Lifetime Original Movies - General Discussion

[omgsowicked]

I just watched Escape from Polygamy, which was pretty good (went completely over my head, the whole Romeo/Juliet thing), and Sorority Surrogate (because three Degrassi alums were in it), which was awful.

I tend to watch the older ones, like Fifteen and Pregnant, Too Young to be a Dad, Girl Positive, etc. I don't keep up to date with their latest offerings but it seems like it's been mostly adultery/kidnap/murder stories, which doesn't really catch my eye.

[bluvelvet]

Glad I found this spot so I will have a place to discuss when twop closes.

[TheEditrixHasSpoken]

This might not be the right spot, as I'm having trouble finding out exactly what network it's on, but there's a new "Bonnie & Clyde" miniseries? Movie? Something, that's allegedly Lifetime + History (?!) + someone else (Hallmark, buy the looks of it. If you see the trailer, which runs on a loop I swear, you hear the (not Faye Dunaway) Bonnie coo, "Once I started crimin', there was just not turnin' back. . ."

"'Crimin''"? Now this is (HUGE AIR QUOTES WARNING) "allegedly" based on factual statements from the era and the peeps involved, e.g. Bonnie herself. And not being what one might call the sharpest tool in the Dust Bowl-era shed, she very well might have said, "'crimin'". 

But it runs so often and is cooed so obnoxiously (I've asked all my Southern friends to vet it and they all say she's too high-falootin' sounding--like Dallas vs elsewhere), plus (!) I just learned a high school drama friend of mine said her very good friends were the dialect coaches on this---!!!! Oh man.

 

I am not a crackpot. If anyone else sees this, please give a girl a shout. I'd love to know I'm not the only one perpetratin'.

xoxo, y'all.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The Bonnie & Clyde movie was split into two parts so they called it a miniseries. It originally aired in December on both Lifetime and the History Channel. It starred Holliday Grainger (The Borgias) as Bonnie and Emile Hirsch as Clyde. It also starred Sarah Hyland (Modern Family), Elizabeth Reeser (Grey's Anatomy, The Good Wife), Dale Dickey, Holly Hunter, and William Hurt.

[Lisin]

I moved the Petals on the Wind talk over to our Dollaganger thread here. 

[00redsvt]

So, did anyone watch Secret Sex Life of a Single Mom? Seriously, they wanted us all to believe it was based on "the book that started the phenomenon"...only it wasn't THAT book, lol.

I just really wanted Delaine to shut up. And that has got to be the most boring movie about sex I've ever seen.

And I just made myself sound like a perv...but, really, it could've been a bit more interesting.

[applecrisp]

OOredsvt, I too watched it but FF through the bondage stuff which was a lot.  You got it right, very pedestrian.  I get on a kick with Lifetime movies and can't stop watching, then I get tired of them and think I would never watch that.  Can't explain it.

[omgsowicked]

Oh god, yeah, I watched... well, OK, I skimmed it.

 

This isn't the type of movie I go for (I only tuned in for an actor I like) but I was going to give it a solid chance... couldn't get past the acting. Delaine was such a snooze, and her blonde friend... I thought she hated Delaine but apparently they were actually friends? If you say so. And I was disappointed that she didn't get with that younger guy in the end, he seemed nice and down for whatever kinky shit she wanted.

 

I guess it was part of the book (which I didn't know the movie was based on) but I thought it was goofy that the dom guy was basically running a self-improvement course for alpha sub women or whatever the heck he was going on about. Maybe I missed it but why didn't she ever consider therapy? She clearly had lots on her mind, why not discuss it with someone instead of listening to this guy and his, "choosing to be submissive is the ultimate power," business? That wouldn't have been exciting to watch, I know. But I don't really understand how she overcame her husband's verbal abuse and gained confidence by letting some random dude treat her like crap with her permission, which apparently makes all the difference. I don't know, I don't know anything about this dom/sub thing and I don't care to, lol.

[00redsvt]

Omgsowicked, I'm assuming she didn't go for therapy cause "panties" are required?

I really hate that word, btw. I feel like this was a cheap tactic to appeal to people awaiting the actual 50 Shades movie. Which is actually based off the 50 Shades book...not another book claiming to be based off a best seller that no one has heard of. But maybe that's just me. I do applaud Lifetime for trying to go there, but they did it all wrong.

[Dejana]

Lifetime's making a Grumpy Cat Christmas movie: GC is overlooked in a pet store, but a girl can communicate with her. No word on if the pet store owner is a workaholic single woman and the girl's dad is a lonely widower, but considering that it's a made-for-TV holiday movie...

