Movies for Woman (But Don't Bring the Kids!)

Not long ago, I sat down with my ex-wife and watched an entire weekend of movies on Lifetime (advertised as "The Network for Women") -- no, I wasn't trying to get in touch with my feminine side, its just that they were advertising these movies as the 25 Best Lifetime movies of 2001 and I was curious.

So why do I bring this cinematic experience up here, in my symposium on Violence? Mainly, because these were some of the most violent made for TV movies I had ever seen, and that surprised me. Do woman really have that much of an appetite for blood, violence and sleeze?

"Lifetimes "Best" were filled with abusive lovers and husbands -- that seemed to be the #1 theme. The second and third most popular themes were murder and physically and/or sexually abused children. The plots were all solid (most of them based on real life events) and the acting was great, but WOW!

"Lets take a look, for example, at just a sampling of the moving dramas that Lifetime has in store for this weekend (the following plot summaries come right from Lifetime Online's Movie Index.

"Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story: Ambition and betrayal explode in this true story of a bored school teacher who cons her teenage lover into killing her husband."

Nice start for the weekend!

"Final Justice: Gwen is helpless when her murdered brother is defamed by a sleazy attorney during the killer's trial. When the murderer is acquitted, she kidnaps him in a desperate attempt to deliver justice."

"Small Sacrifices: Based on a true story. On a horrifying night in 1983, Diane Downs and her three young children were shot by an unknown gunman. During the investigation of the crime, an assistant district attorney discovers Diane's sordid and psychotic past, and evidence that she shot her children and herself to be free to marry her boyfriend."

"Precious Victims: A couple's 12-day-old baby is kidnapped! The parents ask the public for help in finding the child, but the baby is later found dead. Three years later, the same thing happens to their second daughter, causing the local sheriff to become suspicious."

And, of course, no movie lineup would be complete without a little voyeurism:

"Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story: Imagine having your most private, intimate moments caught on tape against your will.... That's exactly what happened to Susan Wilson and her family after moving into their dream house in a nice Louisiana community . . . "

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