Tag Archives: Lee Friedlander

Back to School Part II #51: Killer Coach (dir by Lee Friedlander)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For the past three weeks, Lisa Marie has been in the process of reviewing 56 back to school films!  She’s promised the rest of the TSL staff that this project will finally wrap up by the end of today, so that she can devote her time to helping to prepare the site for its annual October horrorthon!  Will she make it or will she fail, lose her administrator privileges, and end up writing listicles for Buzzfeed?  Keep reading the site to find out!)

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The 2016 film Killer Coach premiered on Lifetime on July 30th.  At the time, I suspected that it was probably being released specifically to capitalize on all of the attention that was being paid to the Summer Olympics in general and Michael Phelps in specific.  After all, Killer Coach is a film about a swimmer in trouble and, as you might guess from the title, a lot of that trouble has to do with her coach.

Now, I have to admit that I kinda ignored the Olympics this year.  I’m as shocked as anyone by that but, quite frankly, I just wasn’t feeling it.  2016 has sapped the enjoyment out of a lot of events that you could previously depend upon.  Hopefully, I’ll regain my excitement in 2018 because I’d hate to miss the curling.  Along with not being into the Olympics this year, I also have an intense fear of drowning and movies that feature people trapped underwater tend to give me nightmares.  With all that in mind, I was worried that Killer Coach might not be for me.  However, I still watched it because it was on Lifetime.  You know how that goes.

Well, I shouldn’t have worried.  Killer Coach was pure Lifetime goodness, even if it never quite reached the wonderful heights of The Perfect Teacher or Babysitter’s Black Book.  Though the film may have been advertised to exploit all the attention being given to the Olympics, it was not necessary to be a swim fan to appreciate it.  As for the drowning scenes — well, there were a few but they didn’t traumatize me.  In the best Lifetime tradition, Killer Coach is pure entertainment.  No need to worry about trauma.

As for the film, it’s about Samantha (Javicia Leslie).  Sam is a smart and popular high school student.  She also has the potential to be one of the best swimmers in the country and is looking forward to going to college on a swim scholarship.  Who knows?  Olympics medals may be in her future!  As for Sam, she’s mostly just looking forward to a future with her boyfriend (Cameron Jebo).

Sam’s coach, Gina (Keesha Sharp), puts her under constant pressure.  Nothing is ever good enough for Gina.  That’s what a coach is supposed to do, right?  The only problem is that Gina is also Sam’s mother and it’s obvious that she’s reliving her own past as a championship swimmer through her daughter.  Gina is so intense that Sam is happy that the new assistant coach appears to be so laid back.  Even better, Bryce (Tom Maden) is hot!

Of course, he’s also kind of crazy.  After a one night stand, he grows obsessed with Sam and starts stalking her.  It’s actually kind of a nice reverse on the typical Lifetime storyline.  Usually, it’s a student stalking a teacher.

Anyway, there’s more to the story than just that.  Bryce is fueled by more than just obsession and Gina has secrets in her own past.  I didn’t really care about any of that and I could have done without it.  The film is far more interesting when it just focuses on Bryce as a crazed authority figure.

Killer Coach is well-filmed by veteran Lifetime director Lee Friedlander and he keeps the story moving along quickly.  Leslie is sympathetic as Samantha and Maden is memorably unhinged as her stalker.  Killer Coach is an above average Lifetime film and definitely an entertaining way to spend two hours.

Cleaning Out The DVR: A Gift-Wrapped Christmas (dir by Lee Friedlander)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

GWC

After watching Last Chance For Christmas, it was time to continue to clean out my DVR by watching A Gift-Wrapped Christmas.  Directed by Lee Friedlander (who did such a great job with Babysitter’s Black Book), A Gift-Wrapped Christmas was actually the first Christmas film to air on Lifetime this year.  It premiered on November 28th.

