Tag Archives: Lifetime

Lisa Cleans Out Her DVR: A Neighbor’s Deception (dir by Devon Downs and Kenny Gage)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

(I’m currently cleaning out my DVR and right now, I kinda suspect that a comic book movie might get a best picture nomination before I ever get finished.  By that, I mean that this is taking forever!  But, no matter!  I’m having fun.  Anyway, I recorded A Neighbor’s Deception off of Lifetime on April 8th.)

Welcome to the neighborhood!

And what a neighborhood it is.  Big house, big yards, big SUVs, and … wait, where are all the people?  Chloe (Ashley Bell) and Michael Anderson (Adam Mayfield) have just bought a new house in this neighborhood and everything should be perfect.  Chloe has had her struggles and, from the first minute we see her, it’s obvious that she’s not exactly stable.  She’s nervous and a bit too quick to smile.  Michael feels that the new neighborhood will be perfect for Chloe.

While Michael goes to work during the day, Chloe runs and takes pictures.  It’s a beautiful neighborhood, surrounded by wonderful scenery.  And yet, there’s something off about it.  The streets and sidewalks often seem to be strangely deserted  The first time that Chloe sees her neighbor, he’s driving past her and he barely acknowledges her.

It’s not until later that Chloe and Michael finally meet their neighbors face-to-face.  Gerald (Tom Amandes) and Cheryl Dixon (Isabella Hoffman) seems like their friendly enough but there are hints that everything may not be perfect with them.  For one thing, Gerald is considerably more friendly than Cheryl.  Gerald is also a retired psychologist and starts to counsel Chloe for free.  He says he’s just doing it to be a good neighbor but are his motives truly pure?

That’s what Chloe being to wonder.  It doesn’t help that she’s soon getting mysterious phone calls from a man who blames Gerald for the death of his sister.  The man wants Chloe to investigate Gerald and his past.  Chloe agrees but is her paranoia justified or, as Michael suggests, is she on the verge of having another breakdown?

Written by noted horror expert Adam Rockoff, A Neighbor’s Deception is a hundred times more creepy than the usual Lifetime film.  Wisely, both the script and the direction puts the emphasis on atmosphere.  That big and oddly empty neighborhood becomes as much of a character as Chloe, Michael, Gerald, and Cheryl.  This is one of those films that seems to have literally been bathed in a tub full of existential dread.  As we watch, we find ourselves wondering if the neighborhood is really as creepy as it looks or if maybe Chloe’s paranoia is rubbing off on us.

Chloe is played by Ashley Bell, who some will recognize as being the “possessed” girl in The Last Exorcism.  Bell gives an excellent performance in this film.  She’s immediately sympathetic but, at the same time, she plays the role with just enough a nervous edge that you’re always aware that she could be imagining things.  (Bell is often framed in the scene so that she’s seen alone, reinforcing the feeling that Chloe is not quite living in the real world.)  Also deserving of credit is Tom Amandes, who is all dapper menace as Gerald.

A Neighbor’s Deception ends with a twist that won’t necessarily take you by surprise but no matter.  The journey makes it all worh it.

Lisa Cleans Out Her DVR: The Psycho She Met Online (dir by Curtis Crawford)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

(I am currently in the process of cleaning out my DVR!  It’s probably going to take me longer to do this than it took Theodosia Burr to make her way to Alexandria, Virginia after getting shipwrecked in 1812.  I recorded The Psycho She Met Online off of Lifetime on April 9th!)

Let’s just start with the obvious.

The Psycho She Met Online?

That is, without a doubt, one of the greatest titles in the history of Lifetime movies.  Not only does it tell you exactly what this movie is about (no ambiguity here!) but it also tells you that this film will feature everything that we love about Lifetime films.  When it comes to Lifetime, regardless of the movie, there are two things that will always be true.

First, anyone you meet is going to turn out to be a psycho.

Secondly, anything that begins online is ultimately going to lead to disaster.

In this case, the film is about an EMT named Karen (Chelsea Hobbs).  Karen briefly becomes a minor celebrity when she rescues a man from a serious automobile accident.  The twist is that the man just happened to be her husband, Andrew (Matthew Lawrence)!

