''Married to a Stranger'' is a 1997 American-Canadian

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

starring

Jaclyn Smith Jacquelyn Ellen "Jaclyn" Smith (born October 26, 1945) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is best known for her role as Kelly Garrett in the television series '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), and was the only original female lead ...

Robert Clohessy Robert Clohessy (born June 10, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Correctional Officer Sean Murphy on the HBO prison drama '' Oz'' from seasons 3–6, in addition to playing Officer Patrick Flaherty on the NBC police pro ...

and

Kim Coates Kim F. Coates (born February 21, 1958) is a Canadian–American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American films and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' and in the lead ...

. It premiered on The Family Channel on September 28, 1997. It was directed by Sidney J. Furie.

Plot

A middle-aged woman develops amnesia after a blow to the head, and can no longer remember anything that happened since age 16, including her husband and teenage daughter. Meagan has a 16-year-old daughter named Lacey, and has been married for 20 years. Her parents divorced and live in separate places. Meagan lives with her husband David, and daughter, and her mother lives with them. Seeking the help of a psychiatrist tries to discover who she was and is. Meagan had an art scholarship in Paris, France; but never attended college and eloped because she was pregnant. She remembers seeking out colleges to attend and wanted to know why she never went to college. Meagan can not live with her father because they have the same fights they had when she was sixteen: her music is too loud, he is annoyed with her painting, etc. Meagan returns to her psychiatrist Jesse and expresses the desire to live alone, so he tells her about an apartment his friends owns. Meagan lives alone and starts to paint. Meagan takes a class for painting and she goes on a tutorial in Italy. Megan must decide to stay with a family who are strangers or to pursue her love of painting in Europe. Meagan and David go on dates to try to reunite, David is jealous over Jesse and blames him for Meagan moving out on her own. Meagan feels trapped and tells David that she must move forward in order to determine if they can resolve their lives together. David gives her the money to "Go forward" with a ticket to Italy. Meagan remembers her marriage with the picture that she painted. She talked about the wedding and how David gave her the night sky as a wedding gift, and picked roses for her to walk down the isle holding as they eloped. She went to Italy while sitting in the airport David shows up because Meagan had bought him back his car with roses on the hood. She decides to not go to Italy. Meagan and David go out and dance under the open sky, and he proposes to her. They get remarried and she asks her father to give her away. Later while speaking with her mother Meagan learns that she and David lost her son, Douglas while on the way to the hospital they had a wreck. The baby died. Everyone is at the wedding, but Meagan is missing, so David knows that she is at the graveyard looking at Douglas' grave. Meagan has fears of what other memories she may remember. David and Meagan chose the face the unknown together and they skip out on their wedding on the motorcycle and the movies ends.

Cast

as Megan Potter *

as David Potter *

as Dr. Jesse Bethan *

Ed Lauter Edward Matthew Lauter Jr. ( ; October 30, 1938 – October 16, 2013) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He appeared in more than 200 films and TV series episodes in a career that spanned over 40 years. Early life Lauter was born and ...

as Harry, Megan's Father *

Lorena Gale Lorena Gale (May 9, 1958 – June 21, 2009) was a Canadian actress, playwright and theatre director. She was active onstage and in films and television since the 1980s. She also authored two award-winning plays, ''Angélique'' and ''Je me so ...

as Jerry, David's Assistant *

Katharine Isabelle Katharine Isobel Murray (born November 2, 1981), known professionally as Katharine Isabelle, is a Canadian actress. She has been described as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror films. She started her acting career in 1989, playing ...

as Lacey Potter *

Louise Fletcher Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress who portrayed the antagonist Nurse Ratched in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress, a BAFTA Award, a ...

as Nana, Megan's Mother

Reception

''Variety'' said, "Production as designed by Brian Davie is handsome, and David Geddes’ camerawork catches the Smith beauty and that of the Vancouver locations. Paul Zaza’s score is pretty but undistinguished."

References

External links

* {{Sidney J. Furie 1997 television films 1997 films 1997 romantic drama films ABC Family original films American romantic drama films Films about marriage English-language Canadian films Canadian romantic drama films MTM Enterprises films Films directed by Sidney J. Furie Films scored by Paul Zaza American drama television films 1990s American films 1990s Canadian films