Calendar Girl, Cop, Killer? The Bambi Bembenek Story (1992 TV Movie) User Reviews

Interesting

[onn4 · 5/10 · 31 January 2003]

Interesting Movie. Clearly a Made For TV movie with a late 80's early 90's look and feel. Definitely keeps your interest. Movie made in 1992 so I don't think a character update was possible at the time.

Movie ended awkwardly leaving me with questions regarding the characters real life status. Other than that, nice movie to watch late at night with nothing else is one.

"...Disco Freddy got a vasectomy..."

[cptnhook13 · 1/10 · 19 November 2004]

That was an actual line from the movie. For real. The movie is a pretty good interpretation of the sensational 80s recipe of lust, betrayal, revenge, and cops.

For some reason, the directors chose Timothy Busfield as the hunky, suave, debonair, sexy and disco-ee Fred "Disco Freddy" Schultz, a cop with some baggage. Viewers are treated to the always-red Busfield in snakeskin speedos, an uncomfortably corny wet t-shirt contest, and an endless array of semi nude poses that all beg the eighties plea, "Get a room!" Not only are we supposed to believe that he is a "fox" (yes - they use that term as well), but also quite a tough guy. Who did he beat out for the part - Bronson Pinchot?!

Lindsay Frost does an adequate job portraying the hard-luck Laurencia 'Bambi' Bembenek, and in yet another nauseating appearance, Linda Blair is resurrected as an insignificant filler.

No one in this Lifetime bonanza is likable. In fact, you start to think everyone got what they deserved. Watch it if you enjoy a good bad Lifetime movie!

interesting movie based on real events

[killersleeptech · 8/10 · 20 March 2011]

Yea, it does leave you hanging about what happened to the family after all this. Fred is a respiratory therapist and manages a sleep lab in Cape Coral, FL and live in North Ft. Myers. His son Sean works for Lincares Reliant Pharmacy as a Regional Manager in Southhaven, MS. I'm not for sure, but he may be a respiratory therapist also but he used to live in southwest Florida too I believe. Laurie Bembenek passed away a few months ago from organ failure. It's a shame she never got her name cleared and there is still a very real possibility that a Killer or killer's could still be running out there and could possibly do it again. I know that there have been books that's have followed up on this case, Cases that Haunt Us is a good one that was written by a FBI profiler but I wish they would really make a complete movie that goes the entire 30 year period the case spans. At least a dateline documentary or something.

Bambi Bembenek: A Hard Look at the Legal System

[lavatch · 8/10 · 16 January 2020]

Laurencia ("Bambi") Bembenek was clearly a free spirit. In a male-dominated field and a male-dominated world, Bambi wanted more than anything to be a cop. She fulfilled her dream by graduating sixth in her class. But, in this tragic story, she was betrayed by misogynistic colleagues and ultimately the system at large.

Bambi was expelled from the police force for trumped up charges of handing marijuana to another female cop, charges that she vehemently denied. She was given no right to appeal and there was no "human resources" department to come to her aid.

Perhaps Bambi's biggest mistake was to marry "Disco" Freddie Schultz, a bon vivant police detective, hot head, and party boy, who made headlines in a drunken public appearance in his birthday suit with some female dancers in the park. His two little boys witnessed the disgraceful act of their daddy's drop trou. Disco Freddie received no reprimand from the police.

After Bambi was arrested as a suspect in the murder of Disco Freddie's ex-wife, the evidence against her suddenly materializes out of nowhere. There is no chain of custody of the murder weapon. And the other preposterous piece of evidence was a wig flushed down her toilet. The two boys of Disco Freddie, one of whom was nearly strangled to death by a powerful assailant, testified in court that the killer of their mother was much taller and had a male build. Neither boy recognized Bambi as the killer. Their courageous testimony was ignored.

As lethal as the phony police investigation, the Wisconsin trial of Bambi was a gross miscarriage of justice. Her defense attorney clearly demonstrated reasonable doubt in all of the evidence, and Bambi even took the stand in her defense. The prosecutor was unable to poke holes in her story. Somehow, the jury was either brain dead or bought off. Bambi herself recalled of the jury members that "no one was listening" during the trial.

The resourceful Laurencia Bemenek once made a daring escape from prison. Yet, she was apprehended in Thunder Bay, Ontario in Canada. It was up to an open-minded journalist and the thoughtful filmmakers who produced this movie to finally allow Bambi to have her day in court.