With Andrew laid up in the hospital, Karen decides to make some extra money by renting out some of the spare rooms in their house.  She does this be placing an ad online.  Oh, Karen!  Don’t you realize that only crazy people do stuff online!?

(And what does that say about me, posting my film reviews online!?  And you reading them online!?  OH MY GOD, WE’RE ALL CRAZY!)

Anyway, Karen soon ends up with two boarders.  One is a nice old man named Evander Swandson (Robert Welch).  He enjoys going on nature walks and taking photographs.  He respects the rules of the house and does his best to stay out of everyone’s way.  He is apparently among the one percent of internet users who are not insane and, as soon as Evander showed up, I knew he was doomed.

The other room is taken by Miranda (Charity Shea).  Miranda is the psycho of the title.  If her superficial resemblance to Jodi Arias doesn’t convince you of that, just wait until she starts killing people.  Miranda is a dancer at a “gentleman’s club,” though she doesn’t tell Karen that.  Miranda also claims to be Karen’s half-sister and she is just so excited that they will finally have the chance to get to know each other!

At first, Karen is excited too.  She’s always wanted a sister and now, she’ll no longer have to settle for a surrogate sibling relationship with her friend, Aubry (Alexis Maitland).  However, she soon starts to wonder whether she really wants to have Miranda in her life.  Miranda is kind of clingy.  Miranda appears to be a pathological liar.  Miranda gets jealous whenever Karen has plans that don’t involve her.  When Miranda gets upset, she has a habit of ranting to herself.  (Then again, I do that as well.)

And, of course, there’s the fact that Miranda has a habit of killing people…

That’s right, it’s yet another Lifetime movie about an obsessive relationship that goes from being friendly to murderous in the blink of an eye.  Fortunately, this movie was written by Christine Conradt and directed by Curtis Crawford, two Lifetime veterans who know how to make movies like this interesting.  The Psycho She Met Online might never surprise you but then again, the predictability of the format is part of the fun when it comes to Lifetime thrillers.  The best role in any Lifetime film is always the psycho and Charity Shea does a great job as the totally insane Miranda.

All in all, it’s another enjoyable Lifetime film!

Lisa Cleans Out Her DVR: Sometimes The Good Kill (dir by Philippe Gagnon)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

(Hi!  I’m currently in the process of cleaning out my DVR!  Hopefully, I’ll be done before the next Congressional special election but it’s going to be a close one!  Anyway, I recorded Sometimes The Good Kill off of Lifetime on May 13th!)

I have to admit that when I saw the title of this one, my first thought was, “Since when is Lifetime doing Spaghetti westerns?”  I mean seriously, Sometimes The Good Kill is one of those titles that would be perfect for a Franco Nero or a Tomas Milian (or maybe even a Terrence Hill) film.

But no, it turns out I was wrong.

Sometimes The Good Kill takes a look at the sordid things that happen behind the scenes at a convent, a question that has apparently obsessed audiences since the first time they heard Hamlet order Ophelia to “get thee to a nunnery!”  Someone is killing nuns, but why?  Things get off to a start when the old Mother Superior is found underneath a ladder.  Then another is found drowned in a bathtub.  The new Mother Superior (Allison Hossack) wants the murders to remain a secret because the convent is struggling financially.  So, instead of calling the police, she just puts the bodies in a freezer.  Fortunately, the newest arrival at the convent — Sister Talia (Susie Abrometi) — has a mysterious past.  She knows the streets.  She knows the darkest aspects of human nature.  Mother Superior wants Talia to solve these murders and she even hands her a gun to make the job easier.

Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it?  It does but, once you get over the novelty of nuns hiding guns and solving murders, Sometimes The Good Kill settles down to be a fairly typical Lifetime movie.  The film moves at a rather stately pace and its full of scenes of nuns gossiping in low voices and sometimes, I found myself straining to understand what everyone was saying.  Speaking as someone who comes from an Irish/Italian/Spanish Catholic background, this is a film that I wanted to enjoy more than I actually did.

