Lifetime's VC Andrews Movies Topic (Flowers In The Attic, The Dollangangers, The Casteels, etc) - General Discussion

[JAYJAY1979]

Since there doesn't seem to be a Miss Deale character in the movie..I'll be curious if Heaven will be a teacher like she was in the books..since she became a teacher because she wanted to be like Miss Deale.

Fanny being watered down seems a mistake...heaven/fanny were opposite sides of a coin ...the Madonna Whore complex..if you will.

[Daisy]

4 minutes ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

Since there doesn't seem to be a Miss Deale character in the movie..I'll be curious if Heaven will be a teacher like she was in the books..since she became a teacher because she wanted to be like Miss Deale.

Fanny being watered down seems a mistake...heaven/fanny were opposite sides of a coin ...the Madonna Whore complex..if you will.

honestly. they've stripped off most of what drives heaven to do anything

[CountryGirl]

I think watered-down version of Fanny is even more disappointing than that sad dishrag posing as Heaven. 

I loved Fanny being perfect Heaven's foil and yet there was such vulnerability there. And I can't forget that other than Troy, she was the only good thing in the snoozefest that was Gates of Paradise. 

[Dr.OO7]

1 hour ago, CountryGirl said:

And I can't forget that other than Troy, she was the only good thing in the snoozefest that was Gates of Paradise. 

Am I the only one who liked that one? Jeez.

[BitterApple]

1 hour ago, Camille said:

Am I the only one who liked that one? Jeez.

I didn't hate it, but for me it was the weakest in the series. Dark Angel and Web Of Dreams were my favorites. 

[JAYJAY1979]

What I don't get is why the same actress playing Heaven isn't playing Leigh?  Just change the hair color and presto..money saved.  

[Kiki777]

I'm enjoying the in-depth conversation on these books that were a huge part of my adolescence.  It NEVER occurred to me that Fanny could have been molested by Luke, but it makes perfect sense.

Heaven is on right now and I am looking forward to Dark Angel in a half hour.  The woman cast as Jillian is exactly how I pictured her, but younger.  Then again, in the book she is 60 but looks 40.

Troy looks old. The guy who played Cal would have fit better.  Speaking of Cal, I just saw him in a Hallmark movie, and he was actually quite charming when not playing a rapist.

Bring on Tom and the angry circus lions!(most WTF VC Andrew death ever)

[Snow Apple]

The actor playing Troy looks older than Jason Priestley. What the ever loving heck?

[BitterApple]

Troy should only be a few years older than Heaven. He looks like one of her classmates' dads. 

Kelly Rutherford is pretty similar to how I always pictured Jillian: uppity, bitchy blonde. I don't remember Jillian being a boozer in the books, though.

Screw you Lifetime, for chickening out and not doing the laxative spiked punch.

Edited August 4, 2019 by BitterApple

[meatball77]

The laxative spiked punch and then her going in a bag or coat or something and then tossing it down the laundry shoot and then her bullies going down the shoot.  I can't believe they left that out.  😞 

[Moxie Cat]

Does the actress who plays Heaven remind anyone of another actress? It's driving me crazy! It's not all the time - but when she smiles, her smile looks a LOT like someone else's. (It's not the actress herself - I don't know her from any of her other credits.) Please post if you have any ideas!

Also, I'm getting confused on locations. The Willies/Winnerow was in W.VA in the books. Did they give a state in the first movie? I got the impression the movies had moved Winnerow to Georgia because a) it took all of 5 minutes for the Dennisons to drive to Atlanta in their convertible (plus no windblown hair!), and b) when Heaven was at the bus stop, the bus that came to the (presumably) Winnerow stop had Georgia plates. But in Dark Angel, a title noted "Winnerow, West Virginia." Are these flicks just that sloppy? (Stupid question?)

[Snow Apple]

18 minutes ago, Moxie Cat said:

Does the actress who plays Heaven remind anyone of another actress? It's driving me crazy! It's not all the time - but when she smiles, her smile looks a LOT like someone else's. 

She reminds me of Alicia Witt. Not just her red hair but facial features too. Yes, especially her mouth.

[kissedbyarose]

I can’t let this hair thing go. The confession scene loses some weight when Heaven does not have the dark hair she’s supposed to have ... you know the hair she realizes is Tatterton hair.

ETA: I spoke too soon. Still mad about the hair but that confession is just as creepy and gross as it was in the books.

Edited August 4, 2019 by kissedbyarose

[Dr.OO7]

Okay, how much did this one suck?

I'm not watching until "Gates Of Paradise", since I'm the only one who liked that one.

