First of all, I love this underrated scene. It kind of sheds light on the Reagan administration's beliefs on morality. They have a picture of him facing the ex-husband smiling in approval. On the other side, is a picture of some man facing Amber Waves with a judgmental frown.
Does anybody know who this man is? I think knowing who this guy is will help enhance the scene for me even more.
A lot of government offices depending on their function have a picture of the current POTUS plus whatever official heads that department. I was in a government building just a week ago figuring out whose picture was next to Obama's. I also got curious about the same guy in the custody scene tonight. I'll have to wiki Reagan's cabinet and go from there.
shareGood observation.
No clue who the frowning man is, though. Some conservative in the government, no doubt.
It's a picture of Jerry Brown who was California's Democratic Governor from 1975-1983, and who is also the current Governor, 2011-present.
shareI don't think this has anything to do with "Reagan morality." This is a custody hearing, involving a small child. First off, the courts have always shown favor to the mother....but in a case (like here) where you have a mother that is a drug addict, had run ins with the law, and stars in pornographic movies....things are probably not going to go her way (nor should they.) It's the same now as it was then.
The bad news is you have houseguests. There is no good news.
Yeah, really. You could be a bleeding heart liberal and agree that house where they're always filming sex, doing anal in the driveway, and his own mother is coked out of her mind half the time is not an appropriate environment for a little kid.
shareAnd since this was a state court, not a federal court, there would not be a picture of Reagan. There would be a picture of the governor somewhere in the courthouse, but it would not be in the courtroom, especially not in back of the judge's bench.
shareIt kind of sheds light on the Reagan administration's beliefs on morality.
I thought Reagan was shown to underscore it was 1980 and the piper had to get paid. Family law judge was played by a former porn star and her questions were what any judge would ask no matter their politics.
Great scene all the way, and the cut from the judge asking when was the last time Amber was arrested to the shot of her sobbing in front of a brick wall as people passed by was brilliant symbolism about what her lifestyle had done for her.
@brinsonmh One of the best smash cuts I've seen in a long time. We don't see Amber's answer to the judge's question, or the judge's verdict, because we don't need to.
share@Imalwaysright7 I think you're reading too much into the pictures of Reagan. Like another poster said, I think the pictures of him are there to underscore that we're in the 1980s.
I think the judge would've denied custody to Amber after what her ex-husband and his lawyer said, no matter who the President was.
That's adult film actress Jane Hamilton (a.k.a. Veronica Hart) playing the judge in the custody scene. In real life Hamilton had to take legal action to retain custody of her children after she divorced her first husband.
I've been chasing grace/ But grace ain't easy to find