That said, here are a few words of praise.  While the film’s pacing may have been off, it was relatively well-performed.  My favorite suspect was Sister Jean (Deborah Grover), because she didn’t trust anyone and had no fear of letting people know that.  Even when told that “we’re all Gods creatures,” Sister Jean responded by rolling her eyes. We’ve all known a Sister Jean.  And then there was skittish Sister Mai (Lisa Troung), who was freaked out by the poor people who regularly showed up to ask for food.  Both Grover and Troung did very well in their roles.

Finally, I liked the look of the film.  Sometimes The Good Kill was full of visual atmosphere and took full advantage of its gothic setting.  The film had a visual moodiness, one that kept me watching even when the story itself was lacking.

That said, my favorite gun-carrying nun remains Ms. 45.

Lisa Cleans Out Her DVR: The Good Nanny (dir by Jake Helgren)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

(I am currently in the process of cleaning out my DVR!  It’s going to take forever because I’ve got over a 150 movies to watch!  Anyway, I recorded The Good Nanny off of Lifetime on May 15th.)

Poor Summer Pratt (Briana Evigan).

No sooner has she gotten engaged to Clint (Ben Gavin) then she suffers a miscarriage, losing the baby that she didn’t even know that she was carrying.  Before she has even had a chance to emotionally recover from her loss, Summer is offered a job.  Lilly Walsh (Ellen Hollman) wants hire Summer to be her interior designer.  Summer doesn’t particularly like Lilly, who drinks a bit too much, has a controversial past, and tends to come across as being just a little bit fake.  In fact, Summer would rather not take the job at all but Lilly just happens to married to Clint’s boss (Peter Porte).  Mostly in order to help Clint’s career, Summer takes the job.

While Clint goes out of town on business, Lilly moves into the Walsh mansion.  (As one would expect from a Lifetime movie, the house is absolutely gorgeous.)  It turns out the Walshes need more than just an interior designer.  Their nanny has quit and they need a new one immediately.  Summer takes the job and that’s where things start to get strange.

The Walshes insist that their daughter, Sophie (Sophie Guest), has borderline personality disorder and is accident prone.  Summer, however, suspects that they are abusing Sophie and even comes to believe that they might not actually be Sophie’s parents.  When she sees that Sophie’s shoulder is scarred, Summer grows even more concerned.  And, of course, there’s the fact that Summer regularly talks about a mysterious girl named Sasha and she also sleeps with a pair of scissors.

(Admittedly, I used to do the same thing but that was just because I was sixteen and I was pretending that I was in a horror movie.)

Is Summer right?  Are the Walshes abusing their daughter?  Or, are the Walshes telling the truth about Sophie?  Could Sophie be one of those crazy children who always seem to show up in Lifetime movies?  Or could it be that Summer, herself, is imagining things?  Has the loss of her own child left hrt susceptible to delusion?  Are her frequent nightmares evidence of her own instability or do they mean something else?

I really liked The Good Nanny.  It was enjoyably weird and over the top, featuring some memorably off-center performances, especially from Kym Jackson, who gives a ferocious performance as a character who I can’t say too much about.  Particularly for a Lifetime film, The Good Nanny is gorgeously shot, with Summer’s nightmares being appropriate creepy and full of shadows and there’s a wonderful harshness to the look of the film’s beach-set finale.  The film’s twisty plot will keep you guessing.  Just as in real life, you’ll never be sure who is crazy or who is just obnoxious.

The Good Nanny is definitely one to keep an eye out for!

Lisa Cleans Out Her DVR: A Deadly Affair (dir by David Bush)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

(Once again, I am trying to clean out my DVR.  I recorded A Deadly Affair off of the Lifetime Movie Network on March 5th.)

At first glance, Charlie (Alan Powell) and Mary (Austin Highsmith) might look like the perfect couple.  They’re attractive.  They’re apparently in love.  They’ve got a nice house.  Charlie has a manly job as a house renovator and he even has a badass lion tattoo on his chest.

Even better, they’re best friends with another perfect couple!  Susan (Valerie Azlynn) and Trevor (Luke Edwards) are also attractive and apparently in love and they’ve got a nice house of their own!  Susan’s a lawyer and Trevor has got a sexy tattoo too!  Two perfect couples living so close to each other?  What could possibly go wrong?

