Last night, Lisa Marie and I watched Lake Lavon on Tubi, just because it was filmed in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and we wanted to see if we recognized any of the shooting locations.

An hour into the movie, there’s a scene where Bob (Vincent Charles Marquez) is reunited with his ex-girlfriend Avery (Mallory Florey).  They go to Lake Lavon, which is a lake down here in Dallas.  Bob tells her that, in the two years since they broke up, he’s been checking up on her by looking at her social media.  “I didn’t see you carousing with any other men,” he says.

“What a jerk!” Lisa yelled.

“Red flag alert!” I said.

The weird thing about Lake Lavon is that Bob isn’t supposed to be a jerk, even though he is.  We’re supposed to like Bob, even though he’s a judgmental stalker who has the nerve to judge how his ex-girlfriend has been living, even though he’s the one who broke up with her.  I understand that this is a faith film and it’s trying to celebrate traditional values but Bob still comes across as being smug and judgmental.  Plus, who says “carousing with other men” in this day and age?  Who talks like that?  Serial killers, that’s who.

Lake Lavon was filmed in Dallas and Lisa and I recognized almost every location in the movie.  We’ve been to Lake Lavon more times than I can count!  I enjoyed seeing all the familiar places while I watched the movie but I’ve never been more turned off by a love story than I was by the one in this film.  Everyone in the movie acts like Bob is perfect.  Everyone judges Avery because she’s had a lot of boyfriends in the past.  Avery admits that she doesn’t go to church and everyone worries that Bob is getting involved with a fallen woman.  Bob breaks up with Avery over a stupid misunderstanding but everyone still acts as if it was Avery’s fault.  Bob and Avery get engaged but after Avery is nearly raped by her stepfather, Bob says it’s because they haven’t declared their love in front of God so even that is somehow presented as being Avery’s fault.  The movie may have been filmed in Dallas but it was set in Red Flag City!