Class Action (1991)
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75% of critics liked it
(24 reviews) -
46% of users liked it
(4,873 ratings)
A pair of lawyers must balance their professional principles (such as they are) against family loyalties in this courtroom drama. Jedediah Ward (Gene Hackman) is a leftist lawyer who has based his career on helping people avoid being taken for a ride by the rich and powerful; he's pursued principle… More A pair of lawyers must balance their professional principles (such as they are) against family loyalties in this courtroom drama. Jedediah Ward (Gene Hackman) is a leftist lawyer who has based his career on helping people avoid being taken for a ride by the rich and powerful; he's pursued principle at the expense of profit, though he has a bad habit of not following up on his clients after their cases are settled. Jed's daughter, Maggie (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), has had a bad relationship with her father ever since she discovered that he was cheating on her mother, and while she also has made a career in law, she has taken a very different professional route by working for a high-powered corporate law firm and has adopted a conservative political agenda. Jed is hired to help field a lawsuit against a major auto manufacturer whose station wagons have a dangerous propensity to explode on impact, but while his research indicates he has an all but airtight case against them, the case becomes more complicated for him when he discovers that Maggie is representing the firm he's suing. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Rating, Runtime
- R, 1 hr. 50 min.
- Directed By
- Michael Apted
- Written By
- Carolyn Shelby, Christopher Ames, Samantha Shad
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Drama
- In Theaters
- Mar 15, 1991 Wide
- On DVD
- Feb 1, 2005
- Studio
- Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Joe Brown, Washington Post
Apted gives this smarter-than-average script a slick look and expertly develops suspense.
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Rita Kempley, Washington Post
It is the fierce accord between Mastrantonio and Hackman that distinguishes the movie.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
What I liked best was the way the whole legal case and all of its twists and turns were used to force the Hackman and Mastrantonio characters into learning things about themselves.
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Jason McKiernan, Filmcritic.com
less a battle of people and corporations than a battle between a fiery daughter and smug father
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Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
How far we've come! Here, it's still the youngster -- and the woman -- who needs to be put in her place.
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Cast
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Gene Hackmanas Jedediah Tucker Ward -
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonioas Maggie Ward -
Colin Frielsas Michael Grazier
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Joanna Merlinas Estelle Ward -
Laurence Fishburneas Nick Holbrook -
Donald Moffatas Quinn