1 hour ago, meatball77 said:

The laxative spiked punch and then her going in a bag or coat or something and then tossing it down the laundry shoot and then her bullies going down the shoot.  I can't believe they left that out.  😞 

Say what?! 

That was the best part of the book! I was so glad that Mean Girl bitch got her comeuppance like that!

This is why I'm not watching. They butchered the Dollanganger series and My Sweet Audrina by leaving out significant chunks and I knew they would do the same thing with this one.

[BitterApple]

8 minutes ago, kissedbyarose said:

I can’t let this hair thing go. The confession scene loses some weight when Heaven does not have the dark hair she’s supposed to have ... you know the hair she realizes is Tatterton hair.

ETA: I spoke too soon. Still mad about the hair but that confession is just as creepy and gross as it was in the books.

I'm eyerolling Leigh being a mousy frump with black hair. Her resemblance to Jillian is one of the main reasons for Tony's attraction to her.

I'm also annoyed at the way they're trying to portray Heaven as Strong Independent Woman when in reality it was Tony who financed her through her college years. Book Heaven certainly wasn't above enjoying luxury once she got used to it.  

[TattleTeeny]

Quote

Does the actress who plays Heaven remind anyone of another actress? It's driving me crazy! It's not all the time - but when she smiles, her smile looks a LOT like someone else's. (It's not the actress herself - I don't know her from any of her other credits.) Please post if you have any ideas!

Sophia Bush! It came to me JUST AS I READ YOUR POST!!!

This was just a big mess--and really unclear about the passage of time! And was there snow on the ground when Jillian and Tony were in Europe after Heaven's graduation--in presumably June?! And that's another thing; she was pretending to be 16...but then she graduated high school? WTF? 

Edited August 4, 2019 by TattleTeeny

[meatball77]

15 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

I'm eyerolling Leigh being a mousy frump with black hair. Her resemblance to Jillian is one of the main reasons for Tony's attraction to her.

I'm also annoyed at the way they're trying to portray Heaven as Strong Independent Woman when in reality it was Tony who financed her through her college years. Book Heaven certainly wasn't above enjoying luxury once she got used to it.  

Book Heaven was super into her expensive "Boston" clothes (and her beauty) and flaunting her money any chance she could get. 

They didn't give us Troy's obnoxious death either and that didn't require more than they showed us.  In the book he rode a horse over a cliff into the sea.

[Kiki777]

WTF was up with Jason Priestly?  He sounded like he was reading his lines for the first time.  Though he was effectively creepy,  hugging Heaven while going mmmmmmm mmmmm mmmm.

The pacing was so weird, all rushed and choppy.  So sad we didn't get the 'bags of poop down the laundry room' scene.  They'll probably also skip the 'laxative in the wheelchair' scene in Gates of Paradise.

I am glad they put Troy in a pirate blouse, just like in the book.

Jillian was decent, though drunker and meaner than I remember.

I'm glad they changed the book regarding Heaven's accepting Tony's money for tuition.  It never sat well with me that she moved back in with him after the rape reveal.

The exterior of Farthy looked familiar.  I think it was used in Seeds of Yesterday or My Sweet Audrina.

[Snow Apple]

1 hour ago, Moxie Cat said:

Does the actress who plays Heaven remind anyone of another actress? It's driving me crazy! It's not all the time - but when she smiles, her smile looks a LOT like someone else's. (It's not the actress herself - I don't know her from any of her other credits.) Please post if you have any ideas!

I already suggested Alicia Witt, but another possibility might be Sutton Foster.

[andromeda331]

Well, that was bad, Its not that I don't think Jason Priestly could pull off someone like Tony but he didn't. Too bad. The only time I really thought he seemed like Tony was on the top of the steps when Heaven says father or relationship and he asks which one. Now, that sounded more like Tony. 

The laxative scene was awesome I can't believe they skipped it. 

The whole thing it felt like they were rushing through the movie.

Jillian seemed more drunk then I remember. I'm not sure she really came off as someone as obsessed with her looks as she was in the books. 

I am glad they kept the scene of Troy getting Tatterton employees to show up at Heaven's graduation. I always liked that part.

[renatae]

I can't believe Jason Priestley. I don't think I've ever seen him in anything else, but I thought he was a big deal. He sounds like a high school thespian trying to take on Shakespeare.

[Kiki777]

1 hour ago, renatae said:

I can't believe Jason Priestley. I don't think I've ever seen him in anything else, but I thought he was a big deal. He sounds like a high school thespian trying to take on Shakespeare.

