Class Warfare (2001) (TV)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Richard Shepard

Writer:

George Finch (writer)

Release Date:

26 June 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

It's hard to fit in with the rich and popular crowd... especially when they're trying to kill you!

Plot:

In a remote cabin in the woods, Kristen tries to convince her boyfriend to kill fellow classmate Richard to gain possession of his winning lottery ticket.

Plot Keywords:

Lottery | Female Domination | Female Terminator

Cast

Lindsey McKeon	...	Kristen Marshall (as Lindsey J. McKeon)
Wade Carpenter	...	Jason Beckham
Robin Dunne	...	Richard Ashbury
Dave McGowan	...	Graham Jensen
Kiele Sanchez	...	Amber Whidden
Jessica Schreier	...	Mrs. Marshall
Michael St. John Smith	...	Mr. Marshall
Kevin Mundy	...	Brad
Hiro Kanagawa	...	Mr. Tanaka
Sadie Lawrence	...	Amber's Sister
Veena Sood	...	Maria
Patricia Idlette	...	Lottery Attendant
Laurie Murdoch	...	Marcus Wynne
Brad Loree	...	Police Officer
Zook Matthews	...	Grizzled Trucker

Also Known As:

Cla$$ Warfare (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M | Italy:T

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

British Columbia Film Commission

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Though set in Washington, a Canada Post mail box is visible during the car chase scene.

Quotes:

Kristin: You're rich. You're one of us now.
Richard: I'll never be one of you, rich or not.
Kristin: Oh, are we THAT evil?

Soundtrack:

Golddigger

The Numbers Just Don't Add Up

Despite the fact that this was a Made-For-TV movie (and an obvious one at that: ie., cheap looking), CLASS WARFARE left me wishing I could get my money back, and considering this lame production was partially funded through Canadian dollars, I might just be entitled.

What made me sit through it in the first place was seeing actress Lindsey McKeon, who I've watched for the last couple years in her role as "goody-goody" Mara Lewis on the soap-opera GUIDING LIGHT, taking a turn at playing "the bad girl" for a change.

Surprisingly she does quite well, as Kristen, a spoiled rich-b*tch who suddenly finds herself dirt-poor, but with a conniving streak, and a twist of fate, that will possibly change her fortunes back around. The twist of fate is provided in the character of Richard (Robin Dunne), a socially-radical outcast who discovers that he has just gone from having nothing to winning $23 million on a lottery ticket. Now, put Richard, Kristen, her jock-boyfriend Jason (Wade Carpenter), and their camcorder-obsessed mutual buddy Graham (Dave McGowan) together for the weekend in a remote cabin, cut off from the world by storms, and just guess what unfolds.

The film suffers from congesting both the story and characters'personas and motives too much. Everyone is pretty one-dimensional and it doesn't take a rocket-scientist to figure out that some things, and some people, are going to go very bad, very quickly. I don't think this is that original a plot and it doesn't go out of it's way to make itself anything more. The acting is OK, McKeon is spot-on as the manipulative female lead, and Dunne is very good, perhaps a little too good at times, but no one else is worth writing home about. The only other real credit I can give the film is the one twist I didn't see coming towards the end (not the very end though, that one is so obvious it hurts). Regardless, I sat through all of it and lived to tell the tale so I can't say it was a complete write-off.

4/10. A "something-to-watch-when-nothing-else-is-on" type movie.