On Sunday, I turned the channel to the Lifetime Movie Network and I watched Roommate Regret!

Why Was I Watching It?

Because it was on the Lifetime Move Network!  It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to sit down and watch a Lifetime film and that’s a shame because my Lifetime reviews used to be a staple of this site.  After a rough two weeks, I figured it was time to start once again embracing the melodrama.

What Was It About?

Jessica (Maryana Dvorska) has just purchased her first house in Florida!  To help pay the mortgage, she is planning on renting out the spare bedroom.  A series of odd people come by the house and check out the room.  Jessica wants to rent the room to an eccentric lawyer but her best friend, Louisa (Veronica Long), insists that Jessica take a chance on Alec (Josh Cole), an English music producer who doesn’t have any credit but who swears that he’ll be able to pay her five months rent upfront as soon as his latest deal goes through.  Jessica is reluctant but Alec charms both her and Louisa by claiming to be an associate of rock star Preston Black (Sam Benjamin).

Jessica gives the room to Alec and …. well, not surprisingly, that turns out to be a mistake.  Alec is a terrible tenant who plays loud music and who regularly fights with the mysterious woman who comes to visit him.  Alec is also late with the rent and when he does pay, Jessica ends up getting arrested for passing counterfeit bills!  Jessica wants Alec out but complicating matters is that 1) Alec is now dating Louisa and 2) Alec does not want to leave.

What Worked?

This was actually a lot of fun, with an enjoyably melodramatic plot and a collection of quirky supporting characters.  Jessica was a likable enough character that I was willing to overlook the fact that she made some truly questionable decisions over the course of the film.  (Hey, who hasn’t made a questionable decision or two?)  My favorite character, however, was Louisa, who was just a pure force of nature and chaos.  She was the perfect best friend, the type who would support you while also encouraging you to live a little.

I appreciated the fact that, while Alec was definitely a bad guy, the film didn’t turn him into some sort of diabolic criminal mastermind.  For the most part, he was just a very bad and very sleazy tenant and an all-around dorky guy.  That was all that he really needed to be.  As a veteran Lifetime watcher, I spent the entire film waiting for him to murder someone and it was kind of a nice change-of-pace that he didn’t.

What Did Not Work?

Through no fault of actor Sam Benjamin, Preston Black was perhaps the world’s least convincing rock star.  Maybe if the film had been taking place 20 years in the past, I would have bought the character.

“OH MY GOD!  Just like me!” Moments

Beyond a shared appreciation for generic college sweatshirts and old movies, I can’t say that I had that much in common with Jessica.  She was much more practical-minded than I tend to be.  However, I did totally relate to Jessica’s fun-loving best friend, Louisa.  Even after learning she had been sleeping with a potentially violent criminal, Louisa remained enthusiastic about the prospect of meeting (or at least hearing the voice of) Preston Black.  Like me, Louisa was an optimist!

Lessons Learned

Just because someone has a cute accent, that doesn’t mean you should live with them.