Right??? Even his voice was weird, all booming and deep, like he's a little kid playing grown-up.  Wasn't he also directing?  Maybe there was too much on his plate.  He's also doing the 90210 reboot.  Maybe he had trouble switching from goody two-shoes Brandon to rapist Tony.  Who knows?  I mean, he's not the best actor in the world, but I wasn't expecting him to completely phone it in either.

[Moxie Cat]

10 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I already suggested Alicia Witt, but another possibility might be Sutton Foster.

It might be Sutton Foster. I'll have to keep that in mind while watching Younger this week. It's not Sophia Bush for me, as mentioned upthread, because I don't know her from anything. It's hard to pinpoint, but it's something about the way her mouth crinkles and tightens when she's smiles. I was also thinking Amy Adams, but that might be just redhead-related. For all I know, I could be thinking of some random actress from a WB show or Degrassi. 

Man, I have a soft spot for Jason Priestley as a long, long 90210 watcher, but he was pretty terrible here. Such bizarre line readings, a mix of overacting and inappropriate emphases! 

I do think Kelly Rutherford was fabulous, though. She looks the part (and looks wonderful!) and did a great job. 

Why did they have to change the fact that Troy rode the horse into the ocean? (And didn't that happen while Heaven was away? I'm foggy.) Obviously they couldn't have dramatized that, but it wasn't shown in the book either. I always loved that off-the-wall, gothic plot detail. Especially since the horse survived.

It occurred to me that Heaven should have ended up with Tom. She wasn't related to him, after all. I realize why she couldn't be with Troy (although: Chris-cough-Cathy) but I never liked Logan.

Edited August 4, 2019 by Moxie Cat

[Scarlett45]

On 8/1/2019 at 10:11 PM, andromeda331 said:

I hate that they undid Cory's death. That was such a huge part of the story and fueled Cathy's revenge and destroyed Carrie. 

Wait wait- they un-did Corey’s death?!! I read all the Dollanganger novels and dont remember this. 

[Scarlett45]

On 8/2/2019 at 2:06 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I did wonder why Corrine left Garland though, especially since he seemed to dote on Alicia and give her anything she wanted. Then again, maybe Garland was like Tony Tatterton (into much younger girls) and Corrine just aged out of his ideal age bracket.

I always assumed Garland was like Malcolm- a misogynist at heart and after the “honeymoon period” was done and she had produced his son and heir he was an awful person to live with. She likely left Malcolm because 1. She had no money to support herself, and 2. Thinking as a boy he would be okay. 

[BitterApple]

I agree with everyone that Jason Priestley was awful. He overdid the hoity-toity accent and didn't have the stage presence to pull off a ruthless, multi-millionaire. The only casting decisions I've liked thus far are Julie Benz and Kelly Rutherford. 

I feel like the movie is rushing through plot points so quickly, the story isn't coming off as believable. For example, in Heaven, she barely had any interaction with Tom, Our Jane and Keith, so her desperation for a reunion in Dark Angel seemed misplaced. Ditto for her relationship with Troy. In the book, it was much more of a slow burn than Heaven jumping his bones after her rejection by Logan.

[Dr.OO7]

44 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

feel like the movie is rushing through plot points so quickly, the story isn't coming off as believable.

That was a major problem in the Dollanganger and Audrina movies too.

45 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

I agree with everyone that Jason Priestley was awful

I don't know what it is about this network--and Hallmark--that turns good or even halfway decent actors into lousy ones.

[qtpye]

On 8/2/2019 at 3:06 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

As an adult, it's disturbing how Malcolm calls all women whores based on the fact that his mother left him with his wealthy father because she was not happy. But like a typical misogynist, it's fine for him to be a total creeper, rape his stepmother, etc. because OF COURSE he is a hypocrite with double standards. His obsession with his mother totally creeped me out even when I first read Garden of Shadows. He kept her room as a shrine, raped his wife for having the audacity to go into the swan room, and then called his wife by his mother's name as he was raping her. Dude needed some serious therapy.

I did wonder why Corrine left Garland though, especially since he seemed to dote on Alicia and give her anything she wanted. Then again, maybe Garland was like Tony Tatterton (into much younger girls) and Corrine just aged out of his ideal age bracket.

I always wondered about everyone else in the Dollanganger series because Cathy was able to justify her actions no matter how terrible. That's why I thought the Christopher Diaries had the potential to be an interesting concept. It could have been another side of the story we already knew but with a completely different perspective. But that Cory retcon was just too much for me. Cory's death was the driving force behind so many things that happened (Chris and Cathy's decision to finally flee Foxworth Hall, Cathy doing anything she could to hurt her mother from sending her taunting letters to going after Bart, Carrie's suicide) so making it all a twist that he hadn't died cheapened everything. That was a terrible decision on the part of VCA's estate/Niedermeyer.

