The Trial of Jane Fonda

“Would someone please tell me why anyone should give a shit about what Jane Fonda has to say?” These are the words of a disgruntled army veteran striding indignantly across the stage. One can only assume that writer/director Terry Jastrow meant for the depths of this man's ignorance to be immediately apparent to audiences, but the character actually makes a salient point.

Why should anyone concern themselves with the politics of a particular Hollywood star, regardless of how many enjoyable movies and successful fitness tapes they've appeared in over the years? The posters promoting this transplanted courtroom drama suggest that we make up our own minds regarding the extent to which Fonda loved America in the '60s, but it turns out that Jastrow has decided to do this for us. Perhaps he sensed the apathy with which this flaccid dramatisation would be met.

It's true that Fonda's diplomatic behaviour during the American offensive on Vietnam sparked a great deal of controversy at the time, her decision to pose for photos atop the enemy's artillery alienating many a US servicemen. Likewise, the late '80s really did see her spend an afternoon in Waterbury, Connecticut, confronting war veterans intent on boycotting location shoots for the much maligned romantic drama Stanley and Iris. For her to win the respect of these men must have been a major personal victory, but there's absolutely no satisfaction to be had from watching an infallable celebrity triumph over an assortment of scarred blue collar Joes, as we do here.