The Diamond Trap has two things going for it: the presence of the avuncular Howard Hesseman in the lead role and some decent location footage shot in and around London, an unusual luxury for a made-for-TV film. Unfortunately the film is also saddled with a truly wretched performance by Brooke Shields, whose attempts at an English accent are quite bizarre. Nothing special, but if you can overlook Ms. Shields, an acceptable way to kill 90 minutes.
3 Reviews
Not quite a diamond, but not the prize in a cracker jax box either.
mark.waltz25 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I was expecting a complete fiasco from this comical heist film with a not so bad Brooke Shields as suspect #1 in the theft of a very valuable diamond from the Manhattan auction house where she works, taking the audience from the Big Apple to London where the truth is exposed. Yep, Brooke's British accent is phony, and her black eye that she claims she got from a boyfriend magically disappears. Detective Howard Hessman is the New York detective on the case, going from sexy partner Ed Marinaro in New York to none other than Twiggy in London.
While this definitely is not rocket science to figure out, it's a frequently charming and surprisingly better than average caper film that I had expected would be terrible but found myself having a good time with. Shields is only really bad when she's trying to speak with the British accent, even though she basically sleepwalks her way through the rest of the film. Fortunately, she's not the dominant force of the story, and Twiggy is a welcome replacement for her when they get to England until she pops back into the story again. Darren McGavin is very funny in his small role, and the location foorage is quite pleasant to look at. I found Hessman wrong what this card, and which kids switch roles with Marinaro.
While this definitely is not rocket science to figure out, it's a frequently charming and surprisingly better than average caper film that I had expected would be terrible but found myself having a good time with. Shields is only really bad when she's trying to speak with the British accent, even though she basically sleepwalks her way through the rest of the film. Fortunately, she's not the dominant force of the story, and Twiggy is a welcome replacement for her when they get to England until she pops back into the story again. Darren McGavin is very funny in his small role, and the location foorage is quite pleasant to look at. I found Hessman wrong what this card, and which kids switch roles with Marinaro.
BOOOOOOORRRRRING!!
thebrewmeisterphelps29 August 2003
Very boring detective movie. Couldn't they at least agree as to what era they were in? Howard Hesseman is weak and embarrassing. He almost makes Brooke Shields seem good. No, nothing could do that. She was completely unredeemable.
Originally, made for tv, but eventually released as film. My guess is that no network would have it. Most likely went straight to video, which is just a waste of good videotape.
The worst is that it's not bad enough to funny. Just boring tv detective shlock. I recommend the movie ROTOR one hundred times over this borefest.
Originally, made for tv, but eventually released as film. My guess is that no network would have it. Most likely went straight to video, which is just a waste of good videotape.
The worst is that it's not bad enough to funny. Just boring tv detective shlock. I recommend the movie ROTOR one hundred times over this borefest.
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