Normal Life

Last updated
Normal Life
Normal Life.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by John McNaughton
Written byPeg Haller
Bob Schneider
Produced byRichard Maynard
John Saviano
Starring
Cinematography Jean de Segonzac
Edited by Elena Maganini
Music byRobert McNaughton
Ken Hale
Production
company
Distributed by Fine Line Features
Release date
  • October 25, 1996 (1996-10-25)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$22,891 [1]

Normal Life is a 1996 American crime drama film based on the real lives of husband-and-wife bank robbers, Jeffrey and Jill Erickson. [2] [3] The film stars Ashley Judd and Luke Perry and was directed by John McNaughton. The original screenplay was written by husband-and-wife team Peg Haller and Bob Schneider.

Contents

Plot

Chris (Luke Perry), a young police officer meets the attractive and sexy Pamela (Ashley Judd) and immediately falls in love with her. Even her drug and alcohol problems cannot affect his mad love for her and they decide to marry. As the relationship continues, more problems arise. Their passionate love is accompanied by destructive fights and Pam's emotional problems start to surface. She shows no respect for Chris’s family members who are very important to him. Pam's also manipulative and exploits Chris’s love for her, leaving him to do all the chores and making him buy her expensive things until they are on the brink of bankruptcy.

Trouble escalates when Chris loses his job after trouble with a fellow officer. To finance Pam's lifestyle, Chris decides to earn a living by robbing banks. Pam's fascinated with his bank heists and begs him to tag along. After having finally robbed enough banks to afford a house of their own, Chris decides to stop a life of crime, much to Pam's chagrin. Pam soon leaves Chris who quickly finds himself unable to live without her. Chris then agrees to start robbing banks again, which proves to be fatal for the duo.

Cast

Production

Producer Steven A. Jones read an article about Jeffrey Erickson, a suspected bank robber whose wife Jill led the Federal Bureau of Investigation on a chase through 12 different suburbs, with a machine gun hanging out of the window of her van, when they came to capture him, which led to a huge gun battle. She ended up dead, ostensibly taking her own life after she was wounded. He read another article related to the case in The New York Times , and, knowing the author of the articles, tried unsuccessfully to contact him. The rights to the story had already been purchased by someone else, but coincidentally Jones received a screenplay about the couple from the husband-and-wife screenwriting team of Peg Haller and Bob Schneider and producer Richard Maynard, and they agreed to work together. [4]

The William Morris talent agency said Luke Perry was interested in the lead role, and they also suggested Ashley Judd for the female lead. Perry was well known for the television series Beverly Hills, 90210 and Spelling Entertainment were willing to put up the money to make the film. [4]

The distributor New Line Cinema were optimistic about the film at first. However, test audiences were not expecting a crime drama, instead they expected a Luke Perry movie to be similar to 90210 and reacted negatively. New Line declined to release the film. After director John McNaughton complained in the press, they gave the film a limited release for a week in New York and Los Angeles, and then the film went to HBO. [4] [5]

Director John McNaughton explained in a 2017 interview that he intended the film to reflect the economic struggles of the middle class:

"It was a true story and I had followed it because it was so sad. But it was also played for laughs in Chicago. They called him the bearded bandit, because he would wear this fake beard and a Chicago Cubs hat, and he would rob these small banks and get a few thousand dollars. And the TV would go: The bearded bandit struck again today, ha ha ha. But I thought the story was prophetic for what was to come for the American middle class. They just ran out of options and the situation became bleak and hopeless." [6]

In the same interview McNaughton explained that many of the locations used in the film were the actual locations where the events took place in real life. They shot in a bank that Jeffrey Erickson robbed. And McNaughton said: "The parking lot where Pam got shot is where we filmed the scene." [6]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 70% based on 10 reviews. [7]

