It’s Spring Break!

For Carly (Tommi Rose) and her friend, Simone (Nikki Nunziato), that means heading down to Florida so that they can drink, dance, and party on the beach.

For Carly’s mom, Beverly (Tori Spelling), it means staying up all night and worrying about her daughter.

Beverly owns a diner and she’s worked hard to put Carly through college.  Carly appears to be super responsible and she’s got a bright future waiting for her.  She’s going to go to medical school and becoming a doctor.  Compared to Simone, Carly can be a bit naive.  No sooner has she arrived in Florida than she’s accidentally insulted a local named Luke (Joseph Cannon).  Later, when Simone introduces her to the obviously sleazy and tattooed Pete (Nick Flaig), Carly’s first impulse is to ask him what college he goes to.

Pete doesn’t go to college.  Instead, he lives in an isolated Everglades cabin.  That’s where Carly ends up, tied to a chair and blind-folded after an attempt to humiliate her and Simone goes wrong.  Pete, it turns out, is related to Luke.  And a plan to simply embarrass a snobbish college student has instead led to Carly getting abducted and Simone ending up in a coma at a local hospital.

When Beverly attempts to report her daughter missing, the local authorities tell her to calm down.  It’s Spring Break.  College students come down to Florida and forget to check in all the time.  Carly’s probably just drunk somewhere.  “Not my daughter!” Beverly says and soon, she’s in Florida searching.  Helping her out is Ray (Luke Ballard), a hot and rugged local boatman.  Even if Beverly doesn’t find her daughter, it looks like maybe she’s found a new husband!

Advertised as being based on a true story, Abducted In The Everglades tells a familiar Lifetime story.  That said, as I’ve explained in the past, the familiarity is often the point when it comes to Lifetime movies.  One doesn’t necessarily watch a Lifetime movie to be surprised.  Instead, one watches to see how the film will embrace the melodrama.  There’s a comfort to watching a Lifetime movie.  Watching a Lifetime movie is like visiting an old friend who never changes and who always delivers what they’ve promised.

For a lot of viewers, the main appeal of this film will be the chance to see Tori Spelling playing the mother.  Back in the 90s, Spelling almost always played the naive daughter who ended up getting kidnapped (Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?) or the snooty popular girl who upset the wrong person (Death of a Cheerleader).  Now, Spelling is the one worrying about her college-age daughter.  Tori Spelling has never been much of an actress.  She wasn’t particularly good in any of her earlier movies and she’s not particularly believable as a blue collar mom in this film.  But oddly, that’s part of the appeal of Tori Spelling.  It’s not just that she’s a bad actor.  It’s that she’s so spectacularly bad that it becomes fascinating to watch.

The rest of the cast is a bit better, especially Luke Ballard and Nick Flaig.  That said, the real stars here are the Everglades, the cottonmouths, and the alligators.  They all do their bit to bring this Florida film to life.  I should note that Jeff and I spent the first half of our summer vacation in Florida and we absolutely loved it.  It’s a beautiful state.  If Texas ever brings back the state income tax, I know where I’m moving.