Emma Callendar (Wiseguy)

Emma Callendar

Emma Callendar is the villainess of "Wiseguy", a 1996 tv movie continuation of the 80s series. She was portrayed by Debrah Farentino.

Summary

Federal Agent Vinnie Terranova is deployed undercover to take down crime boss/insider trader Paul Callendar. He gets his in by working as a waiter for Callendar's garden party, where he meets Emma Callendar, Paul's wife. During the party, a kidnapping attempt(staged by Vinnie & his superiors) on Paul's & Emma's son Alex happens, & Vinnie reacts by going to save him & succeeds. After a background check, Paul offers Vinnie the job of Alex's bodyguard w/a big salary out of gratitude. He ultimately takes the job, but soon moves to a position getting him closer to Paul, upsetting Emma. He reassures her & she makes a pass at him before hesitating. Paul & Vinnie have a small talk by the pool one evening. The next morning, Paul is discoved face-down dead in the water, as Vinnie is awakened by the authorities & comes out to see Emma & Alex on the balcony, horrified.

At Paul’s wake, Emma makes the decision to head the company & asks Vinnie to stay & work at her side, which he agrees to. Days after, he accompanies her to the office in the city. There, she announces that she won’t be selling the company & plans to restart a deal w/a Korean group, an illegal deal that Paul had turned down & Vinnie was investigating. This news gives Vinnie a shocked reaction as he realizes that Emma was on board from the start, or as her computer whiz Eric stated, it was like saying “God was in on The Creation” & calling it “The Emma Show”. This prompted the revelation from right-hand man Dave that Emma had Paul killed because he wouldn’t do the deal. In the limo ride from the office, Vinnie is visibly upset & Emma basically tells him to get over it. He ends the conversation w/a sarcastic “you’re the boss”.

Later that night, Emma greets Vinnie in the shower w/a towel, and they have sex. Afterwards, they lay in the bed and talk, when she reveals that she knows he’s an undercover agent, down to his badge number. She tells him that she didn’t kill Paul as reassurance, and the scene ends w/his uncertainty. The next day Emma, Vinnie, Dave & Eric go to meet w/the Koreans, with Vinnie playing the head due to customs. When Eric hesitates to complete the deal (“I could fry for this”), Emma hits the key to transfer the data, to Vinnie’s hesitated reaction.

The four celebrate in Emma’s limo w/champagne. There, Vinnie finds out that the Korean deal wasn’t the last deal & there were plans for more. Here, they reach the police roadblock Vinnie called in, to Emma’s horror. Emma, Dave & Eric are then arrested, to Vinnie’s disappointment. Emma is placed into the squad, alluringly staring at Vinnie the whole time. The film ends w/Vinnie reconciling with Alex.

Quotes

• "I loved Paul. I really did."-Emma at the notion of Paul's death being at her order
• "Don't even try to explain. You're the one who lost today and you don't even know it."-In the limo at the roadblock

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