Themes: Out For Revenge, College Life, Murder Investigations
Main Cast: Stockard Channing, Ed Asner
Release Year: 1973
Country: US
Run Time: 74 minutes
Plot
This TV movie stars Stockard Channing as an "ugly duckling" who is dumped on by everyone with whom she comes in contact. After her heart is broken by a callous campus jock, Stockard tearfully speeds off in her car and is involved in a serious accident. Plastic surgery is required, and when Ms. Channing emerges from behind the bandages, she is ravishingly beautiful. She uses her new attractiveness to exact revenge on those who'd wronged her, murdering her former nemeses in a variety of creative ways (for example, she entices a nasty cheerleader to back-flip out of a high rise window). Police inspector Ed Asner is called on the scene when the death rate soars, only to find himself falling in love with the crafty Ms. Channing. Despite its morbid plotline, The Girl Most Likely To... is actually a comedy, written by none other than Joan Rivers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
This darkly humorous gem of a t.v. movie is as funny and inventive as its big-screen cousins. The script is packed with the kind of verbal zingers one might expect from a screenplay co-written by Joan Rivers but it also offers a cleverly-plotted scenario that sends up thrillers and romantic melodramas with equal aplomb. Equally important to the success of the film is a strong performance from Stockard Channing as the vengeful heroine: she earns the audience's sympathy without overplaying the dramatic elements, fires off punchlines with precise comic timing and does an excellent job interpreting the many different personas her character's revenge scenario requires. Channing's efforts are bolstered nicely by a strong supporting cast, including a hilarious turn by Warren Berlinger as the heroine's casually cruel fiancée and amusingly deadpan performance from Ed Asner as the cop investigating the murders. Last but not least, The Girl Most Likely To's appeal is sealed by brisk direction from t.v. veteran Lee Philips, who packs the story's many twists and turns in a brisk but never rushed 73 minutes. In short, The Girl Most Likely To is a gem of the t.v. movie format and worthy of rediscovery by fans of offbeat comedies. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
