Last night, I watched the latest Lifetime premiere, The Wrong Cruise!
Why Was I Watching It?
Well, the obvious answer is that it was on Lifetime and I always watch Lifetime original films. I’m running a little bit behind in reviewing all of them and, for that, I apologize. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get caught up next week!
The other reason that I was watching The Wrong Cruise was because it was a “wrong” movie. As any regular Lifetime watcher knows, there are several different genres of Lifetime movies, each with their own quirks and rules. There’s the “Killer” movies, which usually feature Barbie Castro. There’s the “at 17” movies. There’s the “Deadly” movies. And then there’s the “Wrong” movies. Several of these films — including The Wrong Cruise — were directed by David DeCoteau and usually featured Vivica A. Fox and William McNamara in memorable supporting roles. The “Wrong” movies are always a lot of fun.
What Was It About?
Ever since her father died, teenager Sky Tanner (Sidney Nicole Rogers) has been acting out. After throwing a punch at track meet, Sky finds herself on the verge of being expelled from school! Uh-oh!
Fortunately, for Sky, it looks like she’s about to get a break from the stress of dealing with high school. Her mother, Claire (Vivica A. Fox), is booked on a cruise to Mexico and there’s no way that Claire’s going to leave Sky home alone.
At first, it seems like the perfect vacation! Claire meets a man named Dante (Andres Londono). Sky meets a teenage boy named Rico (Adrian Quinta). Love is in the air! Dante is charming and quite insistent that Claire go sailing with him. As for Rico, he’s willing to buy drinks for the underage Sky and he’s more than happy to show Sky around Mexico.
If, at this point, you’re saying, “I don’t trust either of them!,” you’re not alone. After you’ve seen enough Lifetime films, you know better than to trust any charming stranger. Add to that, while Sky is drinking with Rico and Claire is flirting with Dante, there’s a creepy ship’s mate (played by William McNamara) who seems to be determined to keep an eye on both of them. What’s up with that?
What Worked?
This one was a lot of fun, largely because Vivica A. Fox and Sidney Nicole Rogers were totally and completely believable as mother and daughter. Every time that Claire said something overprotective and Sky reacted by sighing and rolling her eyes, the more you found herself believing in their characters. When they inevitably ended up getting into trouble, the stakes felt real because the mother/daughter relationship felt real.
Londono and Quinta both did work as Dante and Rico but the film was ultimately stolen by William McNamara. For such a handsome actor, he’s really good at playing creepy Lifetime movie villains.
What Did Not Work?
I would have liked to have spent a little more time on the cruise ship. For a film called The Wrong Cruise, it seemed like the boat was a little underused. Then again, maybe I just want to go on a cruise…
“Oh my God! Just like me!” Moments
I didn’t run track in high school but, if I had, I would hope that I would have had just as combative an attitude towards my competitors as Sky had towards her’s.
Also, like Sky, I spent a lot of my teenage years rolling my eyes at overprotective parental figures.
Lessons Learned
Never get out of the boat.