Well, Mary thinks that Charlie might be cheating on her.  And Trevor says that Susan isn’t really responsive to his needs.  One night, Mary and Trevor have a bit too much to drink.  They end up sharing a kiss.  Mary freaks out and says that she can’t cheat on Charlie, especially not with the husband of her best friend.  Essentially, Mary says, “There’s no way this is going to happen.”  Trevor, being a guy, interprets that to mean, “It’ll happen later.”

Later, Mary gets a call from her husband.  He sounds like he’s in some sort of trouble.  When he doesn’t subsequently return home, Mary goes out to the house that was renovating.  Walking through the dark house, she stumbles across the dead body of her husband.  Someone’s murdered Charlie!

Well, of course, the entire town suspects that Mary killed Charlie.  Even her sister-in-law, the possibly unstable Crystal (Lorna Street Dopson), is convinced that she saw (and heard) Mary with Trevor.  It doesn’t matter how much Mary protests her innocence.  The detective (J. Terry Garces) in charge of the case thinks that she did it.  The entire town thinks that she did it.  Soon, Mary is running the risk of losing her teaching job.  The parents don’t want a murderer teaching their kids…

In fact, it appears that only one person is willing to stand up for Mary and that’s Susan!  Susan is not only Mary’s lawyer but she’s her best friend as well.  But how is Susan going to react if she finds out that Mary kissed her husband…

Towards the end of A Deadly Affair, there’s a scene where the murderer says, “Thank you for begging.  I appreciate that.”  I love that line and it pretty much sums up the reason why I enjoyed this movie.  A Deadly Affair is an enjoyably twisty and over the top murder mystery, the type of movie where characters interrupt meetings by storming into the room, shouting, “You bitch!” and then slapping someone hard.  It’s a lot of fun.

And, I don’t want to give away any spoilers but I will say that the person playing the murderer did a really good job when it came time for the big reveal.  It takes a definite skill to make the confessional monologue compelling but this person did it.

A Deadly Affair was a lot of fun.  If you enjoy over the top melodrama (and who doesn’t?), you’ll enjoy this one.

What Else Lisa Watched Last Night #166: Seduced By A Stranger (dir by Scott Belyea)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Secrets of My Stepdaughter was not the only thing that I watched last night!  I also watched Seduced By A Stranger on the Lifetime Movie Network.

Why Was I Watching It?

When a movie is called Seduced By A Stranger, you watch it.  Seduced is one of the most powerful words in the English language.  I even tried to get Arleigh to call this site Through the Seduced Lens but he ended up going with Shattered instead.

(Which is okay because shattered is almost as powerful word as seduced.  Someday, Lifetime will realize that I’m right and commission a film called Shattered Seduction.  I’m already working on the script.)

What Was It About?

It’s about a woman who is seduced by a stranger.

Actually, there’s a little more to it than just that.  In fact, it’s actually a movie about a teenager named Dana (Cate Sproule) and her good-for-nothing (but charming) father named Martin (Steve Bacic).  Because Martin is a professional con man, Dana and Martin have never stayed in one place for too long.  Dana feels like she’s missing out on life.

So, Martin agrees to settle down in a nice little town.  Dana finally gets to enroll in high school.  She even meets a cute boy named Charlie (Madison Smith) and soon, they’re a couple.  However, Martin is also dating Charlie’s mother (Chandra West) and Dana is worried that her father is going to slip back into his old ways.

And, of course, there’s the stalker.  Sloane (Lucie Guest) lost everything to one of Martin’s cons and she’s determined to get her revenge.  Now that Martin has settled down in one place, it looks like she may finally get her chance…

What Worked?

This one was a lot of fun and actually kind of sweet in its own weird way.  Charlie and Dana were a really likable couple and you hoped that things would work out for them.  Both Cate Sproule and Madison Smith gave good performances and it was kind of nice to see a Lifetime film where, for once, the teenagers were alright and the adults were totally clueless.

Lucie Guest did a good job as crazy Sloane.  The best role in any Lifetime film is always the obsessive stalker and Guest really made the most of the opportunity.

What Did Not Work?

It all worked.  It was fun and enjoyable Lifetime film.  The only thing that kept it from being perfect was that there was no kitchen dance party.

