All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story | |
---|---|
Genre | Crime Drama |
Written by | Julie Hébert |
Directed by | Lloyd Kramer |
Starring | Penelope Ann Miller Mercedes Ruehl Omar Anguiano Rena Owen |
Music by | Howard Aye Domenic Troiano Jon Stancer (uncredited) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers | Sonny Grosso Larry Jacobson |
Producer | J. Miles Dale |
Production location | Toronto |
Cinematography | Brian R.R. Hebb |
Editor | David Hicks |
Running time | 120 minutes |
Production company | Grosso-Jacobson Productions |
Original release | |
Network | USA Network |
Release | January 18, 2000 |
All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story is a 2000 American biographical crime drama television film based on Mary Kay Letourneau's repeated illegal relationship with her sixth-grade student Vili Fualaau. [1] [2] The film premiered on USA Network on January 18, 2000, and was followed with a special entitled Letourneau: Live, which featured interviews with Letourneau and others involved with the scenario. [3]
The lead role of Letourneau was played by actress Penelope Ann Miller and filming took place in Toronto during 1999. [2] Letourneau cooperated with the film's producers. As she could not receive profits from the film per the "Son of Sam law", her fees were placed in a trust fund for her children. [2] As a way of developing her role, Miller corresponded with Letourneau over the telephone. [4]
Critical reception for All-American Girl was mixed. [5] Charleston Daily Mail praised the film, writing, "More than just a tawdry detour into the Jerry Springer/Ricki Lake cesspool of shock value, this film presents a sympathetic look at a confused woman who still contends that Vili is her destined soulmate, the love of her life." [6] The Los Angeles Daily News was more mixed in their review, praising the filmmakers for putting "a little care and thought into their production" and that it did not "waste one's time or aggressively insult one's intelligence" while also stating that the film was "ultimately unsatisfying" and did not "provide much insight into the case". [7] Variety panned the film overall, writing that it "wastes a good opportunity to shed light on some really screwed up people. Despite Penelope Ann Miller's eerie resemblance to Seattle's infamous seductress, this factual telepic about the world's most 'giving' teacher offers little insight and is buried underneath overblown production values." [8]
Penélope Cruz Sánchez is a Spanish actress. Prolific in Spanish and English-language films, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards.
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Mary Katherine "Mary Kay" Fualaau was an American teacher who pleaded guilty in 1997 to two counts of felony second-degree rape of a child. Letourneau was 34, and the child, Vili Fualaau, was 12 years old when she initiated the sexual abuse. He was her sixth-grade student at an elementary school in Burien, Washington. While awaiting sentencing, she gave birth to Fualaau's daughter. With the state seeking a seven and a half year prison sentence, she reached a plea bargain calling for six months in jail with three months suspended and no contact with Fualaau for life, among other terms. The case received national attention.
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Penelope Ann Miller, sometimes credited as Penelope Miller, is an American actress. She began her career on Broadway in the original run of Biloxi Blues (1985–1986), later appearing in the 1988 film adaptation of the same name. After playing small roles in the comedies Adventures in Babysitting (1987) and Big Top Pee-wee (1988), and receiving a Tony Award nomination for her leading role in the Broadway revival of Our Town (1988–1989), Miller came to prominence with a succession of major parts in films such as The Freshman, Awakenings, Kindergarten Cop, Other People's Money (1991), Chaplin (1992), The Shadow (1994), and The Relic (1997). For her portrayal of exotic dancer Gail in Carlito's Way (1993), she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.
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