Cathy was a very damaged person and we got to see her thought process about why she felt it was okay for her to be with Chris (he needed her and could never love or trust anyone else after what their mother had done to them), Paul (to try to force Chris to be with someone else), Julian (to escape Paul when Amanda told her that Julia was still alive), and Bart (to punish Corrine). In Cathy's mind, she was always the victim trying to claw her way out of a bad situation, and the one time that she wasn't the narrator, we got a slightly different view of her from Jory and Bart - not just because she was their mother but because they were on the outside looking in, viewing her actions without the context of her past or the benefit of her inner monologue rationalizing what she'd done.

Chris knew exactly who Cathy was and what he'd done, and he loved her whole-heartedly without reservation - but he still had enough perspective to see when she was going off the deep end about things, which is one of the reasons why I thought the Christopher Diaries could have been interesting.

I think Jillian was similar to Cathy in many ways - she knew what she wanted and she was ruthless about getting it. But we knew why Cathy became that way. I would have been interested to learn about how Jillian became that way. I don't remember much about her backstory aside from the fact that she was from Texas.

Ooh, you know who else I want a backstory on? The names of the kids that Cathy and Chris found in the attic schoolroom!

See, I think Tony was not as into youth as much as beauty. Jillian was 20 years older than him and he was totally obsessed with her. He just objectified all beautiful women and wanted to possess them. Also, Jillian encourages him to go after Leigh, to spare her beauty.

13 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I'm eyerolling Leigh being a mousy frump with black hair. Her resemblance to Jillian is one of the main reasons for Tony's attraction to her.

I'm also annoyed at the way they're trying to portray Heaven as Strong Independent Woman when in reality it was Tony who financed her through her college years. Book Heaven certainly wasn't above enjoying luxury once she got used to it.  

Yes, Jillian, Leigh, and Heaven are all supposed to be great beauties... it is their blessing and curse. 

Not really seeing that in the movies though beauty is subjective.

Jason P being Tony makes me want to call him Tiny for some reason.

Edited August 4, 2019 by qtpye

[Moxie Cat]

1 hour ago, qtpye said:

Jason P being Tony makes me want to call him Tiny for some reason.

Hahaha....yes, in his first scene, I thought, Damn, JP sure hasn't grown since 92010, has he?! (That show did a better job hiding it.) Hard to make Tony imposing when Heaven is taller than he is!

I agree that Tony was just obsessed with this family of women. (You can add Annie too.) He did fall for Jillian initially, long before he ever saw Leigh. He's a fascinating character, IMO - one of the more complex villains that VC wrote, along with Olivia.

It's always interesting to me that Heaven spent weeks/months in Europe with him AFTER she became aware of who/what he really was. In the books, she didn't shove him out of her life, which is why the honeymoon at Farthy makes sense. It will be interesting to see what reason they come up with for her and Logan's return to Farthy in the movie, when she made it clear to Tony she wanted nothing to do with him. 

[qtpye]

1 hour ago, Moxie Cat said:

Hahaha....yes, in his first scene, I thought, Damn, JP sure hasn't grown since 92010, has he?! (That show did a better job hiding it.) Hard to make Tony imposing when Heaven is taller than he is!

I agree that Tony was just obsessed with this family of women. (You can add Annie too.) He did fall for Jillian initially, long before he ever saw Leigh. He's a fascinating character, IMO - one of the more complex villains that VC wrote, along with Olivia.

It's always interesting to me that Heaven spent weeks/months in Europe with him AFTER she became aware of who/what he really was. In the books, she didn't shove him out of her life, which is why the honeymoon at Farthy makes sense. It will be interesting to see what reason they come up with for her and Logan's return to Farthy in the movie, when she made it clear to Tony she wanted nothing to do with him. 

Olivia has always been interesting to me because Garden of The Shadows was the first book I read. Since I was a stupid kid, I really thought 90 percent of Olivia’s problems were caused by her not meeting society’s standards of beauty. I was like Olivia could be so happy if she only had some self esteem. The woman literally had sex three times in her whole life....the Malcolm rape, conceiving Mal, and then conceiving Joel.

Well, I was in for a surprise. I read many other VC books were the heroine was often described as the most beautiful girl in the world only to end up more miserable than Olivia. Someone should write an essay about how VC uses beauty in her books.

As for Heaven, I gave her a little slack. She was raised in a backwoods area where a girl was an old maid if she was not married by 17. She probably did buy horrible Tony’s story about their love affair.