Edited June 12, 2014 by Dejana

[Bill C.]

OMFG.  This is so ridiculously, awesomely, far off Lifetime's reservation--seriously, this sounds like an ABC Family project.  Lifetime doesn't do comedy movies!  (Or at least only very, very rarely; the last big one I can remember them busting out was, ironically, Finding Mrs. Claus in 2012.)

[applecrisp]

Ohh. Grumpy cat, did not know she was female.  I am on a Lifetime kick and the weather is so beautiful.  Sometimes as sleazy as they can be I sometimes like their movies better than Hollywood.  I watched Blindsided with Michael Keaton and stopped in the middle.  Just too much, too much suspence for no reason too much time with the crime, and the acting besides Keaton was not that great.

 

Watched The Betty Broderick Story the other day and still good. I kicked myself for not taping the sequel.

[Dejana]

More about the Grumpy Cat movie:

Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever, written by Tim Hill (SpongeBob SquarePants) and Jeff Morris, will center on a pet-store cat who is constantly overlooked and the 12-year-old girl who can communicate with her, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (Show of hands: Up until this moment, who thought Grumpy Cat was actually a guy!?)

“[The movie] brings fun and irreverence that we haven’t had at Lifetime,” VP of original movies at Lifetime Arturo Interian told THR. “We’re so known for our heartfelt sentimentality that it will poke fun at those stereotypes.” Interian described the project as “a little Home Alone and a little Die Hard,” and said the television movie will feature other Internet memes as well.

[omgsowicked]

I watched My Daughter Must Live (stunning title) strictly because of Sergio Di Zio (who I adore but can never quite buy as badass or serious, due to his voice and goofy expression)... ended up skimming through it because the acting was so cheesy (I know that's part of the charm of Lifetime movies but it's been extra cheesy lately). But from what I saw, it was very repetitive and I wish they had cut the whole mobster bar owner angle. It was out of place and just stupid, especially since in the end, the guy just wanted Dan to stay out of town lest he look like a "buffoon" to the townspeople.

[Dejana]

First look at the cast of The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story:
 

Lifetime has set The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story, centered on the off-camera experiences of the six young stars of the 1990s comedy, for a Labor Day premiere.

 

Premiering Monday, Sept. 1, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story promises to expose the challenges of growing up under the public scrutiny while trying to maintain a squeaky clean image of their characters on- and off-screen.

I hope this doesn't take the Dustin Diamond book as gospel; he seems to have an axe to grind and just really unpleasant overall. I wonder if this movie will address the Tori situation at all (Tori the character, not Tori Spelling's appearances on the show).

Edited June 19, 2014 by Dejana

[Luckylyn]

I am totally watching that Saved by the Bell movie.   I loved that show growing up.  It's so cheesy but I don't care.  I remember there was one episode where Lisa and Zack were dating and then the show never addresses it again.  I'm dying to know if the movie will deal with the rumor that racist letters made them change their minds about Lisa/Zack.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

"I'm so excited....I'm so excited....I'm so *scared*!!!!!"

[applecrisp]

Watched Stolen in the Womb, which was the usual Lifetime movie.  I thought the pregnant woman's friends were kind of mean.  Anyone watch? 

[00redsvt]

First look at the cast of The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story:

I hope this doesn't take the Dustin Diamond book as gospel; he seems to have an axe to grind and just really unpleasant overall. I wonder if this movie will address the Tori situation at all (Tori the character, not Tori Spelling's appearances on the show).

Can you tell me what the Tori situation is?

[Dejana]

Can you tell me what the Tori situation is?

In the final season, there are some episodes with the core six characters and others with the guys, Lisa and a new girl named Tori. NBC filmed the senior year episodes and had them graduate but before the season started airing, they decided to extend the season, but Tiffani Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkeley didn't sign on. TPTB invented another girl character to be part of the group without really acknowledging where Jessie and Kelly were. They showed the episodes out of order, so the cast make-up seemingly went back and forth from week to week.

 

Wasn't expecting such creepy sex scenes in that Warren Jeffs movie. I'm always a little surprised to see Martin Landau show up in new projects. I guess it's nice that he's still working.

[Dejana]

Did anyone else watch Expecting Amish? They really didn't try to create much suspense, but I suppose that's beside the point with a Lifetime movie. I don't know if I laughed more at the Pennsylvania Dutch teens sounding totally Californian, the obviously fake beards or the iPhone with an everlasting battery that got perfect reception even in Amish country.

