Themes: Work Ethics, Generation Gap, Fathers and Daughters
Main Cast: Gene Hackman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Colin Friels, Joanna Merlin, Laurence Fishburne
Release Year: 1991
Country: US
Run Time: 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A pair of lawyers must balance their professional principles (such as they are) against family loyalties in this courtroom drama. Jedediah Ward (Gene Hackman) is a leftist lawyer who has based his career on helping people avoid being taken for a ride by the rich and powerful; he's pursued principle at the expense of profit, though he has a bad habit of not following up on his clients after their cases are settled. Jed's daughter, Maggie (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), has had a bad relationship with her father ever since she discovered that he was cheating on her mother, and while she also has made a career in law, she has taken a very different professional route by working for a high-powered corporate law firm and has adopted a conservative political agenda. Jed is hired to help field a lawsuit against a major auto manufacturer whose station wagons have a dangerous propensity to explode on impact, but while his research indicates he has an all but airtight case against them, the case becomes more complicated for him when he discovers that Maggie is representing the firm he's suing. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Although the structure of the screenplay for this legal drama from director Michael Apted is moderately by the numbers, the film rivets with its attention to character development and dialogue against a backdrop of exploring issues of professional dilemmas and family dysfunction. What Class Action (1991) is really all about, however, is the generation gap, as a father and daughter represent two utterly opposite approaches to life and the law. One is rapaciously bottom-line yet ethical (and therefore modern), the other idealistic but shamelessly self-aggrandizing (representing the era of free love and civil protest). Gene Hackman is at his best in the role of a flawed legend, while Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio holds her own in scenes opposite a great actor doing some of his best work in a decade. The real star of Class Action, however, is a well-told story cast with actors selected for their ability and not their visually pleasing qualities. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Donald Moffat - Quinn; Jan Rubes - Pavel; Fred Dalton Thompson - Doctor Getchell; Jonathan Silverman - Brian; Acoustic Warriors - Band at Rosatti's; David Byron - Carl; Judge John Dearman - Judge; Greg Goossen - Bartender at Rosatti's; Gretchen Grant - Party Goer; Ken Grantham - Anthony Patricola; Robert David Hall - Steven Keller; Dan Hicks; Tim Hopper - Howie; Lickettes - Band at Rosatti's; Joan McMurtrey - Ann; Elizabeth Monti - Clerk; Hajna O. Moss - Laura Hollbrook; Wood Moy - Mr. Minh; Carolyn Reynolds Najera - Receptionist; Anne Ramsay - Deborah; Renn Reynolds - Bartender at Bix; Victor Talmadge - Bernstein; Abigail van Alyn - Judge Ormsby; James Van Harper - Janitor; Richard Zitrin - Prosecutor; Matt Clark - Judge Symes; Carolyn Shelby - Woman Lawyer; Lora Kennedy; Linda Lowy; Davia Nelson
Credit
Mark Billerman - Art Director, Kim Kurumada - Associate Producer, Christopher Ames - Co-producer, Carolyn Shelby - Co-producer, Rita Ryack - Costume Designer, Michael Apted - Director, Ian Crafford - Editor, James Horner - Composer (Music Score), Todd Hallowell - Production Designer, Conrad L. Hall - Cinematographer, Robert W. Cort - Producer, Ted Field - Producer, Scott Kroopf - Producer, Daniel May - Set Designer, Christopher Ames - Screenwriter, Samantha Shad - Screenwriter, Carolyn Shelby - Screenwriter
The story is about a lawsuit concerning injuries caused by a defective automobile. The suit takes on a personal dimension because the injured plaintiff's attorney, Jedediah Tucker Ward (Gene Hackman) is the father of the automobile manufacturer's attorney Maggie Ward (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), his estranged daughter. The central premise of the film is roughly analogous to the controversy surrounding the Ford Pinto.
Jedediah Ward is a leftist lawyer who has based his career on helping people avoid being taken for a ride by the rich and powerful; he's pursued principle at the expense of profit, though he has a bad habit of not following up on his clients after their cases are settled.
Jed's daughter, Maggie has had a bad relationship with her father ever since she discovered that he was cheating on her mother, Estelle (Joanna Merlin), and while she also has made a career in law, she has taken a very different professional route by working for a high-powered corporate law firm and has adopted a conservative political agenda[1].
Jed is hired to help field a lawsuit against a major auto manufacturer whose station wagons have a dangerous propensity to explode on impact while making a left turn, but while his research indicates he has an all but airtight case against them, the case becomes more complicated for him when he discovers that Maggie is representing the firm he's suing[2].
The auto manufacturer in the film also utilizes a "bean-counting" approach to risk management, whereby the projections of actuaries for probable deaths and injured car-owners is weighed against the cost of re-tooling and re-manufacturing the car without the defect (exploding gas tanks) with the resulting decision to keep the car as-is to positively benefit short term profitability.
