The Con (film)
| The Con | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy Crime Drama |
| Written by | William H. Macy Steven Schachter |
| Directed by | Steven Schachter |
| Starring | William H. Macy Rebecca De Mornay Mike Nussbaum |
| Theme music composer | Peter Manning Robinson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Bob Roe Howard Griffith (supervising producer) Jeff Henry (associate producer) Arturs Rusis (associate producer) |
| Cinematography | Peter Stein |
| Editor | Cari Coughlin |
| Running time | 1hr. 32 min. |
| Production companies | Mi Sammy Productions Wilshire Court Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | USA Network |
| Release | March 4, 1998 |
The Con is a 1998 television movie starring William H. Macy and Rebecca De Mornay. It was directed by Steven Schachter and written by Macy and Schachter, who shared the 1999 Lone Star Film & Television Award for Best TV Teleplay. The film aired on the USA Network.
Plot summary
Professional con woman Barbara Beaton (Rebecca De Mornay) botches one of her scams after a mark recognizes her partner, TJ. To her horror, she learns that TJ is now in debt to Detroit mobster Joe Charnin, who financed the scam and who now expects to be repaid in full for the money he lost on their arrangement. Barbara pleads with Charnin, who agrees to give her six weeks to pay him back. Barbara turns to her retired mentor, Harry, who learns through a crooked private investigator that a man named Bobby Sommerdinger is about to inherit two million dollars from his dying millionaire father's life insurance policy even though the two men have never met.
Barbara travels to Richmond, the small Mississippi town where Bobby lives, but soon discovers that he is a rough-living mechanic and unsophisticated hick whom she finds repulsive and unpleasant. When Harry makes it clear that she has no other options, Barbara agrees to try and get Bobby to marry her so she can gain access to his newfound fortune. After cutting and dyeing her blond hair to a dark brunette color, Barbara dons a pair of glasses and a practiced Southern accent before introducing herself as "Nancy Thorogood" to the local community. With Harry's help, she procures fake credentials and a reference so she can take a job teaching elementary school students, earning praise for her unusual teaching methods and even winning over Richmond's gruff town sheriff when she lies to protect his son Conroy from being expelled for stealing money from her purse.
As "Nancy", Barbara quickly grows close to Bobby, pushing him to start taking better care of his personal appearance and living habits while also learning about his passion for airplanes, music, and simple living. After they sleep together one night, she pretends to receive a phone call asking her to return home to Savannah and reveals to Bobby that she is pregnant with his child and has to leave because she doesn't want to deal with the shame of being an unwed mother. Bobby proposes to her on the spot, and by stealing a vial of urine from a pregnant woman, Barbara convinces his skeptical relatives that she is indeed bearing his child and must wed right away. Bobby receives the death certificate for his father and is moved by the sadness of realizing that he never knew his parents to compose a poem of love and passion for his rehearsal dinner with Barbara and her "dad" Harry.
Barbara finds that she is genuinely falling in love with Bobby. That night, TJ shows up and attacks Barbara, revealing that he knows she's working a new scam and threatening to kill her if she doesn't get Charnin his money in time. The next day, after they get married, Barbara surprises Bobby by taking him to Mexico for their honeymoon in a private plane. Upon returning home, Bobby meets with a lawyer who asks him to sign a document confirming that he is the rightful recipient of the insurance money. Bobby is reluctant to do so, explaining to Barbara that when his legal father, Ned Sommerdinger, found out about his wife having an affair, he beat her to death and wound up spending the rest of his life in prison. Because of this, Bobby has long hated his biological father and feels torn over accepting his money.
Barbara comforts him, saying that it's not his fault that his mother was killed. Barbara's situation becomes even more complicated when she learns that Bobby's half-siblings in Chicago are contesting their father's will, thus making it possible that Bobby will not inherit anything. She updates Harry, and then has dinner with Bobby's relatives, who give her two rings that belonged to his mother and grandmother as a symbol of their marriage. Harry calls her back, and reveals that not only are there no half-siblings, but the insurance money has already been paid out; he fears that Bobby has grown wise to the scheme. Moreover, TJ has been murdered by Charnin's men, and Barbara will likely be killed next unless she abandons Bobby and skips town.
The next day, Bobby goes to find Barbara after she fails to report for work, only to find her rooms empty and a note saying that she's sorry. However, she finds herself unable to break his heart and drives back to town. She reveals her real name to Bobby, who then shocks her by handing over a check in her name with the exact sum she needs to pay back Charnin. Before she can leave, Charnin's men shove her into a car and try to drive off before Barbara jumps out and flags down a tow truck to help her shake them. The goons corner her at a nearby dock before Bobby arrives and tries to scare them off with a shotgun. He gets easily knocked down and watches Barbara get shot before the goons take off and is unable to find her when he jumps in the water.
Bobby contacts Harry to inform him that Barbara is dead and tries to pick up the pieces of his life until Conroy finds him one morning and asks him to follow while his relatives are busy. The two are seen driving to a local animal hospital. The sheriff's department finds Barbara's drowned corpse, and the community raises funds to give her a proper funeral. Shortly before the coffin is to be incinerated, Charnin arrives with his men and insists on seeing Barbara's remains for himself. Satisfied that she is dead, he forgoes payment of her debt. Sometime later, Bobby prepares to leave Richmond and start over. As he drives out of town, Barbara is revealed to be hiding under him, having faked her death with sedative drugs provided by Harry and the help of the local authorities. She gives Bobby one last surprise by revealing that she really is pregnant with his child, and now they can raise a family together.
External links
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