I could not believe that Tony was so infatuated with Jillian that he signed a prenup giving her half of the Tatterton fortune if they divorced. This guarantees that he will never divorce her.

Edited August 4, 2019 by qtpye

[andromeda331]

3 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I agree with everyone that Jason Priestley was awful. He overdid the hoity-toity accent and didn't have the stage presence to pull off a ruthless, multi-millionaire. The only casting decisions I've liked thus far are Julie Benz and Kelly Rutherford. 

I feel like the movie is rushing through plot points so quickly, the story isn't coming off as believable. For example, in Heaven, she barely had any interaction with Tom, Our Jane and Keith, so her desperation for a reunion in Dark Angel seemed misplaced. Ditto for her relationship with Troy. In the book, it was much more of a slow burn than Heaven jumping his bones after her rejection by Logan.

She really didn't and in this movie Heaven didn't really come off desperate to see them. She wrote letters well to Tom later she said she wrote to Our Jane and Tom.

4 hours ago, Moxie Cat said:

It might be Sutton Foster. I'll have to keep that in mind while watching Younger this week. It's not Sophia Bush for me, as mentioned upthread, because I don't know her from anything. It's hard to pinpoint, but it's something about the way her mouth crinkles and tightens when she's smiles. I was also thinking Amy Adams, but that might be just redhead-related. For all I know, I could be thinking of some random actress from a WB show or Degrassi. 

Man, I have a soft spot for Jason Priestley as a long, long 90210 watcher, but he was pretty terrible here. Such bizarre line readings, a mix of overacting and inappropriate emphases! 

I do think Kelly Rutherford was fabulous, though. She looks the part (and looks wonderful!) and did a great job. 

Why did they have to change the fact that Troy rode the horse into the ocean? (And didn't that happen while Heaven was away? I'm foggy.) Obviously they couldn't have dramatized that, but it wasn't shown in the book either. I always loved that off-the-wall, gothic plot detail. Especially since the horse survived.

It occurred to me that Heaven should have ended up with Tom. She wasn't related to him, after all. I realize why she couldn't be with Troy (although: Chris-cough-Cathy) but I never liked Logan.

That's not a bad idea! Tom would have been perfect for Heaven. The two would have been great together. Although they never showed interested like that. I always liked Troy in the book because he really was great. It really stinks that he was her uncle. He treated her really well unlike that asshole Logan. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

4 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Wait wait- they un-did Corey’s death?!! I read all the Dollanganger novels and dong remember this. 

It’s from the awful Christopher Diaries by the terrible ghost writer. There were three books and they came out a few years ago (around the time of the FITA movies). They were discussed a few pages back in this thread if you want to read the general shock and disgust about that particular plot twist (which I HATED).

[Moxie Cat]

40 minutes ago, qtpye said:

Olivia has always been interesting to me because Garden of The Shadows was the first book I read.

Me too! I loved any series books, and you were supposed to READ THEM IN ORDER. I read Web of Dreams first too, even though I knew by then both of them were designed to be followups. It was always hard for me to see Olivia as a total villain because of reading Garden first. 

Also, I forgot that both Tony and Jillian hammered "Leigh was a slut" into Heaven during "Dark Angel." Is that in the books, too? What impression does a reader have of Leigh if she reads "Web of Dreams last? Does it come as a surprise that Leigh was basically just an innocent kid?

Interesting that your perspective of these books and some characters can be completely different if you read Garden of Shadows and Web of Dreams first or not.

[qtpye]

17 minutes ago, Moxie Cat said:

Me too! I loved any series books, and you were supposed to READ THEM IN ORDER. I read Web of Dreams first too, even though I knew by then both of them were designed to be followups. It was always hard for me to see Olivia as a total villain because of reading Garden first. 

Also, I forgot that both Tony and Jillian hammered "Leigh was a slut" into Heaven during "Dark Angel." Is that in the books, too? What impression does a reader have of Leigh if she reads "Web of Dreams last? Does it come as a surprise that Leigh was basically just an innocent kid?

Interesting that your perspective of these books and some characters can be completely different if you read Garden of Shadows and Web of Dreams first or not.

Even as a kid, I gave the “women are temptresses and men can’t help themselves a giant side eye”. Web of Dreams had not come out when I first started reading so I had to read it last. I was not surprised at all that Leigh was raped. First, she was a child, second-anyone could figure out Jillian was a narcissist psycho and third Tiny, sorry Tony, was creepy as hell.

He left his own daughter to grow up in abuse and poverty for no damn reason. I sometimes wonder if Heaven was average looking and not a great beauty that he would probably be happy to forget about her.

