Husband Abduction
Lael Pritcher (Lisa Hartman - Someone Else's Child) wanted her ex, Mike (Jameson Parker), to be more involved in their son's life but when they didn't return from a camping trip she was forced to get her lawyer, Van Stein (William Russ - Trail of Tears), and also the police involved. And rightly so as it seems that Mike was trying to abduct their son but had to stop when the border police caught them. But some time later her son is abducted again, taken from their home by someone not only dressed like Lael but driving an identical truck as hers. With it looking like Mike has got out of the state it leads to Lael and Van taking matters in to their own hands to try and find her son, especially as he suffers from a dangerous breathing condition.
There are those child abduction movies, which is what "Have You Seen My Son" is, that are about the effect that the abduction has on the family as they struggle with what is going on. Other missing children movies look at the trauma that the child suffered and how hard it was for them to go back to their old ways after escaping or being found. And then there are kidnapped children movies, like "Have You Seen My Son", which are little more than an excuse for some unbelievable drama as a mother sets about getting her child back, turning detective and so on in the process. Unfortunately "Have You Seen My Son" is full of so many ridiculous scenes that at times it ends up comical when it wants to be dramatic.
So what do I mean? Well for starters we have Anne Francis as Mike's domineering mother and the way Francis acts and looks is completely over the top and evil, sort of more befitting a soap opera. But then there is William Russ as the easy going, pony-tailed lawyer who is so laid back when it comes to the abduction that if I had been Lael I would have looked else where for help, although of course he is there as the romantic interest because Lael needs a nice guy to settle down with as "Have You Seen My Son" is that sort of movie. Then there are ridiculous scenes of Lael trying to find her son which bare no connection to reality including a scene involving rafts. I could go on but sadly I would end up sounding like a broken record as this is one of those movies which whilst probably worked to some extent in the mid 90s now ends up weak.
Now I've already mentioned Anne Francis as well as William Russ but the star of "Have You Seen My Son" is Lisa Hartman who comes across as a pleasant actress. Unfortunately when it comes to her character in this it is poorly written because she does so many things which make you laugh because they are wrong.
What this all boils down to is that "Have You Seen My Son" didn't do it for me and sadly is now one of those movies which is full of ridiculous moments which let it down. In fact this is now one of those movies which give TV movies a bad name because it is full of so much nonsense.