Edited July 21, 2014 by Dejana

[bref]

Yay, glad I found this topic! I was a Lifetime movie virgin until the recent "Guilty at 17". What a steaming piece of crap, yet so utterly compelling! Terrible storytelling, lame performances, cheap production values--Is this typical of the genre? Must find more!

[MaryMitch]

I'm kinda surprised Lifetime hasn't done a movie on the life of Tim Gunn. I just heard a radio interview (on NPR's "Fresh Air"), and he's had a pretty interesting life.

[Dejana]

Yay, glad I found this topic! I was a Lifetime movie virgin until the recent "Guilty at 17". What a steaming piece of crap, yet so utterly compelling! Terrible storytelling, lame performances, cheap production values--Is this typical of the genre? Must find more!

 

Is water wet? Lifetime's website has quite a few movies available to watch in full.

[bref]

Heh, thanks @Dejana! Anything in particular you might recommend?

[Almost 3000]

@bref ~ Two Tori Spelling old school made for tv movies are some of my favorites in this craptastic category: Mother, May I Sleep With Danger & Death of a Cheerleader the later also starring Kellie Martin. Repeats used to be a yearly staple on Lifetime. There are tons but these are classic crap and I think Tori is one of the queens of this genre. Just wait for the holidays starting in November with 300+ variations of city girl or guy being stranded in small town and learning the meaning of Christmas spirit and of course also finding true love.

[Dejana]

Heh, thanks @Dejana! Anything in particular you might recommend?

 

Since you enjoyed Guilty at 17, you might want to try others in the "series" if you can find them (if one isn't streaming on Lifetime's site, it might be on popular video-sharing sites): Fugitive at 17, Betrayed at 17, Accused at 17, Dead at 17, Missing at 17, Stalked at 17.

 

If you're into true crime movies, there are Rob Lowe's contribution to the Lifetime genre: Drew Peterson: Untouchable and Prosecuting Casey Anthony. He wasn't in Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret but the acting was better and it was more salacious than expected for a basic cable movie.

 

In lighter real-person fare, William & Kate had bad acting, weak storytelling and was so obviously filmed in California. Total rush job made in time for the wedding a few years ago; Kate hardly seemed to sound British. They even cheaped out with the graphics, with the title card looking a good 15 years out of date.

Edited July 30, 2014 by Dejana

[applecrisp]

I love Lifetime movies.  They are light and easy.  It requires no effort to watch.  The teen age movies that Dejanna rec'd are good and there are so many more.  The Cheating Pact, Last Hours in Suburbia and one about a girl fight starring Anne Heche.

 

One theme I notice is one person-usually a women - takes over another person's life.  She/he will kill at least one innocent person along the way.  The other is someone is seeking revenge for a perceived slight, usually the revenge seeker goes to great lengths to ruin this  the victims life.  Of course one or two innocent people are killed along the way.

 

You see some of the some actors over and over, Alexandra Paul, William R. Moses, Linda Purl.  They are formulaic but still watchable and often take place in eastern cities like Philadelphia.

  

I actually prefer them to bigger budget movies at times.  I have to be in the right mood though.

 

Expecting Amish was really cheesy and the beards looked fake.  Also, where did they get the cash to live in a nice house in LA or a month?

[Princess Sparkle]

One theme I notice is one person-usually a women - takes over another person's life.  She/he will kill at least one innocent person along the way.

 

 

The most entertaining version of this was They Shoot Divas, Don't They?, which I'm pretty sure is available on the Lifetime site to stream.  

 

and Sorority Surrogate (because three Degrassi alums were in it), which was awful.

 

 

I got the best unintentional laugh at the line "I got a gun girl!".  

 

I have a special place in my heart for No One Would Tell, starring Fred Savage and Candace Cameron, because it was actually required viewing in my high school health class (I think starting the year after it came out, because it's been awhile since I've been in high school).  

[spaceytraci1208]

I'm not sure if this was a Lifetime Original Movie, but the first movie I remember seeing on Lifetime was A Cry For Help: The Tracy Thurman Story. This movie disturbed me to my core and bothers me to this day. Dale Midkiff fell into that Danny Glover category for me for awhile where he played a crazy, abusive bastard so well that I was wary of him whenever I saw him in something lol.

[AltLivia]

I saw Born Out Of Exile, a Lifetime movie about two teens (a couple) who run away and life is, of course, terrible for them. Mark Paul Gosselaar was in it, and I believe his character was about to resort to prostitution to get the money to go home. Yes, it was totally dated by the time I saw it, but it was actually quite a good for a TV movie.