Edited August 4, 2019 by qtpye

[andromeda331]

38 minutes ago, qtpye said:

Even as a kid, I gave the “women are temptresses and men can’t help themselves a giant side eye”. Web of Dreams had not come out when I first started reading so I had to read it last. I was not surprised at all that Leigh was raped. First, she was a child, second-anyone could figure out Jillian was a narcissist psycho and third Tiny, sorry Tony, was creepy as hell.

He left his own daughter to grow up in abuse and poverty for no damn reason. I sometimes wonder if Heaven was average looking and not a great beauty that he would probably be happy to forget about her.

Yes, especially when you consider Jillian's and Tony's version is pretty much the same as Rev's excuse for raping Fanny. She seduced him, she was a tramp, a whore and he had no choice but to have sex with a 14 (or was she younger?) year old girl just like Tony's version he had no choice but to have sex with a 13 year old girl. I don't care if either girl was the whore of Babylon they were both still 13 and 14. In real life that usually ends up being the same excuse adult men use all the time to "justify" having sex with teenagers and younger. Its never "their" fault its always the teenager or young. They flirted, they seduced them, they were sluts, tramps, whores, etc. And so many people believe it. That's the part that's almost as bad. Rev is right. The people of their town are so willing to believe that Fanny, a child with a shitty father and abused, over worked mother would seduce the "good" Reverend when its so obvious that he raped a child. Its infuriating. 

Edited August 4, 2019 by andromeda331

[JAYJAY1979]

I've always wished a book in the Casteel saga focused on Fanny's daughter Darcy....the whole truth came out in Fallen Hearts in court, but no mention of her in Gates?  I think Darcy could have served as a foil to Annie in the same way as Fanny did to Heaven.

Rutherford was born to play Jillian...just like I thought Heather Graham was born to play Corrine (i.e. beautiful with nothing of substance).

I wonder if lifetime will do Dawn?  

[nokat]

VC Andrews must have grown up with a horrible family. Watched Heaven and was taken aback. I knew what to expect, because I read Flowers in the Attic, but damn. Trying to watch Dark Angel.  I feel blessed to have had an only somewhat dysfunctional family.  
 

[Scarlett45]

4 minutes ago, nokat said:

VC Andrews must have grown up with a horrible family. Watched Heaven and was taken aback. I knew what to expect, because I read Flowers in the Attic, but damn. Trying to watch Dark Angel.  I feel blessed to have had an only somewhat dysfunctional family.  
 

Maybe she just had a very active imagination. Yes truth is stranger than fiction but I don’t assume V.C. Andrews had to live any of this to write about it. 

[CountryGirl]

Oh man, that was just so, so, bad, and my expectations were in the toilet after watching Heaven, but this was even worse than Heaven somehow.

Brandon, I mean, Jason, was just so horribly miscast as Tony. His diminutive stature, the overacting, and WTF to practically every scene having him standing at the bottom of the staircase, waiting for Heaven to come in the door. 

Kelly was certainly the icy blond bitch but she was like a living prop that they trotted out every so often and stuck a drink in her hand. 

But the worst was the guy who played Troy. For starters, as pointed out upthread, he looked almost the same age as Tony when he's supposed to be 4-5 years older than Heaven. And he was all the wrong look for the part. I had said before that the guy who played Cal had a much closer look and certainly much more age-appropriate. 

Everything was so just so damn rushed and I realize these books are long but it annoyed me that they would rush through things, like Heaven and Troy's relationship, which developed over the better part of two years vs their getting it on about 10 minutes into the movie. Or they would include iconic moments only to botch them. Why bother to show Heaven turning up at the dance to find out it's not nearly the formal occasion she thought it was only to have her vomit in front of everyone, which isn't one iota of the delicious victory she got over Pru and the other bullies when Pru rode down the laundry chute, not knowing a garment bag Heaven had shit into (courtesy of the drink laxatives) was waiting for her at the end?

Even the smaller things like Troy showing up with some employees before the graduation ceremony just doesn't have the same impact as Heaven, thinking no one is there for her, goes to accept her diploma and sees Troy and an entire row of others getting to their feet in the audience and applauding her. It's one of those lasting memories Heaven thinks about even after she's married to Logan and honeymooning at Farthy. 

At least we have Heaven realizing Cal absolutely took advantage of her and that Fanny and her mother were raped. Fanny had a bit more fire in her this go-round but it bugs that they show her living in a trailer in Winnerow vs living in Nashville.

The reunions with Tom and Luke were a huge let-down (although it seems they are saving the big circus stuff for Fallen Hearts instead). Ditto for Heaven tracking down Keith and Our Jane and them rejecting her for fear of returning to their life of poverty and abuse. Completely absent from the movie. 

