Balancing the Books (2009)

Balancing the Books (2009)

Good old Dina Meyer! She has such charisma that she is one of the few actresses who makes me watch television films or films that look like television films. I understand why she remains one of America’s favourite personalities to this day, but also why she arouses jealousy.

This fabulous actress, who is not without humour, has come a long way since the cult series Beverly Hills 90210 (1993-1994), where she began to gain her first fans. Her long-time admirers did not necessarily discover her in Starship Troopers (1997) or in the television series Nightwish (2002-2003), nor even in the Saw saga, where she had a major role in the first three films (i.e. from 2004 to 2006, but she can still be seen in flashbacks in the 2007 film).

Dina mainly acts in independent films, although she has also appeared in films such as Johnny Mnemonic (1995), Dragonheart (1996), Bats (1999), Deadly Little Secrets (2001), etc.

In 1997, she played a small role in Friends and appeared in three episodes. But obviously, I can’t mention all of her countless appearances on screen here. As usual, her performance here is outstanding.

Here, we get straight to the point in less than three minutes. The tone is set very quickly.

It’s always a pleasure to see Lea Thompson again, the American actress, producer and director best known for her role as Marty McFly’s mother in the Back to the Future trilogy. In any case, that’s where she made the biggest impression on us!

I really liked Lela Rochon. At least in this role. And I didn’t expect to see Ernie Hudson here at all. What a pleasure to see our fourth Ghostbuster again, even if it is only a small role!

This television film is really good. It is one of those feature films that breaks the fourth wall. That is to say, one or more actors look at the camera and make contact with the viewer, who, in theory, can see the characters but cannot be seen. The fourth wall is broken in films as diverse as Eden Lake (2008), Calibre (2018), Funny Games (1997) and its remake Funny Games U.S. (2008), Deadpool (2016), Fight Club (1999), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), Psycho (1960 and its 1998 remake) and The Marx Brothers did it too!
When you have been abused, but you don’t want to go to the police, who may not necessarily believe you, to whom you will have to justify yourself and give countless explanations that bring the nightmare back to life. Then it will be the journalists who will expose the worst moment of your life to the general public.

When you are raped, all you want to do is wash for hours… but that is also how you destroy the evidence. It’s a real ordeal…

Good suspense, decent dialogue, good pacing. I admit that television films make you feel safe, because you can concentrate more on the story without having to look away at the sight of bullets in people’s heads or throats being slit. Well… unless it’s based on a Stephen King book, of course! But those won’t be shown in the middle of the afternoon in broad daylight.

In any case, I really enjoyed it. There may be one or two moments where the action starts to drag a bit, but overall it’s a good thriller with a slightly ridiculous ending, but I can easily forgive that. It just won’t make it a great film, or a masterpiece, but being very good is not bad at all.