound interesting. Sad that they killed off one of the main characters, though. I never like when that happens.

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  4. Yep :). And the wheelchair remark was behind the scenes. Still dang cute though :).

    Ah. I see... yep.

    Me neither. But it happens and it sucks :(.

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