Hostile Advances

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Hostile Advances
Hostile Advances poster.jpg
Also known asHostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story
Written byLayce Gardner
Directed by Allan Kroeker
Starring Rena Sofer
Victor Garber
Karen Allen
Music by Micky Erbe
Maribeth Solomon
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersDiana Kerew
Carol Trussell
ProducersJulian Marks
Clara George
Cinematography François Protat
EditorJane Morrison
Running time90 minutes
Production companiesThe Diana Kerew Company
Hearst Entertainment
Original release
Network Lifetime
ReleaseMay 27, 1996 (1996-05-27)

Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story is a 1996 American made-for-television drama film based on Ellison v. Brady, a landmark sexual harassment case. [1] This lawsuit set the precedent for the "reasonable woman" standard in sexual harassment law which allows for cases to be analyzed from the perspective of the complainant and not the defendant. [2]

Contents

Starring Rena Sofer as Kerry Ellison, the film told the story from the perspective of Ellison. [1] It was first broadcast on Lifetime Television on May 27, 1996. [1] The movie is directed by Allan Kroeker and ritten by Layce Gardner.

Plot

Kerry Ellison (Rena Sofer) is a senior accountant at the Internal Revenue Service. [3] All goes well, until Jack Gilcrest (Victor Garber) develops an interest in her. He starts stalking her—following her, and writing her sexually tense notes. Kerry makes it clear multiple times that she is not interested in him. Even when Kerry is transferred to another division, Jack's stalking does not diminish. He returns and threatens Kerry so much, she begins to get anxiety attacks. Kerry's bosses dismiss Jack's obsession as harmless, and her labor union refuses to deal with the problem.

Kerry files a sexual harassment suit against her employers, who subsequently put her through hell.

Cast

Reception

A review in Entertainment Weekly said, "While it plays somewhat like a cross between a sensitivity-training video and a stalker film, Advances is an interesting chronicle of a tiny step the system took to protect women from office weirdos." [3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Schultz, Vicki (April 1998). "Reconceptualizing sexual harassment". Yale Law Journal . 107 (6): 1683–1805 – via ProQuest.
  2. ↑ Kleiman, Carol (May 26, 1996). "ONE WOMAN'S FIGHT AGAINST SEXUAL HARASSMENT". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 27, 2025– via ProQuest.
  3. 1 2 Tucker, Ken (May 24, 1996). "The week". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved October 27, 2025– via EBSCOhost.


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