Caterina Scorsone is back! Back in the USA, anyway. She is currently working in a series that shows on Lifetime called 1-800-MISSING. I first noticed her years ago in a guest appearance on Flash Forward in 1996. Her character, Darby "Something", was required to flirt with Ben Foster's Tucker and also be generally cute and coy and she was wonderful. I saw that she was talented from that brief guest spot and wanted to watch her career develop. She has been active since then, but her movie roles have been small and her Canadian TV series haven't been exported to the US. But now she's back and I'm pleased to report that my initial impressions were not wrong. She's great. As Jess Mastriani in 1-800-MISSING so much of what she communicates is not merely in her voice, but in the way she moves—her body language is amazing.

Young actresses are of special interest because they often have an effervescent charisma that older actors don't have. Possibly it is youth or merely naïvete that makes them that way. Unfortunately, many young actors seem to lose that charisma with age. Caterina Scorsone is now about 23 years old and she still has the magic. Additionally, young Canadian actors all seem to come from a school that teaches them how to be fresh, honest, and not full of the pretense that often makes Hollywood actors so dull. Did I mention that Caterina is Canadian?

Something that I am very anxious to see is the film Borderline Normal, but unfortunately, it is not available on DVD. Here are excerpts of some very intriguing reviews at The Internet Movie Database:

I avoided reviewing this movie for a while in fear of jumping on the bandwagon, but I have to say it: Caterina Scorsone is fantastic in this movie! This is the most wildly engaging performance I have ever seen in such an odd, and, on the whole, mundane movie... the real reason to see this movie is Caterina Scorsone. Her performance is mesmerizing, and while she is not hard on the eyes, it really is her charisma that is so infectious. Wow... ~ Griffin X

The story is good, the acting is good overall, especially Catarina Scorsone. Her performance is absolutely smashing. Hopefully she'll get some more recognition in the future... ~ Schnookie

... Catarina Scorsone was fabulous! ... ~ Bundo

... And some great performances (Caterina Scorsone is amazing...who on earth is she???) ... ~ Langdon

Caterina was nominated for a Gemini award in 1999 for her role in Power Play in the category: "Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series"

Talent is paramount in acting with beauty being of only secondary importance—something Hollywood doesn't understand. So having briefly addressed the issue of talent, we can now move on to good looks. Caterina would probably not be considered by the majority to be conventionaly beautiful, but she has her own unique girl-next-door look. Her beauty is classic—like that of actresses in those black and white publicity photos from the 30s and 40s. When she wears the gray pinstripe suit with padded shoulders as Jess Mastriani she makes me think of Lauren Bacall playing opposite Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not. And the dimple is adorable. I had a difficult time selecting the pictures for the 1-800-MISSING gallery. She can simply tilt her head from one side to the other and instantly create a completely different but equally interesting look. She has so many faces—and this is part of her magic.