Woman Wanted: A Messy But Fun Ride

Should you watch this?

If you like movies where the plot moves so fast that nobody has time to actually check if the logic holds up, you’ll dig Woman Wanted. If you need your courtroom dramas to be realistic or at least follow the basic laws of physics, stay far away. It’s for the folks who want a quick, slightly unhinged blast from the past.

The whole thing kicks off with a car crash that feels like it was staged by someone who had never actually seen a vehicle in motion. One minute we are in a courtroom, the next minute we are in a ditch. It’s abrupt. It’s silly. It’s perfect.

The Lawyer Problem

Tony Baxter is the kind of guy who just decides, "Yeah, I’ll harbor a fugitive because she looks nice." His logic is nonexistent, but honestly, you stop caring because Joel McCrea is just so damn charming that you forgive the guy for being a total idiot. He makes decisions that would get his license revoked in ten seconds flat, but he plays it so cool that you almost forget he’s committing a felony.

• The prison transport scene is pure chaos.
• The dialogue sounds like it was written on the back of a napkin during lunch.
• Nobody seems to notice the massive car wreck in the middle of the road.

There is this one scene where they are hiding out and the tension is supposed to be high, but it just feels like they are hanging out at a backyard barbecue. It’s weirdly comforting. It reminds me a bit of the frantic pacing in The Woman Accused, though this one has a lot less dignity and a lot more shrug-worthy plot holes.

I found myself wondering if anyone in this movie has a job, or if they just spend their entire day driving around dodging police sirens. It’s a lightweight film that doesn't try to be profound. It just wants to get to the next scene where someone is running away. 🏃‍♂️

If you have a free hour and want something that doesn't ask for your brain to be fully turned on, this works. Just don't think about the legal side of things, or the whole movie falls apart like a wet paper bag. It’s not Two Lovers by any stretch, but it knows exactly what kind of B-movie trash it is, and it wears that badge with pride.