James Berardinelli in his article on reelviews.net: "Luke Perry, giving the most convincing performance of his career to date, makes it clear how desperately, hopelessly smitten Chris is by his wild, troubled wife." And finally: "By depicting the sham of 'normality,' Normal Life reminds us how fictitious and unattainable the 'American dream' can be." [8] Roger Ebert, who gave the film 3.5 out of 4, called the film "fascinating in its portrait of criminal pathology" and praised the casting. [5] [9] Peter Sobczynski writes in an article titled "A Good Ashley Judd Film? Believe It or Not!": "[...] her single greatest performance-indeed, one of the strongest bits of film acting that you are ever likely to see-was in what probably remains the most obscure and least-seen film of her career, John McNaughton's 1996 masterpiece Normal Life." [10]

Home media

The film was released to DVD in February 2005. [10]

Related Research Articles

Ashley Judd American actress (born 1968)

Ashley Judd is an American actress. She grew up in a family of performing artists: she is the daughter of the late country music singer Naomi Judd and the half-sister of country music singer Wynonna Judd. Her acting career has spanned more than three decades, and she has also become increasingly involved in global humanitarian efforts and political activism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Perry</span> American actor (1966–2019)

Coy Luther "Luke" Perry III was an American actor. He became a teen idol for playing Dylan McKay on the Fox television series Beverly Hills, 90210 from 1990 to 1995, and again from 1998 to 2000. He also starred as Fred Andrews on the CW series Riverdale. He had guest roles on notable shows such as Criminal Minds, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Simpsons, and Will & Grace, and also starred in several films, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), 8 Seconds (1994), The Fifth Element (1997), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), his final feature performance.

<i>Set It Off</i> (film) 1996 film directed by F. Gary Gray

Set It Off is a 1996 American crime action heist film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Kate Lanier and Takashi Bufford. The film stars Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise. It follows four close friends in Los Angeles, California, who plan to execute a bank robbery—each doing so for different reasons—to achieve better for themselves and their families.

<i>Almost Heroes</i> American comedy Western film by Christopher Guest

Almost Heroes is a 1998 American adventure comedy Western film directed by Christopher Guest, narrated by Guest's friend and frequent collaborator Harry Shearer, and starring Chris Farley and Matthew Perry. It was Farley's last leading film role and was released following his death in 1997.

<i>Eye of the Beholder</i> (film) 1999 film

Eye of the Beholder is a 1999 mystery thriller film that employs magical realism. The film, based on Marc Behm's novel of the same name and a remake of Claude Miller's 1983 French thriller Deadly Circuit, is directed and adapted by Stephan Elliott.

James Berardinelli is an American film critic and former engineer. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ReelViews. Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of reviews of movies on DVD and video. He is also a fantasy novelist, publishing a trilogy from 2015 through 2016 known as The Last Whisper of the Gods.

<i>The Spanish Prisoner</i> 1997 film by David Mamet

The Spanish Prisoner is a 1997 American neo-noir suspense film, written and directed by David Mamet and starring Campbell Scott, Steve Martin, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ben Gazzara, Felicity Huffman and Ricky Jay. It tells a story of corporate espionage conducted through an elaborate confidence game.

Trafficked is a 2017 American thriller drama film directed by Will Wallace and starring Ashley Judd, Sean Patrick Flanery and Anne Archer.

<i>Loser</i> (film) 2000 film by Amy Heckerling

Loser is a 2000 American teen romantic comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. Starring Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari and Greg Kinnear, it is about a fish-out-of-water college student (Biggs) who falls for a classmate (Suvari), unaware she is in a relationship with their English professor (Kinnear). The film, Heckerling’s first movie after the 1995 hit Clueless, was a box office bomb and received negative reviews.

<i>Last Dance</i> (1996 film) 1996 American film

Last Dance is a 1996 crime drama thriller film directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Sharon Stone, Rob Morrow, Randy Quaid and Peter Gallagher.

<i>Ruby in Paradise</i> 1993 film

Ruby in Paradise is a 1993 film written, directed, and edited by Victor Nunez, and starring Ashley Judd, Todd Field, Bentley Mitchum, Allison Dean, and Dorothy Lyman. An homage to Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, the film is a character study, proceeding at a leisurely pace.

