Normal Life (1996)

So much average

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Idealistic and compassionate cop Chris Anderson (an excellent performance by Luke Perry) marries the beautiful and alluring, but extremely troubled, unstable, selfish, and self-destructive Pam (superbly played with gut-wrenching anguish by Ashley Judd). When Pam's constant spending puts them in a severe financial hole, Chris resorts to robbing banks in order to pay off their mounting bills. Director John McNaughton, working from a sharp and incisive script by Peg Haller and Bob Schneider, expertly explores the grim underside of an extremely dysfunctional love gone seriously awry, the dangers of falling for and becoming involved with the wrong person, and how a bad person can have a profound toxic effect on another basically descent person while firmly grounding the bleak, despairing, and nihilistic story in a totally plausible everyday suburbanite reality. The two leads both do sterling work: Perry's Chris makes for a touching and sympathetic protagonist as he does everything he can to make the incredibly messed-up Pam happy while Judd brings a castic humor, raw energy, and fierce intensity to Pam that positively bursts off the screen. Moreover, there are sound supporting turns by Jim True-Frost as Chris' loyal friend Mike, Dawn Maxey as Pam's smitten lesbian coworker Eva, Kate Walsh as Chris' concerned sister Cindy, Michael Skewes as the antagonistic Officer Swift, and Tom Towles as Chris' sickly dad Frank. The uncompromisingly downbeat ending packs a powerful emotional gut punch. Both Jean de Segonzac's polished cinematography and the moody score by McNaughton and Ken Hale are up to speed. A real bang-up sleeper of a grim and haunting movie.

Not a terrible movie. The title is ironic. Luke Perry and wife Ashley Judd lead anything but a normal life. He's a diligent cop and she works in some sort of electronic assembly plant. The problem is that she becomes erratic. She starts boozing it up and taking drugs. She gets moody. She goes on wild spending sprees and gets them into terrible debt, while the distracted Luke Perry is so absorbed by her that he alienates his partners and is finally fired. She shows up late at work and is truculent with her boss and after a period in rehab she's cashiered as well. Perry and Judd have furious arguments over expenses in their modest apartment. What they have going for them is her occasional lucid periods and a tendency to rut like two chimpanzees in heat. In the print I just saw, some of the more lurid glandular encounters were cut, as were some scenes of self mutilation, and that's too bad because here the nature of the sex actually plays a part in the story.Well, they have individual interests as well. Judd is a feverishly rapt amateur astronomer and Perry would just love to open his own book store. Perry has a bearded friend with whom he takes friendly motorcycle rides, and Judd has a lesbian friend from work. That's about it for this unhappy couple.In order to get them out of debt and to keep them together, Perry takes to holding up banks. As an ex-cop he knows how to do it. He fibs to Judd and tells her that he's putting in overtime as a security guard. When she improbably discovers his real source of income, she's not at all shocked. She finds it exciting. She's overjoyed and is finally able to achieve orgasm with Perry.At her insistence, Perry takes her along on his next heist, but she's so elated she shoots a row of holes in the ceiling before he manages to yank her through the bank's door.By this time it's clear that Judd is a Class A bipolar. She's right out of DSM IV-R. She's glum and given to cutting herself all over. The next minute she's wildly gleeful or sometimes irritable over nothing. Her judgment is impaired. Compared to Luke Perry, though, she's a chrome dome. He's one of the stupidest men who ever walked the earth. At one point she leaves him to live with her lesbian friend. When he begs her to come back home, she lays everything out for him in plain language, but it all bounces off him. Her truths are as ping pong balls.It's not an unintelligent plot, reminiscent of a classic cheap noir called "Gun Crazy" with John Dahl and Sparkle Annie or whatever her name was. (I'm too lazy to look it up.) It's the kind of crazy story that might really happen to two screwballs.Ashley Judd does a good job. She was superb in another crime drama, "Heat," as Val Kilmer's wife. She's demonstrated the limits of her range as an actress elsewhere but in this film her performance is unimpeachable.Luke Perry is another matter. He seems to be a nice enough guy but as an actor he's sufficiently lightweight that he should stick to the small screen where "presence" matters less. He had the same problem that David Caruso had, but I can't put a name to it.Judd's oddness is accurately shown. When the couple visit some relatives for a barbecue, instead of sitting at the table and drinking a beer with the adults, she immediately wanders off and kicks a ball back and forth with the family's child, ignoring the usual rules. Nothing dramatic, just askew. But otherwise the direction is flat and uninspired. (When Judd speaks at a group therapy session, she's shot from a high angle for no discernible reason.) It's kind of disappointing, coming as it does from the director of "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer."

"Normal Life" was barely given a theatrical release by its studio, Fine Line. That's a shame, because there is a lot that is worthy in this movie. John McNaughton was a good choice to direct this movie, because in "Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer", he showed he had a talent for showing those in lower class positions with low self esteem - just like the two main characters in this movie. These characters have high ambitions and try to do better (at least initially), but they are shot down by themselves and their surrounding society. They want, but don't get, respect. The movie is focused on their insides, not much on what surrounds them like their jobs. They are drawn together because they are two lost souls - they at least have that to share. The two actors are excellent in their roles (Luke Perry sheds his pretty-boy image completely here.) The movie is not perfect - there are a few details that are not explained (like what exactly is used to justify Perry's character's firing from his job.) Also, the movie is a bit too long, more noticeably in the first half of the movie - cutting fifteen or so minutes from the movie would have helped. But despite these faults, the movie is still well worth seeking out.

This was surprisingly good (based on a true story) about a young couple who get in over their heads. Luke Perry (who I've never liked as an actor) is believable as the cop-husband who loses track. Ashley Judd, a lovely and talented actress who makes too many bad films, is edgy, sardonic, and nihilistic in a beautiful and frightening way. She cooks the space surrounding her and it's a joy to see.A 7 out of 10. Best performance = Ashley Judd. If Ms. Judd made more films like this, she would be respected more instead of being lusted after quite so much. She needs better advisers when it comes to her film choices (just my opinion; I think she's great). This film probably did no business, but it's worth your time and very human.