“Oh my God!  Just like me!” Moments

When someone says that Dana has stolen Charlie’s heart, Dana instinctively responds with, “I don’t steal.”  For some reason, I related to that moment.

(I know that’s vague but identifying an “Oh my God!  Just like me!” moment is not an exact science.)

Lessons Learned

Sometimes, being seduced by a stranger is the best thing that can happen to you.

What Lisa Watched Last Night #165: Secrets of my Stepdaughter (dir by Jem Garrard)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last night, I watched Secrets of my Stepdaughter on Lifetime!

Why Was I Watching It?

Why Not?  It was on Lifetime and Secrets of my Stepdaughter is a great title.  As our regular readers know, Jeff, Leonard, and I spent all last month watching and reviewing the first two seasons on Twin Peaks.  As soon as I saw the title of this Lifetime film, I immediately thought of that great line from the third episode of series: “She is full of secrets.”

What Was It About?

When teenager Rachel Kent (Tiera Skovbye) survives a robbery that leaves her best friend dead, she becomes a minor media celebrity.  Everyone loves Rachel but the detective (Lucia Walters) in charge of the case has suspicions.  And soon, so does Rachel’s stepmother, Cindy (Josie Davis).  Rachel is just enjoying being a celebrity too much and when Cindy catches Rachel rehearsing the story of the robbery in front of a mirror, Cindy starts to suspect that Rachel may indeed be full of secrets.

What Worked?

The film told an intriguing story.  It opened with a title card telling us that it was “based on a true story” and I’d believe it.  This is actually something that happens fairly regularly.  A victim of a crime will become a minor celebrity, just to then have it revealed that they actually committed the crime themselves.  People love the attention.  What’s interesting is that you never hear much about these people once it’s revealed that they were not victims but instead guilty.  They kind of get pushed to the side and the story gets abandoned because no one wants to admit to having been fooled.

Josie Davis gave a good performance as Cindy.  She’s appeared in several Lifetime films and it was interesting to see her finally play a sympathetic character for once.  The entire film, however, was stolen by Tiera Skovbye, who was a force of cheerfully destructive nature in the role of Rachel.

What Did Not Work?

This was yet another Lifetime film where the family pet is killed off, presumably so we don’t have any doubt that we’re dealing with a total sociopath.  Killing the dog felt so cruelly unnecessary and totally gratuitous that it made it difficult for me to enjoy the rest of the movie.  It seemed to be done for shock value but, at this point, so many pets have been killed in so many Lifetime movies that it’s no longer shocking.

Seriously, leave the pets alone!

“Oh my God!  Just like me!” Moments

“Wow, Lisa, since this movie was about a sociopathic, shoplifting teenage murderer, there were probably a lot of Oh my God!  Just like me! moments!”

Okay, you are no longer my friend.

Actually, to be honest, I did relate to Rachel at the very beginning of the movie.  When she was rehearsing in front of the mirror, I gave her the benefit of the doubt because I do that too.  But then it became obvious that she actually had killed her best friend and the family dog and I was like, “Nope, I have nothing in common with this psycho!”

Lessons Learned

It’s a lot more difficult to fake a crime than you might think.

Lisa Cleans Out Her DVR: The Other Mother (dir by Sean Olson)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

(Once again, I am attempting to clean out my DVR!  I recorded The Other Mother off of Lifetime on April 22nd, 2017.)

Divorce is never easy.  This is something that we all know.  A once loving couple splits up and suddenly, they are forced to figure out what type of relationship, if any, they will now have.  It’s even more difficult for the children, who often find themselves torn between two households, all the while wondering if they’re somehow responsible.  Believe me, speaking as a child of divorce, it’s never easy even if it’s often for the best.

That said, you know what I bet would make a divorce even more difficult?  When your ex-husband impulsively marries a woman who is young enough to be his daughter and then sits by while his new wife not only turns your daughter against you but also frames you so that everyone thinks you’re a totally irresponsible, abusive alcoholic.

That, of course, is exactly what happens in The Other Mother.  The title character is Tiffany (Kimberly Crossman), who is pretty, confident, fun, and a little bit psycho.  When she marries Mitch (Tyler Christopher), she immediately sets about to manipulate his teenager daughter, Brooke (Kennedy Tucker), into rejecting her biological mother, and Mitch’s ex-wife, Jackie (Annie Wersching).

