BEYOND CONTROL: THE AMY FISHER STORY
A film review by Ken Johnson
Copyright 1993 Ken Johnson
1:42, not rated, Drama, 1993, Made-for-American-Television Director: Andy Tennant Cast: Drew Barrymore, Anthony John Denison, Harley Jane Kozak, Tom Mason, Laurie Paton, Ken Pogue, Linda Darlow
Drew Barrymore plays Amy Fisher (the Long Island Lolita) who was accused of attempting to murder Mary Jo Buttafuoco because Fisher was having an affair with Mary Jo's husband Joe (Anthony John Denison).
BEYOND CONTROL: THE AMY FISHER STORY is ABC's version of the Amy Fisher case. Even though this was supposed to be the best of the Amy Fisher movies, CBS's CASUALTIES OF LOVE: THE 'LONG ISLAND LOLITA' STORY was better. BEYOND CONTROL aired on January 3 and is scheduled to be released on video cassette on March 31. I only suggest watching this version if you are a fan of Drew Barrymore, or you have seen the other two versions and still don't know who Amy Fisher is! On a scale of zero to five, I give BEYOND CONTROL a four. The video cassette version (which I believe is being released under the name THE AMY FISHER STORY) will contain scenes that ABC was unable to show on television.
The cast for this film is of normal television film quality. Drew Barrymore (GUNCRAZY, FAR FROM HOME) who normally would be excellent in this role, wasn't up to her normal standards. I was expecting more from her in this role and was disappointed in the performance that she gave. Anthony John Denison was reasonably good as Joey Buttafuoco. He didn't hurt, nor help, the film. Harley Jane Kozak (ARACHNOPHOBIA, NECESSARY ROUGHNESS) gave the best performance in this film as the reporter who is investigating the Amy Fisher case.
BEYOND CONTROL, instead of being one sided like NBC's AMY FISHER: MY STORY (r.a.r.m.# 1664) and CBS's CASUALTIES OF LOVE: THE 'LONG ISLAND LOLITA' STORY, is from court testimony and doesn't appear to be biased. Of the three versions, I felt this one had the weakest writing. I suggest that you watch CASUALTIES OF LOVE (which is currently set to be released on video cassette on April 7) instead.
-------- Ken Johnson blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu
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