Main Cast: Penelope Ann Miller, Eric Thal, Alfre Woodard, Julianne Moore, Cathy Moriarty, Andy Romano
Release Year: 1992
Country: US
Run Time: 99 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Penelope Ann Miller's delightful performance as the shy, part-time librarian Betty Lou Perkins is the saving grace of this comedy from Touchstone Pictures. Betty Lou is the neglected wife of small-town police detective Alex Perkins (Eric Thal). She soon feels even more neglected when Alex can't make their anniversary dinner because he has to investigate a brutal motel room slaying. Taking her dog for a walk, Betty Lou finds a gun by the river's edge that just happens to be the missing murder weapon in Alex's murder investigation. In order to get some attention, she announces that she was the one who committed the murder. Hauled behind bars, Betty Lou gets some quick assertiveness training from her cell-mate, hard-boiled prostitute Reba Bush (Cathy Moriarty). She also becomes an instant media celebrity, with crowds clamoring around her and television news reporters elevating her to legendary status. But Alex doesn't believe she committed the murder (she tells him the dead man was her lover) and continues investigating the crime. Her husband is not the only one who's suspicious -- the FBI wants to use her to lure crime lord Beaudeen (William Forsythe), who they suspect actually committed the murder, out into the open. It turns out the FBI is right; Beaudeen killed the motel room victim because he planned to blackmail him with an incriminating cassette. Beaudeen is convinced that Betty Lou has the tape and musters his forces to get it from her one way or another. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
William Forsythe - Beaudeen; Ray McKinnon - Frank; Xander Berkeley - Marchat; Michael O'Neill - Jergens; Christopher John Fields - Brown; Paul Bates - Officer Finney; Reathel Bean - Bob Barnes; Laura Boenheim - Autograph Girl; Ralph Braseth - Reporter; Lesha Campbell - Teenage Girl; Bernard Canepari - Mayor; M.J. Etua - Reporter; Ann Fisher-Wirth - Young Matron; Ruddy L. Garner - FBI Wiretapper; Nash Germany - Teenage Boy; Lida Burris Gibson - Lydia Williams; Margaret Graham - Perm; Faye Grant - Charleen; Barry Hannah - Court Clerk; Merrill Healy - Gary; Billy Holcomb - Farmer; Cordell Jackson - Bathroom Lady; Robert Jackson - Irate Man; Christine Joyce - Reporter; Catherine Keener - Suzanne; Suzanne Kent - Townsperson; Gale Mayron - Pearl; Kay McDuffie - Perm; Ellen McElduff - Joan; Meat Loaf - Larry; Marisa Miller - April; Dianna Miranda - Chiropractor; Bill Mullen - Officer George; Billie Neal - Gail; Jeff O'Haco - Bar Fighter; Barton Segal - Barton; Marian Seldes - Margaret Armstrong; Adam Shankman - Timid Man; Jane Smithwick - Freckled Girl; Deborah Spector - Cashier; Charles Treas - Old Man; Red West - Judge; Amanda Zenil - Radical Girl; Mark Magill - Glen; John McCauley - Farmer; Don Opper - Dell; Frank Welker - Scarlet; Billy Hopkins; Suzanne Smith
Credit
David James Bomba - Art Director, Suzanne Smith - Casting, Ira Halberstadt - Co-producer, Cynthia Sherman - Co-producer, Lisa Jensen - Costume Designer, Allan Moyle - Director, Janice Hampton - Editor, Erica Huggins - Editor, Ted Field - Executive Producer, Richard Gibbs - Composer (Music Score), Douglas Axtell - Musical Direction/Supervision, G. Marq Roswell - Musical Direction/Supervision, Michael Corenblith - Production Designer, Charles Minsky - Cinematographer, Robert W. Cort - Producer, Scott Kroopf - Producer, Merideth Boswell - Set Designer, Lori Rowbotham - Set Designer, Elizabeth Shelton - Assistant Costumer Designer
