Double Jeopardy (1999)
reviewed by
Jon Popick

PLANET SICK-BOY: http://www.sick-boy.com
A rather unimaginative thriller – considering that the title gives away
the film’s already predictable ending – about a woman (Ashley Judd,
Simon Birch) accused of murdering her husband, only to find out that the
two-timing schmuck is still alive while she rots away in the clink.
Like the titular legal loophole, Judd learns that she can get out of
prison and legally kill her spouse and not be convicted because a person
can’t be accused of committing the same crime twice.
Judd plays Elizabeth Parsons, a seemingly happily married co-owner of a
child-care center in the Pacific northwest.  For Elizabeth’s birthday,
her husband Nick (Bruce Greenwood, Disturbing Behavior) rents the
loveliest boat in the area and takes her out for a night of sailing and
passion - you even get to see one of her Judds and the crack of her
Ashley.  But when Elizabeth wakes up at dawn, she finds a bloody trail
that rivals even O.J.’s – and can’t find her husband anywhere
(unbeknownst to her, he is experiencing financial difficulties at work
and just took out a huge insurance policy).  Acting like a person who is
about to be framed, Elizabeth picks up the bloody murder weapon on the
ship’s deck just as the Coast Guard swoops in and hauls her off.
Long story short, Elizabeth ends up in prison with a lengthy sentence,
where she celebrates her kid’s birthdays without him.  I’ve got to tell
you that this is the least frightening penitentiary that I have seen
since GoodFellas.  It’s almost like a resort.  After the obligatory
prison-workout-while-plotting-revenge scene, Elizabeth is given a
conditional release to serve her remaining three years on probation and
living in a halfway house.
Elizabeth, who hasn’t aged or changed her hairstyle during her six-year
absence, immediately starts to track down her ex, who has apparently run
off with their son and his new wife Angela (Annabeth Gish, S.L.C. Punk),
who was formerly Elizabeth’s best friend.  Dedicated to her search,
Elizabeth misses curfew, breaks into her old office and almost eludes
the police during a thrilling beach chase.
Enter Parole Officer Travis Layman (Tommy Lee Jones, U.S. Marshals), who
staggers unpurposefully about as if he were trying to hunt down Harrison
Ford but his heart isn’t really in it.  Do guys who win Best Supporting
Actor Oscars all think that they can call in performances in crappy
films for the rest of their lives?  Let me answer my own question by
saying Chill Factor (Cuba), Patch Adams (Robin) and Men in Black
(Tommy).  Thank God for Kevin Spacey.
For a few seconds, it almost seemed like there was going to be a cool
twist at the end, but then the film resumed its course toward the
inevitably mediocre ending that you know is coming.  Jeopardy was
directed by Bruce Beresford (Paradise Road) and written by Robert Benton
(Twilight), who penned the story created by two co-writers from The Rock
(Douglas Cook and David Weisberg).  My question is “Why bother?”
Imagine Citizen Kane being called Rosebud the Sled and you get the
idea.  (1:43 - R for language, brief nudity and some violence)