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Amos Lassen wrote on 08/12/2011:

When Terry and Samantha Succi are arrested and charged with fraud, we get a look at the American legal system in quite a different way. It seems that Terry and Samantha are not the man and women they claim to be. They married under false pretenses and ignored their state law that prohibits homosexual partners from receiving the same rights and benefits as their heterosexual counterparts. The governor, in order to protect his anti-gay marriage bill, arranges for a plea agreement and end the case with a wrist slap and a guilty plea but Terry and Samantha prefer to fight and to get John DeMine, an arrogant and self-absorbed attorney to represent them. What happens next is a tremendous court battle that the media picks up on and views are divided and warfare takes place. The religious right wing violently invades the Succi home and the case is closed to the public and the courtroom becomes a war field and a stage for safety and justice. One affirmative act which decides freedom for women and the governor’s anti-gay marriage bill as well as the right to adopt all take place in this one courtroom.
There is a surprise ending and the movie deftly addresses gay marriage. Terry (Candice Holdorf) and Samantha (Elissa Goldstein) are very serious and emotional women as they act out a very real plot that soon becomes quite embroiled and deals with very real issues.
At first thought, I figured that this was a drama but as it moved forward and took some unexpected twists, I soon realized that there were comedic elements at play.
This is, you might say, a courtroom drama about the legalization and it is a sincere look at the issue but something happened in the process of making the movie that affects what could have been a cutting-edge film. Too much of what happens is not realistic and this hinders the plot. I mean by this, for example, that the married couple, Terry and Samantha did not actually pass the test of being a “regular” married couple. Terry never looked like a man and what is interesting is that as a same sex couple they were allowed to adopt. We all have heard the nightmarish experiences some gay couples have while trying to adopt a child.
The two were arrested for fraud and their child was put into the custody of Child Protection Services. When the governor (Justin Dean) learns of the case, he understands that this could hurt the bill to ban same sex marriage in New Jersey (the setting for the film) and so he tells the attorney general to get Terry and Samantha to plead guilty to something (anything) are then let them go with no real punishment.
The head of the underworld is “The Man in the White Suit” (Charles Durning), a neo Nazi type and former member of the Village People, who is now practicing law.
Surely some of the ideas here are very important but I believe the film lost sight of those. That does not mean that this is not a good movie but it could have been so much better. There is one character who will stay with you and that is Rob Moretti as Marty Pearce.