Lifetime Film Review: Fatal Fiancé (dir by Ben Meyerson)

Posted on January 4, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It should be the perfect wedding.

The location is beautiful. The weather is nice. The romance is in the air. The bridesmaids dresses aren’t hideous. The groom, Mark (Greg Perrow), is handsome and charming and no one seems to be too concerned with his mysterious past. In fact, Mark is such a romantic that he even insisted on not seeing Leah (Brittany Underwood) the night before the wedding. He is that dedicated to making sure that they have both the perfect wedding and the perfect honeymoon! Even his future mother-in-law likes him, though that seems to have more to do with his abs than his romantic nature.

Again, it should be the perfect wedding. There’s only one problem. No one can find the bride! Leah has yet to arrive for her own wedding. Is it possible that she got cold feet and hopped on a plane for tropical island? (That’s what her father suspects, as Leah apparently has a history of doing impulsive stuff like that.) Or could it be something more serious? Leah’s friends are concerned enough to call the police.

And, indeed, Leah has no absconded to the tropics. Instead, she’s being held prisoner by Faith (Camila Banus), a mentally unstable woman who insists that Leah is making a mistake by marrying “Brian.” But wait a minute …. Leah is marrying Mark! Who is this Brian that Faith keeping going on about? Has Leah mistaken Mark for another ex-boyfriend or is there something more sinister going on?

Well, you can probably guess the answer to all of those questions. Apparently, this film was originally entitled A Deadly Bridenapping, which is a bit of unwieldy title but which, at the same time, doesn’t reveal as much about the plot as a title like Fatal Fiancé does. As you can guess from the new title, Mark does have some secrets of his own and there’s a bit more to the kidnapping than just Faith being hung up on an ex-boyfriend. You’ll figure all of that out long before Leah does but that’s okay. That’s one of the pleasures of watching a Lifetime film, after all. We always want to be a step or two ahead of the leading character, the better for us to our shake our heads whenever they make a big and obvious mistake. Leah makes quite a few of them over the course of Fatal Fiancé.

Fatal Fiancé was a fun movie to watch. If the best Lifetime films can be described as being about beautiful people finding themselves in ugly situations, Fatal Fiancé delivered. Leah’s wedding dress was to die for and so were all the houses. There was plenty of melodrama and plenty of eye candy and really, what else do you need? Brittany Underwood was a sympathetic main character and Camilia Banus did a good job as the unstable Faith. Greg Perrow was both charming and menacing as Mark and he got to deliver a rant about pine nut allergies that really had to be seen to be believed. All in all, this was an entertaining movie about a wedding gone wrong.

Lifetime Film Review: Secrets In The Woods (dir by Sara Lohman)

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I have mixed feelings when it comes to the idea of camping.

On the one hand, I grew up in the Southwest. By the time I was 12, I had already lived in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Louisiana. My family moved a lot and there were times when we did live in the country. I’ve spent time on farms. I love the city a bit too much to ever be called a country girl but, at the same time, I could probably adapt if I ever had to enter the witness protection agency and they gave me a new life in rural Arkansas.

And, even though I currently live in the suburbs and spend as much time as I can in the city (or at least I did until this year started), I still enjoy a nice country vacation. I enjoy going up to the lake. Jeff and I usually go out to Mt. Nebo at least once a year.

So, camping is not necessarily something that I can’t do. That said, I would be lying if I said that I’m really an experienced camper. To be honest, I find the wilderness to be a bit creepy. I’m the girl who jumps at every sound and who freaks out at the sight of a bug. I may say that I’m spending the weekend up at the lake but what that means is that I’m spending the weekend in an air-conditioned lake house with WiFi and cable. By that same token, going up to Mt. Nebo doesn’t mean actually camping out on a mountain. It means staying in a nice cabin and making sure that there aren’t any wild animals wandering about whenever I step out on the front porch.

My point is that I could relate to Sandra, the main character in the recent Lifetime film, Secrets In The Woods. As played by Brittany Underwood, Sandra is a smart, independent woman who may not have a lot of experience camping but who is determined to make the most out of the weekend that her boyfriend, Brant (Taylor Frey), has in store for them. Brant is definitely a country boy and he’s looking forward to showing Sandra around the cabin where he grew up.

Brant seems like a nice guy but, from the start, the camping trip has its problems. For one thing, a stop at a gas station leads to Sandra meeting a super creepy local who seems like he’s trying a bit too hard to be friendly. Then, when Sandra arrives at the cabin, she finds a picture of Brant’s dead mom. Though Sandra may not notice it, those of us watching immediately notice that Sandra and Brant’s mother share a physical resemblance.