A Gift-Wrapped Christmas tells the story of Gwen (Meredith Hagner), who I immediately envied because not only does she have a great attitude towards life but she has a really kickass job as well.  She’s a personal shopper, which means that she gets paid to do something that I do for free.  In fact, she might be the greatest personal shopper of all time.  All she has to do is take one look at a client and she immediately knows what is needed.  She currently lives with her older sister (Beverly Mitchell) and her husband and she’s single.  She’s also almost always cheerful, without being annoying about it.  I wish I could pull that off.

One day, her agency tells her that she has a new client.  His name is Charlie Baker.  Oh my God! I thought, the Governor of Massachusetts!?  Seriously, who wouldn’t want that job!?  However, it turns out that it’s a different Charlie Baker.  This Charlie Baker (played by Travis Milne) is a business executive who sucks at giving gifts and thinks a black suit is appropriate for every occasion.  Charlie is also a widower, raising his precocious son, Owen (Anthony Bolognese) on his own.  Charlie does have a girlfriend but it’s obvious to everyone (but him) that Victoria (Anna Van Hooft) is cold and manipulative and is more in love with money than with Charlie.

So, Gwen takes one look at Charlie and his boring office and his boring gifts and she says, “Nope, this is all going to change.”  At first, Charlie is resistant and even refuses to consider wearing a purple suit.  But Gwen refuses to give up.  She continues to buy stuff that encourages him to broaden his worldview.  Charlie starts to loosen up and act like a real human being.

And don’t think that Victoria hasn’t noticed and isn’t thinking, “No way I’m going to lose my man to a personal shopper!”

When I first watched A Gift-Wrapped Christmas, I tweeted some pretty snarky things about it but I think I may have been a bit too upset over the prospect of not getting to see any Lifetime melodramas for a month and, as a result, I was a bit too quick to judge A Gift-Wrapped Christmas.  On a second viewing, I discovered that the film had a lot more charm than I initially thought.  At the very least, Meredith Hagner and Travis Milne are both adorable and how can you not love a movie where the secret to happiness is shopping?

A Gift-Wrapped Christmas is an almost stereotypical Lifetime Christmas movie but, thanks to the chemistry between Meredith Hagner and Travis Milne, it’s still an enjoyable dose of holiday cheer.

What Lisa Watched Last Night #130: Double Daddy (dir by Lee Friedlander)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Why was I tired enough to tweet that?  Because late last night, after a very long day of work and dance, I rewatched the Lifetime original movie Double Daddy.

Double Daddy

Why Was I Watching It?

I’m still in the process of trying to clear up space on my DVR.  So, last night, as I battled my need for sleep, I forced myself to rewatch a Lifetime film from June so that I could review it and erase it.  I didn’t care much for Double Daddy the first time that I watched it and the second time, I cared for it even less.

And, of course, because I stayed up to watch it a second time, I was exhausted for most of today.  Bleh.

What Was It About?

BLEH!

Okay, I guess that doesn’t tell you much.  Connor (Cameron Palatas) is a high school jock who, at the start of the film, is drunkenly stumbling around the most boring high school party ever.  New girl Heather (Brittany Curran) ends up having a one night stand with him.  As a result, Heather gets pregnant.  At the same time, Connor’s girlfriend, Amanda (Mollee Gray), discovers that she’s pregnant as well!

That’s right — Connor’s about to be a double daddy!

Of course, since this is a Lifetime film, Heather is also a psycho who carries a knife and starts to plot Amanda’s death…

It all probably sounds more interesting than it actually is.

What Worked?

I was tempted to say that nothing worked about Double Daddy but that’s not quite true.  Brittany Curran was memorably demented in the role of Heather.  In fact, she gave such a good performance that I found myself rooting for Heather, regardless of how much of a murderous psycho she eventually turned out to be.  Heather may have been crazy but at least she wasn’t boring.

What Did Not Work?

I’m just going to say it: of the many Lifetime films that I’ve watched over the years, Double Daddy is one of my least favorite.  No, it’s not as bad as The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story but then again, what is?  With the exception of Brittany Curran, the performances are dull and the actors get no help from a script that is both heavy-handed and simple-minded.

