Sellecca's Stressful Double Life
Rebecca (Connie Sellecca - A Dangerous Affair) and Jeffrey Madison (Perry King - A Cry in the Night) are happily married with both working in the medical profession what could go wrong? When her father dies Rebecca returns to her hometown to tidy things up and as she knows his work as a University researcher better than anyone agrees to help out part time to catalogue it all. But it brings her into contact with former boyfriend Mike Lewis (A Martinez - Columbo: A Matter of Honor) and rather than tell him she's married starts seeing him again, eventually marrying him forcing her to lead a stressful double life.
Whilst I never saw any mention at the start of "She Led Two Lives" that this was a true story movie, the Odyssey DVD cover certainly mentions that it is based on a true story. To be honest whether it was or wasn't is neither here nor there as to be honest so is the movie. I say that because whilst it sets up the conflicted situation and the law breaking as Rebecca conceals her marriage and commits bigamy when she also marries a former boyfriend, it does all this in a soap opera style, almost a Danielle Steel style, which makes "She Led Two Lives" lack the realism which you expect.
Anyway what you get in "She Led Two Lives" is how Rebecca ends up meeting her former boyfriend Mike and decides to hide her marriage from him when they go out for dinner as she wants to chat in the way they use to. But one thing leads to another and then the bedroom and before you know it she is leading a double life with Jeffrey part of the week and Mike the other with her time with Mike being very romantic and carefree whilst with Jeffrey routine and formal. As such we get some squeaky bum moments for Rebecca from her almost slipping up with Mike's leather jacket in her car to a friend finding out what she has been up to.
As to how "She Led Two Lives" plays out; well as I said Rebecca ends up marrying Mike whilst still married to Jeffrey. And I might as well mention it as the movie actually starts with Rebecca handcuffed in the back of a police car. As for the details, well they are interesting but as I said the problem is that the style is all very soap opera like and that steals something away from the real life drama of the situation.
Because "She Led Two Lives" has this soap opera styling the acting whilst enjoyable is not amazing. It is easy to warm to Connie Sellecca as Rebecca mainly because she is attractive but her character, whilst dealing with romantic conflicts from her marriage on cruise control to the excitement of her secret love for Mike, is not very realistic. It is the same with A Martinez and Perry King as Mike and Jeffrey as they have characters which feel like they have been plucked from some chick lit novel with dialogue to match and when that combines with the countless swells of the romantic soundtrack it makes "She Led Two Lives" border on being cheesy.
What this all boils down to is that "She Led Two Lives" actually disappointed me because I expected something much more realistic but got soap opera instead. The irony is that if this had been a Danielle Steel movie I might have enjoyed it more.
