CAPRICORN ONE

Sam Waterston, O. J. Simpson, James Brolin

CAPRICORN ONE (1978). Director: Peter Hyams.

Astronauts Brubaker (James Brolin), Willis (Sam Waterston) and Walker (O. J. Simpson) are about to go off on a flight to Mars when they are told by Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook) that the mission is scrubbed because of a faulty life support system. Kelloway is afraid the space program will lose its funding. so he and his associates decide to film the astronauts on a sound stage and make the world believe they have actually landed on Mars. Brubaker and the others are appalled by what they've participated in, but they really get worried when it is announced that the three "died" during re-entry. Then the chase is on ... Capricorn One has an utterly absurd premise (inspired by the notion that the Moon landing was staged), but it holds the attention and has a terrific, suspenseful climax where a suspicious reporter (Elliot Gould) tries to save Brubaker, and an old-fashioned bi-plane is engaged in a dogfight with two sinister helicopters. As for the acting, Holbrook walks off with the movie, particularly in a long monologue when he tells the three men what's happened and the reason for the hoax they're about to perpetrate. The three lead actors are okay but give perfunctory performances (considering what has happened to them), even Waterston, although he has some good moments out in the desert. Brenda Vaccaro as Brubaker's wife plays the role of "widow" a little too jovially. The script lacks depth but that may be because no one had any real faith in the premise.

Verdict: If you ignore the sheer preposterousness of the premise, the movie is fun. ***.

STOLEN: ONE HUSBAND aka I WANT HIM BACK

Valerie Harper

STOLEN: ONE HUSBAND (aka I Want Him Back/1990 telefilm). Director: Catlin Adams.

"I don't want what's rightfully mine -- I want what's his!"

Martin Slade (Elliott Gould of Ocean's Thirteen), married for over twenty years to wife Katherine (Valerie Harper), enters into an affair with his daughter's mentor, Samantha (Brenda Bakke), who is much younger of course, and eventually asks Katherine for a divorce. Katherine at first seems to blame her daughter, Jennie (Julie Warner) and spends her time stuffing her face with junk food. Then she and her best friend Lisa (Brenda Vaccaro) begin a harassment campaign against Martin and Samantha, but this begins to backfire when she finds herself legally locked out of her house ... Stolen: One Husband is a very entertaining and quite well-acted (especially by the wonderful Harper) made-for-TV dramedy that explores the situation of middle-aged women who have been cast off by their husbands but still love them. The movie does enter the world of pure fantasy when Katherine is told by an attractive and personable cosmetic surgeon, Peter (Bruce Davison of X-Men), that not only does she not need surgery (which she doesn't), but even asks her out to dinner -- sure, that happens to cast-off wives all the time! Valentina Quinn is fun as Imelda, the housekeeper, and Paul Joseph McKenna has a nice bit as the sympathetic and romantically-inclined bartender, Joe. The main problem with the movie is that Martin treats both women in his life so horribly, never considering their feelings, that it's unlikely that Katherine would ever consider taking him back. The ending makes a good point about divorcees realizing that they don't have to make the husband the center of their existence.

Verdict: Watch out for younger bimbos! *** out of 4.