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Confession time: I have a fascination with the independent horror suspense movies made by TV actors in between seasons of their shows. I like to call them "How I Spent My Summer Hiatus" movies, and the more actors in them from different TV shows, the better. For instance, while The Canyon just had cast members from Chuck and 24, Killer Movie had people from Lost, Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries and The Big Bang Theory. But Stolen (a.k.a. Stolen Lives) may be one of the greatest HISMSH films of all time, as it features actors from a whopping seven different current TV shows. The story is pretty good, too, but to say that's why I watched it would be a lie.
Stolen stars Mad Men's Jon Hamm as a cop tortured by the disappearance of his son eight years ago who is growing further and further apart from his wife, played by Rhona Mitra (who, although a movie star, was also on a season of Nip/Tuck and will soon join the cast of Sanctuary). When a body turns up, he thinks it's his son, until he finds out the body is 50 years old. That's when we start following the story of widower Matthew Wakefield (the movies-only Josh Lucas), who has to give up his house and leave two of his three sons with his sister-in-law so he can go find work. Unfortunately, her husband (played by Southland's Michael Cudlitz) won't let Matthew leave the youngest boy, John, who seems to be autistic, so Matthew has to take him along. In the next town, Matthew meets bored housewife Rose (Firefly alum and V alien Morena Baccarin) and finds construction work, where he leaves John in the car all day while he lays a foundation. He works alongside the college-educated "Diploma" (played by James Van Der Beek, formerly of Dawson's Creek, currently on Mercy) and the tough immigrant "Swede" (Holt McCallany of Heroes and the upcoming Lights Out). Obviously, John eventually goes missing -- I won't say how -- and that's when Jude Ciccolella (24, Prison Break, NCIS) turns up as the sheriff.
Granted, some of those roles aren't very big, but they're big enough to make this movie a treasure trove for people who watch a lot of TV. The acting is generally pretty good across the board, as long as you like simple country folk from the 1950s, because once Josh Lucas's story is introduced, we rarely cut back to Jon Hamm's storyline, and when we do nothing much happens. But eventually the two storylines come together in the end, and both mysteries are solved, thanks to some awesome old-age makeup and some incredibly damning evidence. And be on the lookout for changes in Jon Hamm's hair length, because he goes back and forth between a boring modern-day cut and his floppy Don Draper/30 Rock hair. They must have done some reshoots at some point after Mad Men had started up again, which is just more of the magic of HISMSH.
Stolen is on Video on Demand now, but it opens at the Clearview Chelsea in New York City on May 12 and at the Sunset 5 in Los Angeles on May 19. If you see it, let us know what you thought; otherwise just let us know your favorite HISMSH movie!
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