<i>Undertow</i> (2004 film) 2004 American psychological thriller film

Undertow is a 2004 American psychological thriller film co-written and directed by David Gordon Green and starring Jamie Bell, Devon Alan, Dermot Mulroney and Josh Lucas. Taking place in Georgia, the film tells the story of two boys pursued by a murderous uncle.

<i>The Bedroom Window</i> (1987 film) 1987 film by Curtis Hanson

The Bedroom Window is a 1987 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Curtis Hanson. It stars Steve Guttenberg, Elizabeth McGovern and Isabelle Huppert, and was shot in Baltimore in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood. Based on a novel The Witnesses, by Anne Holden, it tells the story of a young executive who starts an affair with the wife of his boss which then escalates into nightmare after he lies to the police in order to protect her.

<i>The Promotion</i> 2008 American film

The Promotion is a 2008 American comedy film written and directed by Steven Conrad. A look at the quest for the American Dream, it focuses on two grocery store managers vying for a promotion. The film premiered at South by Southwest in March 2008. Dimension Films released it on June 6, 2008.

<i>Surrender Dorothy</i> (film) 1998 American film

Surrender Dorothy is an independent film by director Kevin DiNovis which won first place at the 1998 Slamdance Film Festival. The film stars Peter Pryor and Kevin DiNovis. The film is presented in black and white. The film is also notable as it has the first film role for Elizabeth Banks, who appears in the credits as "Elizabeth Casey."

<i>Over Her Dead Body</i> 2008 American film

Over Her Dead Body is a 2008 American romantic comedy film starring Eva Longoria, Paul Rudd, Lake Bell, Lindsay Sloane and Jason Biggs. It was written and directed by Jeff Lowell. The film is about Kate, who dies on the day of her wedding to fiancé Henry. He subsequently begins a relationship with psychic Ashley who becomes haunted by Kate trying to sabotage their relationship.

<i>The Raven</i> (2012 film) 2012 American film

The Raven is a 2012 American crime thriller film directed by James McTeigue, produced by Marc D. Evans, Trevor Macy and Aaron Ryder and written by Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare. It stars John Cusack, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson and Luke Evans. The title derives from Edgar Allan Poe's 1845 poem "The Raven", in the similar manner of the earlier unrelated 1935 and 1963 films.

<i>Flypaper</i> (2011 film) 2011 American film

Flypaper is a 2011 American crime comedy film starring Patrick Dempsey and Ashley Judd, and directed by Rob Minkoff and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It was released on August 19, 2011.

<i>Sandy Wexler</i> 2017 American film

Sandy Wexler is a 2017 American comedy film directed by Steven Brill and written by Dan Bulla, Paul Sado and Adam Sandler. The film stars Sandler, Jennifer Hudson, Kevin James, Terry Crews, Rob Schneider, Colin Quinn, Nick Swardson, Lamorne Morris and Arsenio Hall, and follows a talent manager in 1990s Hollywood. The film was released on Netflix on April 14, 2017.

Jeffrey E. Erickson (1958–1992) and Jill Sandra Erickson were an American married criminal couple known for committing a series of violent bank robberies.

References

  1. ↑ "Normal Life (1996)". Box Office Mojo .
  2. ↑ Schwartz, Ronald (2005). Neo-noir: The New Film Noir Style from Psycho to Collateral. Scarecrow Press. p. 125. ISBN   0-8108-5676-X.
  3. ↑ "3 Dead in Shooting at Chicago Courthouse". The New York Times. July 21, 1992. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Ford, Luke (March 5, 2002). "Profile of Producer Steven A. Jones" . Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Ebert, Roger (October 25, 1996). "Normal Life movie review & film summary (1996)". Chicago Sun-Times .
  6. 1 2 "John McNaughton interview". THE FLASHBACK FILES. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  7. ↑ "Normal Life (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  8. ↑ James, Berardinelli. "Normal Life: A Film Review by James Berardinelli". reelviews.net.
  9. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (12 February 1996). "Normal Life". Variety.
  10. 1 2 Sobczynski, Peter (2005-02-18). "DVD Reviews for 2/18: A Good Ashley Judd Film? Believe It or Not!". efilmcritic.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.