A series of unfortunate events leads to Sandra injuring her foot and then losing the bag that not only had all of her clothes but also her shoes and the keys to Brant’s truck. They’re stranded up at the cabin! Brant says not to worry because his father will be along soon. And if Sandra wants to change clothes, she can just wear some of his mother’s old dresses and….

Uhmmm, wait …. what?

Okay, seriously, if a guy tries to get you to wear his mother’s clothes, it’s a huge red flag. I don’t care what the situation is. Even if it means spending the entire weekend in just your underwear, you do not agree to your boyfriend suggesting that you wear his mother’s old dress. YOU JUST DON’T! Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Anyway, things get even worse when Brant’s father, Langley (Jim Klock), shows up and it turns out that father and son have been looking forward to trapping Sandra in the wilderness….

You’ll probably be able to guess where Secrets In The Woods is heading from the minute that Brant and Sandra first show up at the cabin but no matter. The fact that movies like this are occasionally predictable is a part of a fun. We know that Sandra’s making a mistake by trusting Brant and the real suspense comes from waiting for Sandra to figure out what’s going on as well. Brittany Underwood is a sympathetic lead and she’s ably supported by Kabby Borders, who plays her sister. Depending on what’s going on at any particular moment, Taylor Frey is both convincingly likable and convincingly creepy as Brant. Meanwhile, Jim Klock turns Langley into a wonderfully hissable villain.

Secrets In The Woods is fun, as the best Lifetime films tend to be. See it before you go on your next camping trip.

Cleaning Out The DVR: The Bachelor Next Door (dir by Michael Feifer)

Posted on January 5, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

(Hi there! So, as you may know because I’ve been talking about it on this site all year, I have got way too much stuff on my DVR. Seriously, I currently have 182 things recorded! I’ve decided that, on January 15th, I am going to erase everything on the DVR, regardless of whether I’ve watched it or not. So, that means that I’ve now have only have a month to clean out the DVR! Will I make it? Keep checking this site to find out! I recorded The Bachelor Next Door off of Lifetime Move Network on December 2nd, 2017!)

It’s time for yet another Lifetime film featuring Haylie Duff as a woman being menaced by a neighbor!

In this one, Haylie plays Alex. Alex is a painter who lives with her boyfriend, Gavin (Stephen Bruns). Alex hasn’t found much success as a painter but, fortunately, Gavin has one of those financial jobs where he spends all of his time talking about when the markets in London close. So, even though Alex hasn’t sold a painting in forever, she still gets to live in a really big and pretty house.

But then one day, that house nearly burns down! Fortunately, the new neighbor, Donnie (Michael Welch), just happens to notice that a fire has broken out in the kitchen so he runs over and he saves the day. Or, at the very least, Donnie claims that he just happened to notice the fire. Donnie seems to have some issues. He’s way too nice and way too quick to want to help out around Gavin and Alex’s house. Plus, sometimes he goes back to his own house and he throws a screaming fit. Again, Donnie would appear to have some issues. Still, Alex goes ahead and sets Donnie up with her sister, Sage (Brittany Underwood).

And for a while, it seems like everything’s just perfect. Sage and Donnie make for a really cute couple. Or at least they do until Donnie accidentally calls Sage by her sister’s name. Uh oh!

Meanwhile, Gavin keeps asking Alex to marry him and Alex keeps saying no. Alex says that she’s worried that, if she gets married, she’ll become complacent and boring and she’ll lose her edge as an artist. I have to say that this part of the movie was handled very well. Alex and Gavin seemed like a “real” couple and Haylie did a good job capturing all of Alex’s fears about commitment. I could relate to Alex and, as a result, I was more emotionally invested in her story than I am in the typical Lifetime movie.

Anyway, Gavin refuses to give up. He keeps asking her to marry him and when Alex finally says yes, everyone’s overjoyed. Except for Donnie…

And why should Donnie care? It all goes back to something that happened years ago. Donnie is not as much of a stranger as everyone initially thinks that he is…

The Bachelor Next Door was actually pretty good. I’ve gotten to the point where I really look forward to these Haylie-Duff-In-Danger Lifetime films. Haylie always does a really good job in these movies and, in The Bachelor Next Door, she ably supported by Michael Welch, Steve Bruns, and Brittany Underwood. The Bachelor Next Door has suspense, flashbacks, a great ending, and two great houses. What more could you ask for?

Cleaning Out The DVR Yet Again #21: Hidden Truth (dir by Steven R. Monroe)

Posted on November 30, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

(Lisa recently discovered that she only has about 8 hours of space left on her DVR! It turns out that she’s been recording movies from July and she just hasn’t gotten around to watching and reviewing them yet. So, once again, Lisa is cleaning out her DVR! She is going to try to watch and review 52 movies by Sunday, December 4th! Will she make it? Considering that she only has a day left, probably not. But keep checking the site to find out!)