Logan was a douche just like the books so I guess that's one point for continuity. 

We had the snippy teacher vs Ms. Deale in Heaven and now we get the switcheroo in Dark Angel where her boarding school teacher(s) are praising her. 

And really, they couldn't have shown a quick shot of Jillian's devil horse Abdullah Bar, whom Troy tried to use to drown himself?

Also, it totally pissed me off that they had Tony saying that Leigh DID pose for one of the dolls when he lied about her doing that or the existence of a doll in the books. For good reason.

Obviously, I'm going to watch all of these and I know it's Lifetime, not Masterpiece Theater, but damn these are just awful and not even the so-bad-they're-good variety like the Dollanganger series.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

10 hours ago, CountryGirl said:

damn these are just awful and not even the so-bad-they're-good variety like the Dollanganger series.

For movies like this to work, the cast and crew really need to embrace the campiness and craziness. At least we got stuff like Jory flying out of his wheelchair in Seeds of Yesterday!

Edited August 5, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo
typo

[andromeda331]

4 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

I've always wished a book in the Casteel saga focused on Fanny's daughter Darcy....the whole truth came out in Fallen Hearts in court, but no mention of her in Gates?  I think Darcy could have served as a foil to Annie in the same way as Fanny did to Heaven.

Rutherford was born to play Jillian...just like I thought Heather Graham was born to play Corrine (i.e. beautiful with nothing of substance).

I wonder if lifetime will do Dawn?  

I was surprise we didn't see Darcy show up in Gates. It made perfect sense. A book focusing on her would have been really good. Then again I though the first time I read the series. Heaven would get her back. That she'd be even more determine and make it happened after learning the truth about her own conception.

[psychoticstate]

23 hours ago, Moxie Cat said:

Does the actress who plays Heaven remind anyone of another actress? It's driving me crazy! It's not all the time - but when she smiles, her smile looks a LOT like someone else's. (It's not the actress herself - I don't know her from any of her other credits.) Please post if you have any ideas!

She reminds me of Melissa Gilbert on Little House on the Prairie when she wore her hair down briefly.  

[nokat]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

At least we got stuff like Jory flying out of his wheelchair in Seeds of Yesterday!

Now I have to watch this.
 

[Scarlett45]

On 8/3/2019 at 6:35 PM, Kiki777 said:

Speaking of Cal, I just saw him in a Hallmark movie, and he was actually quite charming when not playing a rapist.

Yes I like him very much in his Hallmark movies. My favorite of his is The Sweetest Heart. 

On 8/3/2019 at 9:37 PM, Kiki777 said:

WTF was up with Jason Priestly?  He sounded like he was reading his lines for the first time.  Though he was effectively creepy,  hugging Heaven while going mmmmmmm mmmmm mmmm.

Yes he was so creepy. I don’t know if that was an acting choice but he sounded like he was on sedatives or something to make his reactions slower. “Downers” maybe?

Random nitpick- why were none of the kids dressed up at formal? These are rich prep school kids in the 1970s, formal dances were FORMAL.

I didn’t think Troy looked that old, I think he was styled horribly and had a few extra wrinkles around his eyes which might just be his eye shape. He would look more handsome with darker hair to set off his features which are quite nice.** He looked much younger than Jason Priestly, who’s playing younger than his age. If Heaven is 17, Leah would be 32 if still alive (15 plus 17, I’m assuming she had a birthday before she had Heaven), and Tony would be 42 (Jason Priestly will be 50 at the end of the month) and has his younger half brother Troy is supposed to be 27....I can buy this. But we saw NONE of him and Heaven falling for each other. They met, talked on a beach, kissed and then had sex.

***Somewhat related, Matt Smith is an actor who looks so much more handsome with lighter hair. When he dyes his hair black for roles it makes his features look sharper and more RAT like. The blonde softens him and makes him look more handsome. I think if he gained 15lbs this effect might not be so bad, but I say all this to say men can be styled badly too. 

On 8/3/2019 at 9:24 PM, TattleTeeny said:

This was just a big mess--and really unclear about the passage of time! And was there snow on the ground when Jillian and Tony were in Europe after Heaven's graduation--in presumably June?! And that's another thing; she was pretending to be 16...but then she graduated high school? WTF? 

I assumed she tested into her actual grade and they chalked it up to her being smart, AND that’s supposed to show that Heaven has been living there at least a year and a half. 

But there I go trying to be logical. 

