Goodnight for Justice (2011)

Luke Perry plays John Goodnight, a Chicago lawyer turned cynical by lawyers, until he’s summoned to the governor’s office and dispatched to Wyoming as a justice of the peace.

Rebecca Shaw, the woman who raised him, is behind the appointment. Because she knows John needs to return to the West to quell old demons.

When he was a young boy, his family was returning East after failing to make a go of homesteading. They happened to catch a ride in the same wagon as a Judge Shaw and his wife Rebecca.

Then outlaws attacked, looking for revenge against the judge. By the time the gun battle ended, both of John’s parents were dead. So was Rebecca Shaw’s husband. The lone bandit to survive suffered a bullet wound to his leg.

So John heads to the most lawless land in the country and sets about settling disputes over public spitting, stolen chickens and fusses between spouses over the use of their bathtub.

Until he approaches a town called Crooked Stick and has to rescue a young woman named Kate Ramsey (Lara Gilchrist) from three men with less than honorable intentions.

Turns out that’s the least of the problems in Crooked Stick, where Dan Reed (Ron Lea) owns everything, including the sheriff, and routinely throws anyone with red skin into the town jail whether there’s reason to or not.

Oh, Dan Reed also walks with a limp from an old wound and is about the right age to have taken part in the massacre of Goodnight’s family.

Luke Perry as John Goodnight, holding court in a school house in Goodnight for Justice (2011)

Lara Gilchrist as Kate Ramsey, meeting new judge John Goodnight in Goodnight for Justice (2011)

Review:

Luke Perry makes for a splendid John Goodnight, Lara Gilchrist is entertaining as the too-talkative gal who quickly falls for him. And the script’s more light-hearted moments are welcome since it also gets ways too preachy at times.

But there’s the ludicrous twist during the climatic showdown, a twist like you might find in a 1950s low-budget B Western. Despite it all, the film’s pretty entertaining, not to mention something of a curiosity since it reunites Perry and his former 90210 co-star Jason Priestley.

Judging from the interviews at the end, Perry was a driving force behind the project and convinced Priestley to direct, even though he’d never done a Western before. Followed by a sequel: “Goodnight for Justice: The Measure of a Man.”

Ron Lea as Dan Reed, warning John Goodnight that it might be best if he left town in Goodnight for Justice (2011)

Darryl Shuttleworth as the Crooked Stick sheriff under Dan Reed’s thumb in Goodnight for Justice (2011)

Directed by:
Jason Priestley

Cast:
Luke Perry … John Goodnight
Lara Gilchrist … Kate Ramsey
Ron Lea … Dan Reed
Winston Rekert … Frank LeGrange
Tom Butler … Judge Shaw
Gabriella Rose … Rebecca Shaw
Sam Duke … Young John Goodnight
Adrian Hough … Mr. Goodnight
Ingrid Tesch … Mrs. Goodnight
Sean Wei Mah … Whitecloud
Darryl Shuttleworth … Sheriff

Runtime: 88 min.

Sean Wei Mah as Whitecloud, testifying before John Goodnight in Goodnight for Justice (2011)

Gabriella Rose as Rebecca Shaw, the woman who raised John Goodnight after his parents’ death in Goodnight for Justice (2011)

Memorable lines:

Rebecca Shaw to John Goodnight: “Just remember, there’s a difference between justice and revenge. Arles (her husband) knew that. And when the time comes, you will too.”

Saloon gal Ms. Landry as she kisses John after he’s found her innocent of assault: “I thought you didn’t take bribes.”
John: “If it happens after the trial, it ain’t no bribe.”

Kate Ramsey: “I’m just a little mistrustful of judges is all. I do hope you’re not like the last one.”
John Goodnight: “What was he like?”
Kate: “Bought, owned and, thankfully, dead now. You?”
John: “No. No. And not yet.”

Melanie Papalia as Miss Landry, testifying about stabbing an ‘upstanding citizen’ in Goodnight for Justice (2011)

Sam Duke as young John Goodnight as his family prepares to head East in Goodnight for Justice (2011)

Lara Gilchrist as Kate Ramsey, wondering whether she has a future with John Goodnight in Goodnight for Justice (2011)

Luke Perry as John Goodnight, facing off against Dan Reed in Goodnight for Justice (2011)