Perhaps worst of all, there’s a nasty strain of slut shaming that runs through Double Daddy.  Amanda and Heather are held to different standards while Connor is held to no standard at all.  Judgmental and bland Amanda is presented as being saintly, largely because she only has sex with a serious boyfriend and presumably only after finishing her homework.  Heather, on the other hand, becomes pregnant as the result of a drunken one night stand and, perhaps not surprisingly, is also portrayed as being a complete psycho who eventually tries to murder Amanda.  While we’re obviously meant to feel sorry for Amanda, the film allows absolutely no sympathy for Heather.  Completely absolved of any responsibility is Connor, who we are actually supposed to feel sorry for because crazy Heather is keeping him from being with Amanda, the same girl that he previously cheated on!  BLEH!

As well, let’s consider the fact that saintly Amanda and victimized Connor both come from typical upper class Lifetime families while Heather is the only character to come from a lower class background.

Seriously, exploring the subtext of Double Daddy is not a pleasant activity.

What makes all this especially upsetting is that Double Daddy was directed by Lee Friedlander, who previously directed the brilliant Babysitter’s Black Book.

“Oh my God!  Just like me!” Moments

Much like Heather, I always used school field trips as an excuse to go off on my own.  I never pulled a knife on anyone though.

Lessons Learned

We live in a twisted and hypocritical world.

What Lisa Watched This Afternoon #114: Babysitter’s Black Book (dir by Lee Friedlander)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Earlier today, I watched last night’s Lifetime original movie, Babysitter’s Black Book!

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Why Was I Watching It?

I love Lifetime movies about out-of-control teenagers.

What Was It About?

Ashley (Spencer Locke) wants to go to a good college and is terrified of getting stuck at a community college.  She’s even started a babysitting service in order to help pay for school.  However, she soon finds herself having an affair with one of her clients (Ryan McPartin).  Meanwhile, one of her employees has turned the babysitting service into a prostitution ring.

And while that may seem extreme to some, never underestimate the lengths people will go to avoid having to enroll in a community college…

What Worked?

Before I watched this film, I thought there was a very good chance that either Sugar Daddies or Back to School Mom would be the best Lifetime film of 2015.  But then I watched Babysitter’s Black Book and oh my God!  Babysitter’s Black Book is one of the best Lifetime films that I have ever seen.  How good was it?  It’s almost as good as Confessions of a Go Go Girl!

(And that’s pretty freaking good…)

Babysitter’s Black Book features everything that you could possibly want from a Lifetime film.  Melodrama, comedy, pretty clothes, sordid happenings in artfully decorated settings, and wonderfully over-the-top dialogue.  When Rachel tries to convince her friends to have sex for money, she very reasonably says, “Use it before you lose it.”  When Mark offers Ashley something to eat, he tells her, “Try it and you’ll never want to have another thing in your mouth.”  How can you not love this film?

The film was also remarkably well-directed and acted.  In the role of the greedily pragmatic Rachel, Angeline Appel stole every scene that she appeared in.  Another scene stealer was an actor named Jeff L. Williams.  Playing the role of the decadent Walker, Williams only appeared in a handful of scenes but he definitely made an impression.  The minute he smirked and said, “Let’s take some real pictures,” you just knew that bad things were going to happen.

This was exactly the type of film that we watch Lifetime to see.

What Did Not Work?

It all worked.  This was a perfect Lifetime movie.

“Oh my God!  Just like me!” Moments

Not that we ever would but, if for some reason we did decided to start a prostitution business, I would hope that my best friends and I would be as cheerful, giggly, and supportive about it as the girls in this film.  And I really do think we would be.  That’s one of the best things about Babysitter’s Black Book.  It’s a film that — much like Sofia Coppola’s Bling Ring — is honest about the fact that sometimes it’s fun to be bad.  (Especially when you’re still too sheltered and naive to understand the consequences…)

Babysitter’s Black Book perfectly captured the feeling of just how exhilarating and scary it can be to have your entire future in front of you.  Whenever Ashley dreaded the prospect of having to stay home and attend a community college, I found myself nodding and thinking, “Oh my God.  Just like me….”

Lessons Learned

Actions have consequences but it’s still fun to have money.

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