Alexandra Paul is perhaps different things to different people, but
to me she’s simply the statuesque brunette from erstwhile beach sudser Baywatch. I couldn’t really tell
you anything about her character or acting ability (sorry, I don’t remember her uncredited turn in Kuffs, and I never saw Diary of a Sex Addict), just that she was the one on
the show who at least seemed not to be a complete bimbo. (And yes, I’m definitely
including David Hasselhoff in that statement.) Oh! I remember something else. Paul also appeared in Who
Killed the Electric Car?,
a great documentary from last year, so I can also happily report that she’s environmentally
conscious.
penned by — depending on which set of credits you choose to believe — Jason Burke
and Peter Sullivan or Jason Preston and Peter Sullivan, Trapped is a
made-for-cheap-thrills TV thriller starring Paul that unfolds over the course
of one weekend but, naturally, dramatically changes the lives of everyone
involved. Originally aired on the Here! cable channel last year (where it also
sported an exclamation mark of its designation after its indistinctive title),
the movie stars Paul as Samantha, an Internet security expert struggling to
balance work, her relationship with her girlfriend and being a good mother to
her temperamental teenage daughter, Gwen. While on their way to a spa for some quality
mother/daughter time, the pair is kidnapped by the mysterious Adrien (Breaking
Away’s Dennis Christopher). Using Gwen as leverage, Adrien forces Samantha
to use her computer skills to hack into an FBI database and locate a woman
hidden in the Witness Protection Program. In the obligatory race against time,
Samantha must break free from her kidnappers, save her daughter and foil Adrien’s
plot to hunt down and kill the witness. Why? Because having a mother that’s able
to be charged with accessory to murder would definitely not only further cramp
mother-daughter relations, but also put a big dent in potential college
admissions applications and scholarships. Michelle Wolff and Nicholas Turturro costar
and bring a bit of edge to their characters that certainly isn’t on the page,
but Trapped is a mortgage-and-rent project in almost every regard. Not that there’s
anything necessarily wrong with that… I’m just sayin’. If a flyweight, lesbian-tinged thriller of
fleeting diversion and/or Alexandra Paul are your respective cups of tea, Trapped
won’t necessarily feel like a sentence. Otherwise, there’s little of
consequence to be seen here.
comes with a solid little Dolby digital 5.1 English sound mix. There are
unfortunately no subtitles (sorry, China!), nor any DVD supplemental features contained herein. C- (Movie) C- (Disc)