Review: Double Jeopardy

Originally posted at
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A word of advice: If you ever find yourself trapped in a confined space, wasting oxygen with your lighter may not be the best plan.

That being said, if you find yourself sitting on the couch on a Sunday morning with no particular plans for the day, there are worse things you could do than watch Double Jeopardy.

The 1999 thriller starring Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones isn’t incredible but it’s not terrible either. Libby Parsons (Judd) is sent to prison after being accused of murdering her husband Nicholas (Bruce Greenwood). While serving her time she realizes that her husband is, in fact, alive. This sets her off on a six-year plan to track him down and find her son, Matty. When she skips out on her parole, her parole officer Travis Lehman (Jones) chases her cross-country in an attempt to bring her back. This eventually leads them all to a big show down in New Orleans.

Realism is not this movie’s strong point. While I’m not a lawyer, I’m going to go ahead and guess that the movie’s premise isn’t quite how the law works. The whole plot of the movie is built around the title idea of Double Jeopardy, which states that a person cannot be tried for the same crime twice. Which is true. However, I’m not convinced Libby would get away with murdering her husband a “second” time. Technically, it wouldn’t be the same crime.

But Travis is a lawyer and he says it would work. So it must be true.

Plot is also not this movie’s strong point. It’s filled with formulas and clichés, not too mention holes. And I’m pretty sure we’ve seen Tommy Lee Jones in this role before. Perhaps in a little film called The Fugitive? The plot is not terribly original, it’s pretty contrived, and you more or less know what’s going to happen when you watch the trailer.

Why should you watch this movie then? Well, if you’re looking for something thought provoking and intelligent you might want to skip it. But if what you want is entertaining filler for a lazy morning, Double Jeopardy works. Sure it’s silly but it’s also fun. With a little suspension of disbelief you’ll be okay.

What really makes it work are the performances, especially Ashley Judd’s. I really like her and she’s once again solid as Libby Parsons. She brings the right mix of vulnerability and strength to the role. Her transformation from the wife she starts as to the ex-convict she ends as is believable (even if the prison segment is not). Also good is Tommy Lee Jones. His character isn’t incredibly interesting and, like I’ve already mentioned, not a far departure from the character he played in The Fugitive. Jones is fine though. I think he’s a great actor and he is always at least watchable. Even when he isn’t given much to work with.

As silly as the plot is, it is still fun to watch Judd and see what her character is going to do next. How exactly will she track down Nick and Matty? Once she gets to New Orleans, how will she make her way into the glittering upper-crust world Nick now inhabits? What will she say to get that skeazy guy in the library to stop hitting on her?

Fun and entertaining are the key words for this film. It’s not great but it’s not completely awful either. There’s some action, there’s some suspense, and the main characters are at least likeable. This might be a movie that appeals more to a female audience than a male one, with the whole lead character being a woman and the motherhood thing and all that, but I think it has enough action that men won’t be completely bored.

Hey guys, at least it’s not Dirty Dancing again. This movie has guns!

I might be inclined to go with a two and half star rating if that was possible. As it is I’ll go ahead and bump it up to three. I’m in a giving mood today.

I wasn’t watching the DVD but from what I know about it, I don’t believe there is all that much in the way of special features or anything. I think it’s one of those things that if you like the movie, the DVD is cheap enough for the buying. Personally, it’s one I would pass on.