Payback (1997 film)

Payback
DVD cover
Directed byKen Cameron
Written byDennis Nemec
Produced byEd Asner
Ann Kindberg
Chris Kobin
StarringMary Tyler Moore
Ed Asner
CinematographyJames L. Carter
Music byMark Snow
Release date
  • 1997 (1997)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Payback is a 1997 thriller TV film starring Mary Tyler Moore and Ed Asner, marking the first time they were on screen together for 20 years.[1] It aired on the ABC network in February.[2]

Plot

Kathryn Stanfill witnesses some police officers beating a suspect. After Internal Affairs investigator Jack Patkanis convinces her to testify she and her family starts to get targeted by the police.

Production

Filming began in Portland in September 1996. In November, after seeing a rough cut, Moore "disowned" the film.[1] By the time it aired she would not talk about it citing a lawsuit coming after earlier negative comments.[3]

Cast

Reception

The film received poor reviews. In the Los Angeles Times Steve Linan says "The persuasive Moore and Asner handle their roles in this watchable yet improbable thriller with ease, and it’s satisfying to see them together again after all these years, but the bottom line on “Payback” is that it may leave you feeling slightly shortchanged."[4] Pete Schulberg in The Sunday Oregonian said "The story, while choppy and bordering on the simplistic, is engaging enough for wanting to spend part of an evening with Asner and Moore in unfamiliar roles. Unfortunately, their characters come up short in the depth department — or do I dare say it, lacking the necessary chemistry you'd expect in the TV reunion since The Beatles anthology."[5] Ed Barks review, which was published in the Anniston Star, finishes "But the plot begins congealing when it should thicken. And absent any galvanizing moments between the two stars, that's enough to make "Payback" an IOU." [6] Hal Boedeker in the Daily Record writes "There's lots to criticize. Asner should have given himself more to do. The sociopathic cop (played by Fredric Lane) is too boldly evil to be believable. The gloomy film muffles whatever serious points it's trying to make about citizen responsibility or police not being above the law."[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Meisler, Andy (9 February 1997), "TV thriller 'Payback' fails to recapture Asner-Moore magic", The News Tribune
  2. ^ Bobbin, Jay (9 February 1997), "Mary Tyler Moore gets 'Payback'", Arizona Daily Star
  3. ^ Bowles, Jennifer (10 February 1997), "Moore unhappy about her part in 'Payback'", The News Journal
  4. ^ Linan, Steve (10 February 1997), "Asner, Moore Are Reunited in 'Payback'", The Los Angeles Times
  5. ^ Schulberg, Pete (9 February 1997), "Asner-Moore chemistry just not the same", The Sunday Oregonian
  6. ^ Bark, Ed (10 February 1997), "Take an IOU on this one", The Anniston Star
  7. ^ Boedeker, Hal (10 February 1997), "Movie makes Moore look foolish", Daily Record
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