[Scarlett45]

Jason Priestly as Tony Tatterton is creeping me the fuck out. I’m glad Heaven called him out on his bullshit about Leigh “loving being touched”. Fuck that. She. Was. Fourteen. (First of all), he was her step father (second of all), if she loved it she wouldn’t have ran away (third of all). 

I do like the strappy nightgown Heaven wears. 

Costuming problem- they didn’t make Heaven’s old clothes tattered or worn enough to see the “make over” when she’s got Tatterton money at her disposal. 

[Steph Sometimes]

On 8/3/2019 at 6:26 PM, Moxie Cat said:

Does the actress who plays Heaven remind anyone of another actress?

She reminds me of Maria Thayer (Tammi/Tamela on Strangers with Candy). But a very bland version of her. Heaven of Green Gables is so very bland.

Did Fanny suddenly turn her accent up to 11?

To the people saying Heaven should've ended up with Tom... wasn't that Dawn's storyline where the guy she was dating ended up being her brother and the guy she thought was her brother, she ended up dating?

I think my favorite part was where Heaven said something about not being aware Troy was coming for dinner and Jillian says, "That's because we didn't tell you."

[ElectricBoogaloo]

8 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I didn’t think Troy looked that old, I think he was styled horribly and had a few extra wrinkles around his eyes which might just be his eye shape. He would look more handsome with darker hair to set off his features which are quite nice.** He looked much younger than Jason Priestly, who’s playing younger than his age. If Heaven is 17, Leah would be 32 if still alive (15 plus 17, I’m assuming she had a birthday before she had Heaven), and Tony would be 42 (Jason Priestly will be 50 at the end of the month) and has his younger half brother Troy is supposed to be 27....I can buy this. But we saw NONE of him and Heaven falling for each other. They met, talked on a beach, kissed and then had sex.

6 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Jason Priestly as Tony Tatterton is creeping me the fuck out. I’m glad Heaven called him out on his bullshit about Leigh “loving being touched”. Fuck that. She. Was. Fourteen. (First of all), he was her step father (second of all), if she loved it she wouldn’t have ran away (third of all). 

The last time I read the Casteel series, I kept a running list of every time someone's age was mentioned so you can thank my OCD (and my lack of faith in the ghost writer and the editors) for this info!

According to Web of Dreams, Tony was 23 when he met Leigh (which happened about a month before he married Jillian in December) and Troy was 4. At the time, Leigh had just turned 12 (in October), so Tony is 11 years older than Leigh and Troy is 8 years younger than Leigh.

The following summer WHEN LEIGH IS STILL 12 YEARS OLD is when the "modeling" takes place aka when he is staring at her naked body and feeling her breasts (you know, for artistic reasons). He rapes her twice the following summer when she is 13. Leigh is still 13 when she runs away in July. She turns 14 in October and Heaven is born a few months later in February.

I know I'm splitting hairs because Leigh is definitely Tony's stepdaughter and very young, but it is THAT much grosser that she was 12 when he began molesting her and 13 when he raped her (I'm not saying that it would have all been acceptable if she had been 14 because it still would have been all kinds of wrong).

Tony is 25 years older than Heaven and Troy is 6 years older than Heaven, so when Heaven was 17, Tony was 42 and Troy was 23. If Leigh had lived, she would have been 31 when Heaven was 17.

[Snow Apple]

8 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Random nitpick- why were none of the kids dressed up at formal? These are rich prep school kids in the 1970s, formal dances were FORMAL.

It was just another ploy to humiliate Heaven. In the book, Heaven snooped in  Pru and her minion's rooms and saw formal dresses. But when the actual dance arrived, they all wore regular skirts and blouses making Heaven look ridiculous in her slinky red formal dress. 

In the book, they didn't have school uniforms. To be rebellious, the other girls wore clothes that looked poor. Heaven refused because she had enough of that during her childhood. The skirts and blouses the other girls wore to the dance was way nicer than what they wore everyday to class but it was the level of what Heaven wore everyday. I remember one of the nicer girls hinted to Heaven not to go to the dance but Heaven didn't understand that the hint was actually a warning.

[Scarlett45]

Thanks for explaining @Snow Apple. 

@ElectricBoogaloo your timeline is much appreciated. Tony is so gross. 

[TattleTeeny]

Quote

I assumed she was so tested into her actual grade and they chalked it up to her being smart, AND that’s supposed to show that Heaven has been living there at least a year and a half. 

But there I go trying to be logical. 

I guess that would have to be it--especially now considering @ElectricBoogaloo's timeline; if Heaven's birthday is in February, we can't even posit that she graduated at age 17 instead of 18. Still, though--the snow?!

Edited August 5, 2019 by TattleTeeny