You might assume that the true story of a New Orleans bordello targeted by the FBI would be spicy stuff, but this TV movie could have used more seasoning.
Jeanette (Annabella Sciorra) runs the Canal Street brothel while her mother, Tommie (Ellen Burstyn), serves as receptionist-bookkeeper. Monica (Dominique Swain), Jeanette's daughter, works there in hands-on customer service even though she's uncomfortable with the family business and concerned about the welfare of her own baby girl. When the feds bust the place, the women have to decide whether to save themselves by threatening to expose some of their prominent clients.
Sciorra, Burstyn and Swain give solid performances, and the script sometimes shows an ironic sense of humor. ("Our issues are not typical," Monica points out when the women reluctantly visit a family counselor.) Unfortunately, the film generates little dramatic momentum as the characters air their resentments and hash over their legal troubles, and the writers seem on the fence about whether to deplore prostitution or wink at it.
