Class Action (1991)

An attorney representing a traumatized accident victim finds that his opponent is a very familiar defense attorney - his own daughter.

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers:

Carolyn Shelby, Christopher Ames

Stars:

Gene Hackman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Colin Friels

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Hackman	...	Jedediah Tucker Ward
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Maggie Ward
Colin Friels	...	Michael Grazier
Joanna Merlin	...	Estelle Ward
Laurence Fishburne	...	Nick Holbrook (as Larry Fishburne)
Donald Moffat	...	Quinn
Jan Rubes	...	Pavel
Matt Clark	...	Judge Symes
Fred Dalton Thompson	...	Dr. Getchell
Jonathan Silverman	...	Brian
Joan McMurtrey	...	Ann
Anne Ramsay	...	Deborah (as Anne Elizabeth Ramsay)
David Byron	...	Carl
Tim Hopper	...	Howie
Robert David Hall	...	Steven Kellen

Storyline

Jed Ward is an attorney who specializes in whistle blower, David vs. Goliath, type cases. He finds a client who is suing an auto company over a safety problem that has had a severe effect on his life after the accident. He must replace the current attorney and be ready for trial quickly, and then he finds that the defense attorney will be his estranged daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

judicial | judiciary | judicial system | attorney | trial | 

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Taglines:

For the plaintiff...Jedediah Tucker Ward. For the defense...Margaret Eleanor Ward. Nothing Personal. It's just Father Vs. Daughter in the fight of their lives.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for uses of strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Személyes ügy

Filming Locations:

Bix Restaurant - 56 Gold Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,207,923, 17 March 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$24,277,858

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$28,277,918

Company Credits

Production Co:

Interscope Communications, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Star Julia Roberts was in serious contention for the lead female role of Maggie Ward and only narrowly missed out on the part which was cast in the end with actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Roberts would later win a Best Actress Academy Award for portraying the legal assistant title character in Erin Brockovich (2000).

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Goofs

There is a scene between Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in the kitchen, and she says to Gene, "I forget......How many tablespoons are in a teaspoon?" She should have said, "How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon."

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Quotes

Jedediah Tucker Ward: I COULDN'T HOLD HIS FUCKING HAND, OKAY!
Maggie Ward: No, you didn't hold a hand! Not unless it was young, female, and attractive!

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Connections

Referenced in Oh, Woe Is Me (1993)

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Soundtracks

Canned Music
Written by Dan Hicks
Performed by Dan Hicks and the Acoustic Warriors with the Licketts

User Reviews

Not really a courtroom drama...

As a fan of Hackman, Mastrantonio, and courtroom drama, I thought this might be another overlooked chestnut that might repay viewing. Well, I enjoyed the film thoroughly - but it was not really courtroom drama. So if that is what you're looking for, go elsewhere. People are in courtrooms, and there's some cross-examination, but that is not the core of the movie. The core is a story about a father-daughter relationship, and the ups and downs that the relationship can take. Criticized for being 'predictable' or 'smarmy', I found it to be a warm and occasionally humorous take on a plot that may have been presented before, but certainly bore presenting again, and I enjoyed the film very much.

Apted's directing is effective, though never innovative. The actors are all good - in fact, it is to their credit that they made simple lines and dialogue so effective. Hackman, of course, as always,is the professional he always is, and in Mastrantonio he has an actress who can take his words and put her own spin on them. Supporting cast is very solid, the music is early James Horner (good, but again nothing brilliant), setting and atmosphere were both average.

Overall, not a movie for a guy and his girl to watch, but a great movie for that girl and her father to watch. It would've been a great all-rounder if the drama had been in the court-room...