The Amy Fisher Story

The Amy Fisher Story
DVD cover
Genre	Crime Drama Romance Thriller
Written by	Janet Brownell
Directed by	Andy Tennant
Starring	Drew Barrymore Anthony John Denison Harley Jane Kozak Tom Mason
Music by	Michael Hoenig
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Andrew Adelson
Producers	Janet Brownell George W. Perkins
Production location	Vancouver
Cinematography	Glen MacPherson
Editor	Debra Neil-Fisher
Running time	96 min
Production company	ABC Productions (in association with) Andrew Adelson Company
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	January 3, 1993 (1993-01-03)

The Amy Fisher Story is a 1993 American television film dramatizing the events surrounding Amy Fisher's abuse as a teen by Joey Buttafuoco and her eventual conviction for aggravated assault for shooting Buttafuoco's wife. The film was produced by ABC and originally aired on that network; in 1993, it was released on VHS and in 2001 on DVD.

The film stars 17-year-old Drew Barrymore, as Amy Fisher. Anthony John Denison portrayed Joey Buttafuoco. It aired the same night and time as another movie on Amy Fisher starring Alyssa Milano for CBS. The ABC film garnered higher TV ratings and critical praise than the CBS version.

Plot summary

The story begins in 1992, as Amy Fisher lies in a hospital bed, with her mother sitting by her bedside. Earlier, she had attempted to commit suicide, but her parents caught her and took her to the hospital. As Amy rests in bed, she thinks back on her life, over the last two years, and her involvement with Joseph "Joey" Buttafuoco.

In 1991, Amy's parents bought her a brand new car, for her sixteenth birthday. Amy loves the car, but her parents don't want her to take advantage, by using it whenever she wants. After an argument with her parents, Amy spends her birthday at a friend's house. She had previously gone to a restaurant with them, and her father didn't like the fact that she was wearing such a revealing outfit (to keep the peace, Amy's mother told her outfit was lovely). She also flirted with the waiter, by looking at him with the corner of her eye, with a seductive smile on her face.

Amy gets into an accident, crashing her car. Her father takes her to Joey Buttafuoco's shop, to get it fixed. She flirts with Joey lightly, asking him a lot of questions about his personal life. She begins crashing her car on purpose, using it as an excuse to see Joey again. Eventually, the two begin an affair. He is in his mid-thirties, while she's in her teens (a minor). Amy becomes increasingly desperate about her relationship with Joey. She has strong feelings for him, and even though she knows he is married to his high school sweetheart, Mary Jo Buttafuoco, she constantly wants to spend time with him. When he refuses to leave Mary Jo, Amy decides to hire someone to kill her. All her potential accomplices prove unwilling to get the job done, so Amy eventually decides to kill Mary Jo, herself.

Amy goes to the Buttafuoco house and tells Mary Jo that Joey was cheating on her with Amy's younger sister. When Mary Jo expresses disbelief, Amy shows her the T-shirt that Joey gave her, but Mary Jo still doesn't believe Amy, saying that Joey gave that shirt to a lot of his customers. As Mary Jo is about to close the door on Amy, she takes out her gun and shoots Mary Jo in the head. The shot doesn't kill Mary Jo, but it leaves her face partially paralyzed for life.

Joey realizes it was Amy who shot his wife. Mary Jo confirms this, in a lineup. The reports of the shooting spread through the media, and Amy is given the nickname "Long Island Lolita".

Eventually, in late 1992, Amy is sentenced to five to fifteen years in jail. Joey Buttafuoco is convicted of statutory rape in October 1993 and served six months in prison.

Reception

The critic Camille Paglia dismissed the film, calling it "meandering" and criticizing reviewers for hailing it as the best of the three films that were made about Amy Fisher.

External links

• The Amy Fisher Story at IMDb