TBS Movie America's Prince

Originally titled America's Son, this cable-TV biopic of John F. Kennedy Jr. begins at the end, with the plane crash of July 19, 1999, that took the lives of Kennedy, his wife Caroline, and his sister-in-law. From this tragic vantage point, the film segues into flashbacks detailing the very public life of J.F.K. Sr.'s only son, of whom it was once said, "The world knew his name before he did." Based on The Day John Died, a book by George Andersen, the film intimates that "John-John" would have been happy charting his own course in life, but was instead channelled into following in the Kennedy tradition by his iron-willed mother Jacqueline (played by Jacqueline Bisset, who'd previously essayed an à clef version of Jackie O. in the theatrical feature The Greek Tycoon). Thus, John enters law school, where he is twice humiliated by failing to pass the bar exam. Finally, as editor of the high-profile George magazine, John can stand on his own merits and not as an adjunct of the Kennedy mystique. Naturally, the film devotes time aplenty to J.F.K. Jr.'s well-publicized romances, notably his lengthy association with actress Daryl Hannah (here played by Tara Chocol) and his ultimate marriage to Caroline Bessette (Portia de Rossi). Somewhat undercutting the credibility of the restaged scenes is the producers' utilization of interviews with the actual friends and associates of John Jr. -- not to mention film clips of the "real" Kennedy, employed as bridges between scenes. America's Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story debuted January 12, 2003, on TBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Many who saw this movie were disappointed. Myself included. There were many things that were not on the mark. Including changing up some real life events. I hope in time they come up with a better movie for John, Carolyn and family.

A World Not Quite Post-Kennedy

Think what a monster he might have been--what a corrupt, misshapen brat might have emerged from these 35 years of glamour, political power, tragedy, money, fame and relentless, drooling hype. A grotesque egotist might have been the best-case scenario.

Instead, the John Kennedy Jr. who walks across the Manhattan restaurant (not one head rising in recognition) turns out to be modest, well informed in an insider's way, well read over an unusual range of subjects, focused, funny and 20 or 30 I.Q. points brighter than the tabloids think he is. This night some months ago, we met to discuss work that Kennedy had been doing for years, without publicity: helping New York City health-care workers who do the most menial work get more education and thereby build careers in the field.

It's possible, of course, that John Kennedy Jr. suffers a little from Woody Allen disease (a coquettish tendency to place oneself in optimum paparazzi zones and then act surprised when the flash goes off). Kennedy also has something of his mother's gift for the sly Cheshire's disappearance before your eyes. Some primitives have believed that every photograph taken of a man peels off a layer of his soul. If that were so, nothing would be left of John Kennedy Jr. without his mother's trick of metaphysically absenting herself from the frame--a way of ghost dancing with both gawkers and the jackals of the press.