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Naked Lie (1988)

Directed by: Richard A. Colla
Screenplay by: Timothy Wurtz, Glenn M. Benest, and John Robert Bensink
Starring: Victoria Principal (Joanne Dawson), James Farentino (Judge Jonathan Morris), Glenn Withrow (Andy Fencik), William Lucking (Detective Webster), Dakin Matthews (Adam Berger), Douglas Roberts (Jack Ross) and more.
Rated: ?? - sexual situations, violence


Naked Lie was a TV movie airing in 1988, starring Victoria Principal as assistant DA Joanne Dawson and James Farentino as Judge Jonathan Morris. The movie opens with Morris and a prostitute - her pimp shows up with a camera and Morris ends up killing the prostitute during a struggle. As the pimp can't ID the man, it seems the judge will get away with it ... until his girlfriend Joanne draws the case and begins to see suspicious behaviour along with facts that don't add up.

Glenn plays Andy Fencik, Joanne's assistant. Andy got into some trouble ("they were all misdemeanours" lol) and now works for "the good guys" as he states it. William Lucking plays Detective Webster, who's investigating the case. As Joanne gets closer to the truth, she has to decide what to do about it.

Victoria Principal was good in the role - it surprised me a bit. She has a bit of a little girl voice, and I was thinking I'd find it hard to take her seriously as a lawyer (especially a lawyer who has about a million cats ... she plays crazy cat lady in such a way that it looks appealing) but she does a great job playing a competent female attorney. She has that toughness to win cases, but she's also vulnerable, when she begins to suspect the judge of the murder. My biggest peeve with her in the role was her emotional scenes just didn't ring true in a few areas. When she and the judge finally talk about things, and she's begging him to say it was an accident, I just didn't believe her tears or her upset.

James Farentino played the creepy sex addict judge pretty well.

Let's get to the best part - Glenn is great as Joanne's assistant, Andy. He is the one who becomes suspicious of Morris and his relationship with Joanne, taking it upon himself to try and put the pieces together. Andy shows his competence, not only in getting Joanne info crucial to her case, but also in making sure his boss isn't getting in over her head. I really like the play between Andy and the character of Detective Webster, who seems to be thin on patience with Andy, but in the end, they work well together to find evidence they need. William Lucking was born to play a cop or sheriff (actually ... he has in just about everything I've seen him in).

The character of Andy was the real legman in the story - Andy goes out, finds stuff out, interviews people, does the dirty work. It's a great role, and Glenn adds a lot of great kinetic energy to his portrayal of Andy that's really nice. He's really the best friend Joanne has, and there's a nice dynamic between the two characters - you can see how much Andy likes her, but it's played so subtly a viewer can really decide if they want to see that aspect of their interaction or not.

The forensics in this are a bit wonky - voice comparison ... it didn't even sound like the judge's voice was being disguised in the first place, I found it hard to believe Joanne couldn't tell it was him. That goes for the opening scene ... the pimp is in the same room as the judge but "low lighting" is to blame for him not being able to identify the man presiding over his trial as the killer? The hair evidence is wrong, too - a hair match can only be determined to be consistent with a sample, not a perfect match. It can exclude someone from a crime, but not necessarily prove they did it.

Overall it was a decent movie, it's definitely one to get if you like Glenn's performances, he's in this one quite a bit and has some nice moments. His phone conversations with Principal are great (despite the awful split screen used ... seriously, was that hip then??) and he definitely plays a sympathetic and likeable character. Or as the Dallas Morning News said back when it aired "...Andy (nicely played by Glenn Withrow) ... "

Purchase Information

DVD - Available from from CDuniverse.com, Amazon.com, and Indigo.ca.

Pictures
(Click to enlarge)



Glenn's name in the opening credits.



Andy's bugging Jo about who the flowers came from and she shoos him out of her office.



Out on the streets, trying to get some evidence...



But DA Berger isn't buying it...



Detective Webster is a little ticked at Andy...



Andy's a little disturbed that Webster's disturbed.



Andy's giving Jo a recap of what he's found out so far.



And Joanne runs with the info he gives her



Including a piece of info on the judge.



Listening to the tape over and over again...no leads.



In the court room, as the murder trial begins.



Andy calls Joanne to apprise her of the bar tab search - no luck, but at least Andy's bonding with the cops lol.



And when he mentions the judge may have been involved with a call girl ring...Andy senses that Jo's upset by the news...



Things must be going well in the court room...


Andy gives Jo some bad news... (I know it's not the best cap in the world, but seriously...his eyes! Awesome.)



And as he's driving home, he spots something suspicious.



Andy takes it upon himself to play detective. Just lookin' out for his friend...



And then he confronts said friend...



Which ends up rocking the court room...



And he goes after Jo to offer support...

 

Video Clip



Andy shows up to go through bar tabs with the detectives.