It’s really not that hard because 1) Tiffany is close to Brooke’s own age and 2) Jackie is massively overprotective and strict.  Of course, Brooke has struggled to deal with the divorce.  Jackie worries that Brooke might act out or that she might even hurt herself.  Last year, Jackie caught Brooke drinking and she still hasn’t let it go.

Tiffany, at least at first, appears to take a much more laissez faire approach to life.  At dinner, she asks Brooke if she wants anything to drink.  At Brooke’s birthday party, Tiffany gives her a car and Jackie throws a fit.  When Tiffany picks up Brooke from school, they go to the mall and Tiffany shows Brooke how to pick up boys.  Brooke would much rather hang out with her stepmom and who can blame her?  Tiffany’s fun and lets her do almost anything.

Of course, Tiffany also has a long and sordid history, one that is only Google search away.  And Tiffany is willing to do anything to get Jackie out of the picture.  If that means getting Jackie drunk and then pretending that Jackie attacked her, so be it.  If that means telling lies and hacking phones in order to make it appear as if Jackie has rejected her daughter, well, that’s what you have to do.

The Other Mother is a good example of a Lifetime film designed to tap into a fear that’s probably a pretty common one among middle-aged divorcees, the fear of no longer being the fun parent but instead being viewed as the enemy.  This film provides comfort by suggesting that the new fun mom is actually not that much fun and that she’s probably crazy as well.  Beyond bitter divorcees, anyone who has ever been made to feel inadequate by an ex’s new girlfriend will be able to relate to this film.

If you’re into Lifetime films, you’ll probably enjoy The Other Mother.  If nothing else, Kimberly Crossman does a really good job playing the cheerfully psychotic Tiffany.  The movie may not hold many surprises but I definitely had fun watching it.

 

Lisa Cleans Out Her DVR: Girl Followed (dir by Tom Shell)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

(Once again, I am trying to clean out my DVR.  I recorded Girl Followed off of the Lifetime Movie Network on April 2nd, 2017.)

Poor Regan (Emma Fuhrmann)!  She’s 14 years old and all she wants is to be as popular as her older sister, Taylor (Gianna LaPera), and her best friend, Sabine (Olivia Nikkanen), and for Austin (Jake Elliott) to like her.  Taylor and Sabine managed to get boyfriends by sending them sexy pics so why can’t she do the same thing?  Everyone else skips school, so why can’t she?  Everyone else shoplifts so why is it such a big deal when she does it?  As Regan points out, her parents (Heather McComb and Joey Lawrence) expect her to be so perfect that they always overreact to the least little mistake.

Of course, they would really freak out if they found out about Regan’s now boyfriend.  Nate (Travis Caldwell) is handsome, charming, and he drives a really nice car.  Even better, at least from my perspective, his parents own a really big house.  (If you’ve been reading my reviews for a while, you are undoubtedly aware of how much I love the big houses that always show up in Lifetime movies.)  Of course, there are some problems.  For one thing, Nate is 22 years old.  Nate has a tendency to be a little bit controlling.  Nate works with Regan’s mother, at a clinic.  (Hey, at least he’s in the medical field!  Who doesn’t want to marry a doctor?)

Oh — and Nate’s also batshit insane.  How insane is Nate?  He’s insane enough to hack into Regan’s phone and send risqué pictures of her to everyone who works with her dad.  He’s also insane enough to replace a patient’s chart, all in an attempt to make Regan’s mother look dangerously incompetent.  And, of course, there’s the whole kidnapping thing.  Nate has a sordid and dangerous history that Regan knows nothing about.

Girl Followed may sound like a typical Lifetime stalking film and, in many ways, it is.  However, Girl Followed also has a surprisingly insightful and intelligent script.  If anything, Nate and his issues are red herrings in the overall scheme of the film.  Girl Followed is more concerned with Regan and her struggle to estabblish her identity in an increasingly complex world.  Anyone who has ever been insecure or felt lost will be able to relate to what Regan’s going through and Emma Fuhrmann gives an excellent and empathetic performance in the role.  She is especially strong in the scenes where she tentatively opens up to her therapist, admitting that — on a scale of one to ten — she considers herself to be a “two.”

