Jennifer: A Woman's Story (1979) starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Bradford Dillman, Scott Hylands, James Booth directed by Guy Green Movie Review

Jennifer: A Woman's Story (1979)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Elizabeth Montgomery and Bradford Dillman in Jennifer: A Woman's Story (1979)

Battle in the Boardroom

Jennifer (Elizabeth Montgomery) and her husband Donald Prince (Bradford Dillman) have it all, 2 children, a mansion and a very successful company. The trouble is that when they decided to have a family Jennifer gave up working alongside Donald to be a mum and since then he has started to wander and is not good at hiding things. It leads to Jennifer to consider divorcing him but before she decides he dies after suffering a heart attack in the bed of his lover. Knowing that she can't carry on the way she is Jennifer decides she is going to take Donald's place running the company but finds herself coming up against the board, a group of suits with very traditional values when it comes to women including one who sees Jennifer as an attractive woman to flirt with.

I cannot be sure but I wouldn't be surprised if the romantic music which is used time and again in "Jennifer: A Woman's Story" is also used in other movies and in particular Danielle Steel movies, it has that certain air of familiarity about it and not in a good way. In fact all the music in "Jennifer: A Woman's Story" is familiar and frankly it does nothing for the movie other than aid in making it forgettable. The thing is that "Jennifer: A Woman's Story" shouldn't be about the music but it is ironically the most memorable thing about a forgettable movie.

Doris Roberts in Jennifer: A Woman's Story (1979)

"Jennifer: A Woman's Story" shouldn't be that forgettable as here we have a woman not only dealing with her husband's infidelity but taking control of her life to take over the running of the business. But everything about it is on the thin side from the predictable way that Donald ends up having a heart attack whilst in bed with his lover to the sexism which Jennifer is confronted with as she tries to re-enter the world of business. It wouldn't be so bad if Jennifer battled her way back in to power and in control but this is one of those movies where things end up falling in to place for her shortly after the initial problem arises. I suppose what I am saying is that as a bit of 70's girl power it doesn't actually have much power.

So what "Jennifer: A Woman's Story" has is Elizabeth Montgomery giving us the sort of power dressing, big hair performance which started in the 70s and became the norm in the 80s especially in soap operas. I suppose for fans of the "Bewitched" actress watching her play a woman who takes control of her life and takes on the establishment will be fun but for those watching expecting depth will find it all a bit shallow. But Montgomery is not the only one who delivers a shallow performance and the actors performances are all typical of the era.

What this all boils down to is where once "Jennifer: A Woman's Story" may have resonated strongly with an audience it now seems extremely shallow and light weight with the only strong thing being the late 70s styling. As I said fans of Elizabeth Montgomery might enjoy it but for others it is likely to come across as shallow and a bit too romanticized to be effective.


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