Illegally Yours

One of the great pleasures of the movie business is finding a forgotten treasure that you had forgotten about or didn't know existed. This picture is just wonderful and is an excellent addition to the Bogdanovich oeuvre. Which brings up the question - where is he and why isn't he working? The Johnny Cash songs were just terrific as well.

This is a good movie with plenty of comedy and action. Yes Colleen Camp is fun and funny and so is Rob Lowe. The Canuck is another entertaining gem. There are a few illogical twists toward the end but otherwise it is a wonderful movie. Anyone that loves Colleen Camp will love the movie.

When Rob Lowe decided to wear his glasses for real in this film (in real life he's quite nearsighted) I think it was his and director Peter Bogdanovich's homage to Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby. Would that Bogdanovich had as good material as Howard Hawks had with Grant and Katharine Hepburn.

Rob's a near do well here, living at home with mother Jessica James and brother Ira Heiden and sometimes whomever mom's current boyfriend is, in this case it's Harry Carey, Jr. in one of his very few roles not in a western. Rob gets a jury duty notice and like most of us, he considers it one royal pain. But when he's chosen for the jury trial of Colleen Camp it's an opportunity he's been waiting for since grade school. Back in those childhood years he was crushing out on Camp big time and now she's on trial for attempted murder.

I wrote a review for 12 Angry Men in which I said the film was flawed because of what Henry Fonda did, going to the accused's neighborhood and buying a switchblade similar to the murder weapon. That was absolutely nothing compared to what Lowe does while he's not deliberating on the evidence to prove the object of his affection is innocent.

The film has its moments, but I'd have to say it was more silly than funny. Colleen Camp is not quite Katharine Hepburn, though Lowe does give a good try at a Cary Grant type comedy part.

Still fans of Rob Lowe will like it.

The 80s was Rob Lowe's decade; member of the Brat Pack, and the golden boy of cinema. Whilst usually cast just as the pretty boy, a sex-toy, Illegally Yours cast him as the silly, love-sick goof, who bumbles his way through a far-fetched silly murder cover-up from the point of view of a juror who was in love the suspect at junior school. The film is wall-to-wall one-liners, funny slapstick, slips and trips and Lowe falling over a lot. I've watched it a lot of times and it still makes me giggle, and there are lots of comedy set pieces; Lowe dressed as a woman in high heel slippers, the fantastic sunglasses disguise scene, his nervy rushing around, the crazy car chases and daft over-acting. It's not a film to take seriously, it's meant to be loopy and flying all over the place and I love it. It's not a 6/10 film as in superb cinematography but it's just a hoot. Every character is overblown, Colleen Camp and all the ensemble case are a caricature, funny, and I just love this film. It's one of my favourite comedies and they don't make them like this anymore – it's not rude, no bad language and really quite innocent. Turn back time and enjoy.

This is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. This, in my opinion, is Rob Lowe at his best. I'm not quite sure why this film has gotten such a low rating. I guess you either love it or hate it, but if nothing else, it is definitely worth a rental.