As a fan of "All My Children", I was amused by Erica Kane but didn't quite love her like everybody else did. Her narcissism got on my nerves at times, and as beautiful as Susan Lucci was, she wasn't on the list of my favorite daytime divas. Still, I couldn't help but be amused by her antics, but until Erica had to mature to be a nurturing mother (which came not so easy to her), it was just she was trying to be she who must be obeyed, afraid to age and always in demand to be the center of attention. So imagine my surprise with this TV movie that she is quite different, a tough L. A. lawyer who suffered through the murder of her parents at the hands of the mob, and went through it again through the murder of her husband. Not knowing that the man who killed husband Roscoe Borne is also the man who killed her parents, hires mob hitman Michael Nader to take care of him.
If you seen the movie "Burnt Offerings" from 1976, you'll recognize the hit man, Anthony James, who played the chauffeur that came to Bette Davis in a nightmare. He is as creepy here as he was there, and once Lucci sets out to eliminate him, you know that's going to happen. Years later, both Borne and Nader would work with Lucci on "All My Children", with Nader playing her husband Dimitri. Joseph Wiseman is the mob boss determined to go legitimate who takes in Lucci's character as a teenager, basically raising her as if she was his daughter. But in this family, the women are wives and mothers, so with Lucci in power later on, it's quite a change for this crime family that can't quite get oit of the life.
It's nice to see Lucci playing a more ethical character, only turning to a life of crime by circumstances Beyond her control. When you meet her, you notice her beauty, but you also notice her kindness and compassion, her love for her family and her basic system of ethics. She's tough as a lawyer, and very smart, delightfully ruthless, and never going over the top in the melodramatics like Erica would. This is fast-moving and riveting, glamorous and tough, and Lucci has a more realistic wardrobe that Erica would never dream of wearing. Lucci being more down to earth is a great delight, and you can see her impressing the men she has to be tough with, particularly banker Jon Cypher. She may not quite be the Godmother, but she'll definitely get this mob under control.
If you seen the movie "Burnt Offerings" from 1976, you'll recognize the hit man, Anthony James, who played the chauffeur that came to Bette Davis in a nightmare. He is as creepy here as he was there, and once Lucci sets out to eliminate him, you know that's going to happen. Years later, both Borne and Nader would work with Lucci on "All My Children", with Nader playing her husband Dimitri. Joseph Wiseman is the mob boss determined to go legitimate who takes in Lucci's character as a teenager, basically raising her as if she was his daughter. But in this family, the women are wives and mothers, so with Lucci in power later on, it's quite a change for this crime family that can't quite get oit of the life.
It's nice to see Lucci playing a more ethical character, only turning to a life of crime by circumstances Beyond her control. When you meet her, you notice her beauty, but you also notice her kindness and compassion, her love for her family and her basic system of ethics. She's tough as a lawyer, and very smart, delightfully ruthless, and never going over the top in the melodramatics like Erica would. This is fast-moving and riveting, glamorous and tough, and Lucci has a more realistic wardrobe that Erica would never dream of wearing. Lucci being more down to earth is a great delight, and you can see her impressing the men she has to be tough with, particularly banker Jon Cypher. She may not quite be the Godmother, but she'll definitely get this mob under control.