Director:Â Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy)
Cast: Ashley Judd, Tommy Lee Jones, Annabeth Gish, Bruce Greenwood
Rating: R
Run Time: 106 minutesÂ

THE SKINNY
A destitute man’s version of The Fugitive - this time with a female lead, a horrendous, predictable script and uninspired performances by the majority of the cast.

THE REVIEW
Double Jeopardy is a kind description of the predicament you and your date will face should you go see the movie of same name. With a poor and incredibly predictable script, the writers of this film, David Weisberg and Douglas S. Cook, should be prosecuted twice for distributing this cinematic disaster on the unsuspecting movie public.

In Double Jeopardy, Ashley Judd stars as Libby Parsons, a woman who spends six years in jail after being framed by her husband, played by Bruce Greenwood, for his murder. Yes, she only spent six years in jail for allegedly slashing her husband to death. But that seemingly lenient sentence, along with the sloppy trial that lands Parsons in jail, is the smallest of the many problems with the storyline.

After serving her time, Parsons is sent to a halfway house for parolees which is manned by parole officer Travis Lehman, played by Tommy Lee Jones. Soon after she arrives at the halfway house, Parsons jumps parole to search for her husband and, more importantly to her, her son. Since Lehman, an alcoholic who is divorced from his wife and like Parsons is separated from his child, is deemed responsible by his boss for Parsons’ escape, it falls upon Lehman to track Parsons down and bring her back to jail. Thus Jones essentially reprises his role of Marshall Sam Gerard in The Fugitive, except this time he plays a white trash moron with no common sense.

The movie’s dialogue is painful and at times causes one to cringe. In one scene Lehman handcuffs Parsons to a car and then advises her not to go anywhere. Additionally, the overwhelming stupidity of the movie’s characters makes the film excruciatingly difficult to watch. For example, when Parsons finally locates her husband, instead of reporting him to the authorities and clearing herself, she instead opts for a harebrained blackmail scheme which is designed to force him into returning their son. Finally, the entire movie, and not just the ending, is beyond predictable. If you are surprised by any aspect of this movie, then you are likely surprised when you feel the urge to urinate upon awakening in the morning.

Judd gave it the old college try, but no actress, no matter how accomplished, could have saved this debacle. Judd is easy to look at throughout the movie, and appears in one brief nude scene. Judd’s look has always confused me, as I have never been able to decide whether she is movie star gorgeous or just merely attractive. Jones, on the other hand, should know better than to accept roles in films with these types of scripts. Jones mailed in his performance and was further burdened with the most asinine dialogue of any of the characters, not an inconsiderable burden given the nonsensical material with which the other actors were provided. Jones did not appear in the first half hour of the movie and one had hoped that he would have arrived to save it. Instead, he served as a further liability. Greenwood was unconvincing as the psycho husband, as he came across as an airheaded fool. In sum, none of the actors’ careers will be helped by their appearances in this film.

The only individuals who should be proud of their association with this production are those who were responsible for the film’s trailer, as the previews for the movie managed to make the film seem like a suspenseful thriller. Don’t be fooled. The six years Judd’s character spent in jail will seem like easy time compared with the two hours you spend watching this monstrosity.

By: Scott Shuster