Jane Doe: The Wrong Face (2005)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Just perfect...

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

In "Jane Doe: The Wrong Face," prosecutor Phil Rafelson's wife Caroline goes into the hospital for plastic surgery. When the bandages come off, it's not his wife, but a teenage girl who takes off. His wife has been kidnapped by a drug dealer who wants the charges dropped. Frank Darnell (Joe Penny) calls in housewife Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson).The best thing about the "Jane Doe" series, or, in fact, any of the Hallmark shows, is that it gives one a chance to see some of the old mainstays of television again. Thompson is a pleasant actress; Joe Penny deserves better, but these days, we take him where we can get him. In this episode, former One Life to Live star Brynn Thayer plays a nurse, and, of course, Billy Moses is on hand as Kathy's husband. Also in this episode were Twin Peaks star Ray Wise and Crazy Like a Fox's John Rubinstein. So for us boomers, it was like old home week.The Jane Doe series is more interesting than Mystery Woman or McBride with its Scarecrow and Mrs. King type thing happening. Thompson, however, doesn't quite have Kate Jackson's attack on the material, and the pace of these shows is on the slow side. Not much in the way of pizazz but okay mindless entertainment.

I've never been a fan of Leah Thompson, although she's good at comedy, I've never thought her capable of great drama. My opinion is borne out by her Jane Doe series. This installment is little different from the others I've seen.She's a wife, mother, secret agent. As with other secret agent/housewife vehicles (Mr. & Mr. Smith, etc.), she runs herself slightly ragged hiding her *other* job from her husband and children. The premise is that she works for a puzzle game company, but the puzzles she actually solves have to do with high-level crimes.As an agent of the fictional "CSA," Jane Doe outwits her boss, played by Joe Penny, every time. Which, of course, only makes her more valuable with every new film.Billy Moses plays her husband, and he's as sweet and supportive as can be. Almost too much so, as if my partner were running around at all hours and disappearing, I'd want to know why. Jane Doe's family is just *too* perfect, with no terrible issues that embroil the rest of humanity.I enjoy these movies, and "The Wrong Face" is one of them. They're a nice, uncomplicated way to spend a couple of hours when the chores are done, and there's nothing else you'd rather do.Just a note to the other commenter: Jane Doe and "Mystery Woman" are two different series, not the same one. You've gotten yourself confused.

With the feds closing in on his operations, drug dealer Alex Brant decides to step up the pressure on those that are after him by kidnapping the wife of district prosecutor Phil Rafelson. Coincidently Caroline Rafeslon is in hospital for plastic surgery to her face but, when the bandages are removed it is not her but a younger woman that is revealed. Before Phil can say "value for money" the woman has fled the hospital and soon he gets a call from someone saying they have his wife and he needs to do what they say. With the need for Phil to be on top form for his case, Frank Darnell turns to Jane Doe for help to solve the mystery.This was my first look at the Jane Doe series and, before pressing play, I didn't even know it existed. The presence of Perry Mason regular Moses and a few other names I knew made me think that I should give it a go and maybe find a new detective film series to start finding. The plot here is reasonably good and is delivered with a nice pace to it that helps cover up how very thin it is at times. The main problem I had was that I didn't get a feel for who Jane Doe was as a character – she is a mix of housewife and secret agent for the government but her homely approach to life didn't really endear her to me, nor did it work within the mystery. For example, Columbo has his mannerisms but they are part of the formula whereas here I wasn't sure what Jane brought to the party.Lea Thompson is quite good in the lead regardless though and she was quite fun. However she should thank her stars for the hefty presence of Penny, who made the film seem a bit tougher by his mere size and delivery. The support cast features some nice turns from Starr and Wise but the presence of faces and names I recognised just made it easier to figure out who was the bad guys and not. Overall though, the standard was OK for a TVM mystery and I found it relatively breezy and easy to just watch. Not enough of a hook to it to make me seek out any more of the Jane Doe films but if I get the chance I'll take a look at another one on the basis that this was average.

The previous poster commented on JANE DOE: TILL DEATH DO US PART. This is the one that aired last night 3/11/05 and I think the entire cast was superb. I'm so looking forward to yet another season of JANE DOE. Love the chemistry between the adults. I think Lea, Joe, and Billy all were just wonderful in TILL DEATH DO US PART. Cathy and Jack have this wonderful marriage. I would however like to see Jack continue to be wiser than he had been in the previous 2 movies. It seemed he was too trusting and unsuspecting. I'm a big fan of Billy Moses who plays Jack and I think he's extremely talented and unfortunately his talents aren't used as much as I'd love to see them used. I'm hoping to see him get more airtime in the future movies. :)