Of course, I related to the character because, when I was her age, I used to act out in the exact same way.  This movie features one of the most realistic shoplifting scenes that I’ve ever seen.  When her mom steps up and declares that her daughter is not a shoplifter and shames anyone who would suggest otherwise, I cringed a little and not just because I knew that Regan actually was a shoplifter.  It was a moment to which I could relate. Suddenly, I was fourteen years old again.

Girl Followed is definitely a better than average Lifetime film so keep an eye out for it.

What Lisa Watched Last Night #164: Running Away (dir by Brian Skiba)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

After I watched Deadly Sorority, I watched the second Lifetime premiere of the night, Running Away!

Why Was I Watching It?

I nearly missed Running Away, which would have been a shame.  After being disappointed with Deadly Sorority, I was seriously tempted to go down to my neighbor’s 3-day Cinco de Mayo party.  But, somehow, my cinematic instincts knew that I should take the time to watch Running Away.  I’m glad that I did because Running Away is one of the best Lifetime films of the years so far.

What Was it About?

Peg (Paula Tricky) is a single mother, struggling to raise two rebellious daughters even as the bank attempts to take her home away from her.  However, salvation comes in the form of Richard (William McNamara).  Richard is never quite clear about what he does for a living but he’s rich.  He has a great (and big) house.  He drives a red sports car and has no problem about honking the horn at people crossing the street and shouting, “Yeah, you better be watching!”  He’s more than a little creepy but he appears to worship the ground that Peg walks on.  Add to that, when he asks her to marry him, he gives her a really nice ring.

After the wedding, Peg’s two daughters have differing reactions to Richard.  The youngest, Lizzie (Madison Lee Brown), loves their new home and decides that Richard isn’t as bad or as creepy as he originally seemed.  Maggie (Holly Deveaux) knows that Richard is a creepy perv, the type who walks in on her when she’s in the shower and who, when he discovers that she’s been drinking beer, uses the knowledge for sexual blackmail.  Being molested and abused by her stepfather, Maggie resorts first to self-harm and then to running away.

Maggie finds herself living with a drug dealer and his traumatized girlfriend.  Both Richard and Peg are searching for her but both have different plans for what to do when they find her.

What Worked?

I know that the plot probably sounds extremely melodramatic and, in a way, I guess it was.  But, that’s okay.  This is a film that used melodrama to make a very real and important point about the consequences of abuse.  This a very well-done and very heartfelt film.

It took me a while to recognize William McNamara, who gives an all-too realistic performance as the monstrous Richard.  When we first meet Richard, the film wisely plays up his dorkiness.  We know he’s a bad guy but we’re still shocked by just how bad and dangerous he ultimately turns out to be.  Paula Trickey also does a good as Peg, portraying her with a combination of regret, disillusionment, and, as the same time, a cautious hope for the future.  However, the film really belongs to Holly Deveaux, who gives an empathetic and compelling performance of Maggie, one that reveals both her pain and her inner strength.

What Did Not Work?

I have to admit that, towards the end of the film, I kind of rolled my eyes when one final secret about Richard was revealed.  At that point, he was already such a bad guy that revealing the reason why he was so rich felt like overkill.  Other than that, though, I would say that the entire films worked.

“Oh my God!  Just like me!” Moments

As someone who was an angry, rebellious, and often self-destructive teenager, I related to Maggie.  Holly Deveaux’s performance captured all of the emotions.  Though the whole movie, I was cringing as I had flashbacks to all the times that I was tempted to get on a bus and go wherever it took me.

(Seriously, for about a year and a half, I had this ludicrously romanticized fantasy about getting on a bus, traveling to random towns, and spending a year filling up my notebooks with my thoughts on America.  After I talked about it one too many times, my sister Megan drove me down to the Greyhound station in downtown Dallas and we spent an hour watching people get on and off buses.  The sights and the smells — well, mostly the smells — of actual bus living pretty much ended that fantasy.)

Lessons Learned

You can’t run away from your problems but you can beat them over the head with a baseball bat.