... and it's a rather smart story at that, although I seem almost alone in that opinion given the other reviews. I remember the commercials for this when it first came on - I was not quite 17 - and the commercials gave the impression that the victim was some kind of male chauvinist who was raped by a woman and thus given a lesson in empathy. Those commercials were completely misleading.
Everyone else is right about one thing - this will never be on DVD and NEVER be given another run on any TV channel, cable or broadcast. That was why I was grateful somebody put it up on youtube, where anything goes that is not pornographic.
Paul Sorvino plays Harry Walters, and the initial scene has him dressing for a Rotary Club dinner with complete instructions from his wife. He lives in a big house he does not like because his father-in-law wants his daughter to look successful, his father-in-law made the sizable down payment, and we later learn that Harry wanted to be a teacher, but again, the father-in-law interfered and convinced him to join the family business and sell real estate. In short, Harry Walters has spent the last 20 years of his life being a complete doormat to the wishes of his wife and in-laws.
Then comes the life changing moment. When his car breaks down on the way back from the Rotary Club dinner a beautiful well dressed "respectable looking" woman offers him a ride. However, instead of taking him home, she drives on a deserted road, forces him to remove all of his clothing at gunpoint and rapes him. Like so many women, Harry would probably have said nothing to anyone about this, but she dumps him in the middle of nowhere completely naked. He steals an apron from a woman's clothesline to cover himself. The homeowner sees this and calls the police who wind up arresting Harry!
So Harry goes to the police station as a perp not a victim, and here is where there are so many parallels to what happened to women then, and still happens 41 years later. Nobody believes his story. He wants to talk to a male officer about the rape - request denied. Nobody shows any compassion. He is asked if he liked it. He is asked details about a crime he would rather forget. People question how he was dressed when he was picked up by the woman and how he was acting. Does any of this sound familiar ladies...and gents? Worse, a local newspaperman who hangs out in the police station gets wind of the story and prints all of the details, and Harry's name, on the front page. At work he is greeted by snickers and pointing. His boss yells at him for making the firm look bad. At home his wife SAYS she believes him but she is treating him ...differently...like "damaged goods" although that phrase is never used.
The epiphany moment comes when Harry is faced with a choice. He can plead guilty to the indecent exposure charge and get a small fine, or he can fight. He chooses to fight against all advice and pressure from his attorney and wife. He says - and this is one line that would never get on TV today - "I've allowed it (rape) to happen my whole life." This time he is fighting back. He goes back to the police station and files charges against a woman whose identity is unknown, he pleads not guilty to his own charges, and gets the reporter who outed him in the papers to help him find the rapist with a composite sketch. How will this all work out? Watch and find out.
So the theme of this film is working on two levels. It is saying that if men were (commonly) raped rather than women, maybe the system would work better and more compassionately. It is also telling people to "not sell out", go for your dreams, don't be a doormat, which was a common 60's-70s message. If you do ever see it, watch it in the context of its time, don't get offended like you are watching a film made last week. And also watch it for an early Paul Sorvino performance. He was so unknown when the film aired on TV that I didn't even remember he was the leading man until I recently watched it again.
Everyone else is right about one thing - this will never be on DVD and NEVER be given another run on any TV channel, cable or broadcast. That was why I was grateful somebody put it up on youtube, where anything goes that is not pornographic.
Paul Sorvino plays Harry Walters, and the initial scene has him dressing for a Rotary Club dinner with complete instructions from his wife. He lives in a big house he does not like because his father-in-law wants his daughter to look successful, his father-in-law made the sizable down payment, and we later learn that Harry wanted to be a teacher, but again, the father-in-law interfered and convinced him to join the family business and sell real estate. In short, Harry Walters has spent the last 20 years of his life being a complete doormat to the wishes of his wife and in-laws.
Then comes the life changing moment. When his car breaks down on the way back from the Rotary Club dinner a beautiful well dressed "respectable looking" woman offers him a ride. However, instead of taking him home, she drives on a deserted road, forces him to remove all of his clothing at gunpoint and rapes him. Like so many women, Harry would probably have said nothing to anyone about this, but she dumps him in the middle of nowhere completely naked. He steals an apron from a woman's clothesline to cover himself. The homeowner sees this and calls the police who wind up arresting Harry!
So Harry goes to the police station as a perp not a victim, and here is where there are so many parallels to what happened to women then, and still happens 41 years later. Nobody believes his story. He wants to talk to a male officer about the rape - request denied. Nobody shows any compassion. He is asked if he liked it. He is asked details about a crime he would rather forget. People question how he was dressed when he was picked up by the woman and how he was acting. Does any of this sound familiar ladies...and gents? Worse, a local newspaperman who hangs out in the police station gets wind of the story and prints all of the details, and Harry's name, on the front page. At work he is greeted by snickers and pointing. His boss yells at him for making the firm look bad. At home his wife SAYS she believes him but she is treating him ...differently...like "damaged goods" although that phrase is never used.
The epiphany moment comes when Harry is faced with a choice. He can plead guilty to the indecent exposure charge and get a small fine, or he can fight. He chooses to fight against all advice and pressure from his attorney and wife. He says - and this is one line that would never get on TV today - "I've allowed it (rape) to happen my whole life." This time he is fighting back. He goes back to the police station and files charges against a woman whose identity is unknown, he pleads not guilty to his own charges, and gets the reporter who outed him in the papers to help him find the rapist with a composite sketch. How will this all work out? Watch and find out.
So the theme of this film is working on two levels. It is saying that if men were (commonly) raped rather than women, maybe the system would work better and more compassionately. It is also telling people to "not sell out", go for your dreams, don't be a doormat, which was a common 60's-70s message. If you do ever see it, watch it in the context of its time, don't get offended like you are watching a film made last week. And also watch it for an early Paul Sorvino performance. He was so unknown when the film aired on TV that I didn't even remember he was the leading man until I recently watched it again.
