Danielle Steel's 'Heartbeat' (1993) starring John Ritter, Polly Draper, Kevin Kilner, Michael Lembeck, Nancy Morgan, Suzanne Suciu directed by Michael Miller Movie Review

Danielle Steel's 'Heartbeat' (1993)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Polly Draper in Danielle Steel's 'Heartbeat' (1993)

Steel Heart

Steven (Kevin Kilner - Chasing a Dream) and Adrian (Polly Draper) have a good marriage except after having had an abused childhood Steven is adamant he doesn't want children. So when Adrian informs she is pregnant he insists she has an abortion something which Adrian can't do leading to Steven starting divorce proceedings. It leads her into the life of producer Bill Grant (John Ritter - IT), a divorced father of two who unbeknown to each other have kept on crossing paths for some time. But initially Adrian doesn't tell Bill that she is pregnant something which becomes apparent when she almost miscarries whilst saving one of his sons from being run over. But whilst Adrian and Bill have feelings for each other the situation is complex as Adrian still feels something for Steven and Bill not being keen on marriage again.

To be honest when a movie has the name Danielle Steel in front of the title I get the feeling that they don't need a proper review. You pretty much know what to expect from one of these movies, romance, trouble, melodrama more romance some more melodrama and probably some bedroom and lingerie scenes thrown in to the mix as well. And that is what you have going on in "Heartbeat" a typical Danielle Steel movie.

John Ritter in Danielle Steel's 'Heartbeat' (1993)

But in fairness whilst "Heartbeat" has all the expected elements, the various scenes of shirtless men, attractive women in lingerie and bucket loads of romance it is surprisingly engaging. It's not that there is a great storyline here just one which goes back and forth nicely, keeping things movie and never dwelling on any scene too long. Plus with Bill being a producer of a soap opera it has a playful side which adds to the amusement of the melodrama.

The thing which "Heartbeat" has going for it is right the cast starting with John Ritter who here gets to play the nice guy; the divorced father who has been hurt by failed romance making him easy to like, maybe not the most fleshed out of characters but still a nice guy. And then there is Polly Draper who whilst not delivering a convincing performance has this wonderful smoky voice which makes you want to listen to her and makes you feel her pain of the complicated romantic situation she finds herself in. And then there is Kevin Kilner who manages to make Steven just nasty enough to be a bad guy but whilst over the top sort of understandably bad because of his background. It is almost ironic really because the main focus of "Heartbeat" is Adrian and Bill yet it is Steven who has the most depth.

What this all boils down to is that "Heartbeat" is exactly what you expect from a Danielle Steel movie with bucket loads of melodrama and romance. As such it is an okay movie but nothing special and definitely not for those who find romantic melodramas over the top.

Tags: Danielle Steel Movies


LATEST REVIEWS