Customer Reviews

Who is Clark Rockefeller?

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Who is Clark Rockefeller? He's a con man, well played by Eric Mccormack in this Lifetime made for TV movie, who discovers the doors that open in America for someone with the last name of Rockefeller. He woos and marries Sandra Boss (Sherry Stringfield) a woman who is brilliant in business and naïve socially. But most of the Boston social scene have been taken in by him. Its members are very tolerant of and even enchanted by the eccentricities of a man they think is a wealthy member of the Rockefeller clan.

After all, only a Rockefeller could have his dog attend his wedding, but not his family. He says he didn't want his famous relatives distracting from his bride on "her day." And of course he doesn't perform ordinary work. He spends his workday on the computer helping the economies of third world countries while his wife toils in the marketplace.

And when they have a daughter, the child adores him, probably because of his wonderful imagination and story telling abilities. But as the years go by, Sandra finds herself less enthralled by her husband, and asks for a divorce. That's when she learns that the man she married has absolutely nothing; that she has been the sole financial support of the marriage. Not only is her husband's persona a fake, but all his "valuable" property is fake as well, including his "original" oil paintings.

Nevertheless, she agrees to a settlement (he is the father of her child), but when he kidnaps their daughter while on a supervised visit, the police delve further into his past, and learn that this man is probably very dangerous, and is possibly a murderer.

This is a well-acted, engrossing movie, that takes place amid beautiful settings, and is based on a true story. Mystery lovers and romance lovers should both enjoy it.

Eric McCormack, you rock! I loved you in "Will & Grace" and really thought you were a great comedic actor. But your performance in this movie was superb. If you are an Eric McCormack fan, this movie is tops!

If you are wondering how close this film gets to the original story and how well the filmmakers did their research - well, they managed to even get the real name of the man wrong, adding a 't' in Gerhartsreiter and walking around calling him Gerhartstreiter all the time. They also could have made the wedding scene more realistic (as well as show how much creepier it must have been, not just by the fact that none of his family were there) if they had shown the Quaker ceremony which did not include an officiant. McCormack plays Clark as an effeminate poser while Stringfield tries to keep any kind of semblance of credibility by portraying a smart businesswoman who somehow is blinded by his charm. The best which could be said for the film is that it might just spark an interest to a story which is not only true but so much more interesting and gripping than portrayed here. If you would like to know how it was possible for a German immigrant without any credentials to fool dozens of people through decades of lies, read the book 'The man in the Rockefeller suit'. If you would like a mediocre rendering of the story to a film format with the allure of an impersonal kidnapping, go for this.

This little made-for-TV movie is based upon a true crime story. It held my interest enough for me to do a little research to learn the progress of post movie criminal case against the protagonist.

I rented this movie on a lark and enjoyed it. It really is not bad at all for a TV movie although it leaves out a lot of detail.

It whetted my appetite for the book, "The Man in the Rockefeller Suit" which tells a lot more. The movie focuses mostly on the period when the faux Rockefeller kidnapped his daughter, then tells the story of his marriage in flashback form. You get only a brief glimpse of his life before that point, even though that earlier period of his life is really just as interesting. I guess you'd need a four hour movie or more to really focus on the earlier events.

I believe this film does go too far in unfairly prejudicing the viewer into thinking that he may have killed two people. There is some circumstantial evidence that he may have done that but the case has yet to go to trial so the film should not make such broad insinuations.

The most interesting thing would be if Rockefeller, aka Gerhartsreiter would write a book himself, but that is not going to happen as long as he is behind bars.

Overall a decent portrayal with reasonable acting.

then don't watch this movie! Oh my gosh! I thought it would be a mystery/whodunit/chase film. Instead I got horrible washed up actors who should stick to TV. Luckily I only paid a buck for this rental @ redbox. If you insist on seeing this movie, I implore you to rent it first. If you then decide you can't live without owning it, then I feel sorry for you.
The only movie worse than this one that I've seen in a while is Once Fallen. Stay away from that stinker, too.