I recorded Hidden Truth off of the Lifetime Movie Network on September 18th. It premiered before that on Lifetime and I even live tweeted it but I didn’t record it until it re-aired on LMN. I’m glad that I did that because, as I rewatched Hidden Truth, I was surprised by how much I had forgotten about the film.

Hidden Truth is one of those Lifetime films that takes place in a small town where everyone knows each other. It tells the story of a girl named Zoe (Diana Hopper) who is upset because 1) her father, Pace (Brendan McCarthy), may have killed her mother, 2) he’s now an alcoholic, and 3) she’s being raised by her loving but overprotective aunt, Jamie (Sarah Lind). Zoe is desperate to get out of town so she starts having an affair with a local rich guy, Michael (Shawn Christian). She wants his money. He claims to be in love with her….

And then, one day, Zoe turns up dead and floating in the river. The sheriff (Parker Stevenson) immediately suspects that Pace got drunk and killed his daughter. Soon, Aunt Jamie is the only person in town who believes that her brother is innocent. Can she clear his name? Can she solve her niece’s murder? Can she uncover the hidden truth…

Ironically, for the viewer, there’s nothing at all hidden about the truth in this movie. The movie actually opens with Michael murdering Zoe and dumping her body in the river. So, from the start, we know who the murderer is. The film instead becomes about watching Michael try to cover his track and wondering when Jamie will finally figure out what happened.

It’s actually a different approach from what we’re used to with Lifetime but I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about it. The problem is that Michael really isn’t that clever. He’s a sloppy murderer and he’s sloppy when it comes to covering his tracks and there’s no moment when you think to yourself that he might get away with it. And since Michael is a thoroughly despicable and inept character, it’s not like you find yourself conflicted as you watch him try to cover his tracks. At no point do you think, “He’s a bad guy but I kinda hope he gets away with it.”

I guess what I’m saying is that the Hidden Truth would have worked better if the truth had remained hidden until the final five minutes of the film. Still, you have to give the filmmakers some credit for trying to do something different.

What Lisa Watched Last Night #155: Backstabbed (dir by Doug Campbell)

Posted on September 4, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last night, I watched the latest Lifetime original film, Backstabbed!

Why Was I Watching It?

Well, the obvious answer is that I was watching it because it was on Lifetime and, as everyone knows, I love anything on Lifetime. The other reason is that I haven’t done many entries in What Lisa Watched Last Night this year. I wanted to correct that!

(And here we are…)

What Was It About?

It’s about lies, love, sex, murder, and the crazy world of real estate. Whenever I watch a movie about real estate, I always wait for someone to yell, “You moved the headstones but you left the bodies, didn’t you!? YOU LEFT THE BODIES!” That didn’t happen in this movie but seriously, real estate is crazy!

Paulette Bolton (Josie Davis) is one of the top real estate people in California but the people who work for her have a tendency to end up dead. That’s because Paulette kills them and a lot of other people.

Paulette has a new protegé: Shelby (Brittany Underwood). Shelby has just received her real estate license and … oh no! Is she thinking of going into competition against her psychotic mentor?

Well, that might not turn out for the best…

What Worked?

One of my favorite things about Lifetime movies is that everyone always lives in such a nice house. Lifetime understands that its audience not only likes to see what people are wearing but where they live as well. Backstabbed was pretty much all about houses. Paulette had a great house. She and Shelby were competing to sell an even better house. Even Shelby’s house was nice and she was supposed to be poor!

In the role of Paulette, Josie Davis was totally and completely insane. She delivered one of the greatest over-the-top performances in Lifetime history and the film was all the better for it! Among the supporting cast, Kevin Spirtas was fun as a decadent home owner and, oddly enough, former Texas Congressman Henry Bonilla had a role as well.

What Did Not Work?

I have to admit that I struggled to follow the plot. It may have been because it’s the Labor Day weekend and I was dividing my attention between the film and my niece and nephew but still, I had a hard time keeping track of why, exactly, Paulette kept killing people. Fortunately, Josie Davis killed people with such panache that it wasn’t a major problem.

“Oh my God! Just like me!” Moments

“That’s my dress!” I yelled when, at one point, Paulette showed up wearing a pretty red dress that looked identical to one that I have hanging in my closet. Then Shelby showed up, also wearing a red dress that looked identical to another one that I have hanging in my closer and again, I yelled, “That’s my dress!”

At that point, my niece pointed at the TV and went, “That’s Lisa Marie’s dress!” She’s so cute.

Lessons Learned

Real estate is murder!

And I look good in red…