Brokedown Palace 1999

     Alice and Darlene have been best friends for a long time.  They decide they need to do something special before they start college.  They are going to take a trip to Thailand to celebrate their high-school graduation.  Darlene doesn’t tell her father they are going to Thailand, she tells him they are going to Hawaii.  They meet Australian Nick Parks.  He pays for their drinks after they had them charged to a hotel room that was not their room.  He convinces them to take a weekend side trip to Hong Kong.  At the airport they are caught smuggling drugs.  They are sentenced to 33 years and have a show only trial.  Yankee Hank is an American lawyer based in Thailand and he says he can help them with the courts.  Of course, this will require money from their families.

     Alice is headstrong and she has gotten into some kind of trouble all her life.  But, she always denies she has done what she is accused of?  This time the girls have been taken advantage of and they had no idea there were drugs in their bag.  The prison where Alice and Darlene are held is a hideous place.  Hank is trying to help them but they still have to live the reality of the prison.  They begin to doubt each other too.  I thought this was interesting and I was very glad not to be anywhere near this prison!!  The ending was unexpected??  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

100 min, Drama directed by Jonathan Kaplan with Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Pullman, Jacqueline Kim, Lou Diamond Phillips, Daniel Lapaine, Tom Amandes, Aimee Graham, John Doe, Kay Tong Lim, Beulah Quo, Henry O, Bahni Turpin, Amanda De Cadenet, Inthria Charoenpura.

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10, 31% critic 66% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Metacritic 44 out of 100 with 21 critics, Empire Online 3* out of 5*, Amazon 4.5*out of 5* with 189 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Bangkok, Don Mueang International Airport and Metro Manila, Philippines.  Originally, Jennifer Love Hewitt was to play the role of Darlene but she had scheduling conflicts.  Paul Walker formerly of the Fast and Furious Franchise has an uncredited cameo as a boyfriend in the opening moments of the film.  Claire Danes complained in an interview about the conditions in the Philippines.  She talked about the heat, humidity, filth, cockroaches, poor and disabled people.  She was declared “persona non grata” by the Philippine government and barred from entering the country.  She may not have been disappointed by this action??  This film was also banned in Thailand and filmed in the Philippines because of the unfavorable portrayal of Thailand.  The title comes from a song by the Grateful Dead.  The film was not a success and failed to make back half of its $25 million budget.  There are similarities in the plot and Return to Paradise of 1998.