Johanna Liauw – Through the Shattered Lens

This is one of those Lifetime films that has several different titles. The poster says Deadly Dormitory. Letterboxd claims that the title is Deadly Dorm. If you want to watch this film on Prime, you’ll have to look up College Professor Obsession. Me, I’m going to go with Deadly Dorm because that’s the easiest to say and the quickest title to type.

First aired in 2021, Deadly Dorm tells the story of Jenny Willis (Grace Patterson), a high school track star who is recovering from a knee injury. She’s finally well enough to accept a partial scholarship to an exclusive college. She tells her parents that she’s willing to go to a state school, but her parents insist that they will be able to pay for college. The whole opening of the movie reminded me of that old commercial they would show where recent high school graduates would record themselves saying, “I am going to college,” as if that was some sort of rare thing. I remember one guy who said, “It’s oh-fish-ee-al,” and I was just like, “Maybe don’t say it like that once you’re on campus.”

Anyway, Jenny enrolls in the college and moves into the dorm. Everyone she meets acts shocked when they hear which dorm room she’ll be moving into. It turns out that the room was previously occupied by a girl who died under mysterious circumstances. She was on the roof of the dorm, and she either fell, was pushed, or jumped. Jenny freaks out when she realizes that she’s going to be sleeping in the dead girl’s bed. Seriously, Jenny, just buy some new sheets and calm down.

Jenny is scandalized when her psychology professor (Randy Wayne) tells her that, if she wants to get better grades, she should try dressing a little better and showing off her legs and cleavage when she comes to class. Jenny is upset, and she has every right to be, even though I do agree that Jenny’s wardrobe is a bit on the frumpy side. Jenny’s roommate and new best friend, Beth (Johanna Liauw), says that the professor is a jerk but he also has tenure, so maybe it would be a good idea for Jenny to just give him what he wants.

Jenny starts to investigate on her own, and she soon comes to believe that the dead girl was also harassed by the professor. What if the professor killed the girl who used to live in Jenny’s dorm room? What if the professor has killed several people on campus? Does tenure cover that? It probably does at a private institution like this one. Jenny really should have gone to a state school.

On the one hand, I appreciated that this film had a lot of twists and turns in the plot. It embraced the melodrama, and I support that. I have to admit, though, that Jenny and her overprotective mother (Jocelyn Saenz) both kind of got on my nerves. Jenny was such a generic character that I actually felt sorry for her roommates. One character ends up seriously injured as a result of helping out Jenny, and it was hard not to notice that Jenny didn’t really seem to feel much guilt about that. When it came to college friendships, my firm rule was that I didn’t want to be dragged into anyone else’s drama, and Jenny doesn’t seem like she would have respected that.

The best scene in the film was when Jenny tried to stand up to her professor in the middle of class and the professor responded by announcing that she had borderline personality disorder and all of the other students just nodded in agreement. That felt like the most realistic scene in the film, as it captured how people will believe anything as long as it’s said by someone in authority.

“You messed with the wrong cheerleader coach!”

Okay, so no one actually says that in this film, which is a bit of a shame. Still, I absolutely loved The Wrong Cheerleader Coach, a film about what happens when the new assistant cheerleading coach at the local high school becomes obsessed with the father of one of her cheerleaders. Let’s just say that things don’t go well but everyone still remains very enthusiastic and full of pep and vigor.

In this case, the wrong cheerleader coach is Devan (Johanna Liauw), who offers private lessons to Hanna (Madi Burton). It’s not because Devan cares about whether or not Hanna makes the squad. Instead, it’s because Devan is obsessed with Hanna’s father, a widower and construction worker named Jon (Corin Nemec). When Devan discovers that John is actually dating a woman who wears glasses, Devan goes out and buys some glasses for herself. I have to applaud Devan for taking that extra step. My eyesight is terrible and getting worse by the day. I usually wear contacts but I may start wearing my glasses just because Devan and Jon’s girlfriend, Melissa (Bailey Kai), make them look so cool.

Anyway, Devan is obsessed with Jon but when Jon basically says, “I don’t like you and stay the Hell away from my daughter,” Devan goes all crazy. It’s unfortunate because Devan really does appear to be a good coach but the whole psycho thing will probably keep her from moving forward in her profession. I mean, Hanna does become a much better cheerleader as a result of working with Devan.

This is one of Lifetime’s “Wrong” movies. All of these films are directed by David DeCoteau and they all feature Vivica A. Fox in a supporting role. This time, Fox plays the head cheerleading coach, the one who gives Devan a stern talking to when Devan starts to lose her mind. Also appearing in the film is Tara Reid, who has a cameo as a former co-worker of Devan’s. It’s a bit of Sharknado reunion, as both Fox and Reid appeared in that classic franchise. (That said, Reid and Fox actually share any scenes in The Wrong Cheerleader Coach so don’t watch this film expecting to hear random jokes about flying sharks.)

Anyway, I always enjoy the “Wrong” films because they always seem to feature a big house and a lot of melodrama. That’s certainly the case with The Wrong Cheerleader Coach. In fact, one could say that this film is absolutely shameless in the way that it embraces the melodrama but that’s a good thing! There’s enough shame in the world. The “Wrong” films are unapologetically over-the-top and kitschy and it’s impossible not to love them.

The Wrong Cheerleader Coach is fun. It’s got Corin Nemec, who is one of the most likable actors on the planet. And it’s got Vivica A. Fox playing yet another no-nonsense authority figure, which is a role that she plays very well. In the role of Devan, Johanna Liauw goes crazy with class. It’s a fun movie.