Edited August 6, 2014 by ScullyInApt42

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I'm not sure if this was a Lifetime Original Movie, but the first movie I remember seeing on Lifetime was A Cry For Help: The Tracy Thurman Story. This movie disturbed me to my core and bothers me to this day. Dale Midkiff fell into that Danny Glover category for me for awhile where he played a crazy, abusive bastard so well that I was wary of him whenever I saw him in something lol.

I saw that movie when it first came out, and I couldn't sleep that night because I was legit freaked. He jumped on her head. He jumped on her head, and no one stopped him. Chilling.

[applecrisp]

Oh! good suggestions for movies to watch.  Tall Hot Blonde is one I would recommend.  Directed by Cortney Cox and starred Garret Dillihunt,"Burt" From Raising Hope, it was a true story and probably one of the 1st catfish stories out there.  The mom was using the daughter's pictures and luring men, just for the heck of it.  One guy ends up dead and Garret's character killed him over a woman he had never met.  

 

The father and daughter moved away,they were so disturbed by what the mother had done.

[twoods]

I just caught "Twist of Faith" with Toni Braxton and the leads had such great chemistry. I felt it was rushed but know with time constraints not much can be done. Pleasantly surprised.

[Luckylyn]

I loved Twist of Faith.  You are so right about the chemistry.  I like that the "too soon' issue was addressed and his mother's response.

[ShadowHunter]

I just watched a new documentary on HBO 'Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart': and one of my thoughts was this premiered on HBO instead of Lifetime. I guess they had to air those I was haunted shows they seem to like.  The other thought I had was the documentary showed clips of the 1991 movie that starred Helen Hunt. I wish Lifetime would show that movie again or any of the old ones. Some of the older movies are good and it's a shame we cant see them at all anymore. 

[Dejana]

Trailer for 'The Brittany Murphy Story'

[TattleTeeny]

@bref ~ Two Tori Spelling old school made for tv movies are some of my favorites in this craptastic category: Mother, May I Sleep With Danger & Death of a Cheerleader the later also starring Kellie Martin. Repeats used to be a yearly staple on Lifetime. There are tons but these are classic crap and I think Tori is one of the queens of this genre. Just wait for the holidays starting in November with 300+ variations of city girl or guy being stranded in small town and learning the meaning of Christmas spirit and of course also finding true love.

I love those two Tori Spelling ones*! There's also a non-Tori one with Hilary Swank as a nasty, rotten teenager who slams her mom (Joanna Kerns) in the face with an old-school telephone. Then she goes and rocks out on stage with her boyfriend's dumb band. Her wild rockstar outfit appears to be a tied-at-the-midriff Old Navy-looking orange fleece and an oh-so-sexy boxy khaki skirt. Scandalous! And The Wonder Years dad is Hilary's dad in it.

And the there's I've Been Waiting for You, starring Roseanne's Becky2 as a descendant of witches. Punky Brewster is in it too.

* In DoaC, why the hell is Becka's sister eating a cucumber, which she is slicing with a knife...while she is driving a car? It is so stupid!

Edited August 28, 2014 by TattleTeeny

[Aquarius]

And the there's I've Been Waiting for You, starring Roseanne's Becky2 as a descendant of witches. Punky Brewster is in it too.

 

Oooohh, yes.  One of my favorites!  Such cheesy fun.

[TattleTeeny]

 

Oooohh, yes.  One of my favorites!  Such cheesy fun.

And, look--you can have your very own copy for a completely reasonable price! (What the hell, man?)

http://www.amazon.com/Ive-Been-Waiting-Sarah-Chalke/dp/B00009YXGU/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1409494377&sr=1-1&keywords=i%27ve+been+waiting+for+you

Edited August 31, 2014 by TattleTeeny

[callmebetty]

Did anyone watch the movie where the girl sleeps with her best friend's husband who is politician? There is also a B plot about a serial killer? I can't think of the name and I fell asleep during it. I was wondering if the friend found out and who the killer was.

it was pretty convenient that the friend just moved to town hadn't been in touch with BFF for 5 years. The BFF didn't have a Facebook page ( so no pictures of hubby) and only pictures she had on her phone of hubby he had a mask on.

it was your typical lifetime movie but am still curious about the ending.

[Laurie4H]

Some of the older movies from the 90's were made for network TV. Part of the reason they had a higher production value and better acting. One of the best made Lifetime movie I think was Odd Girl Out.

[DangerousMinds]

Did anyone watch the movie where the girl sleeps with her best friend's husband who is politician? There is also a B plot about a serial killer? I can't think of the name and I fell asleep during it. I was wondering if the friend found out and who the killer was.

it was pretty convenient that the friend just moved to town hadn't been in touch with BFF for 5 years. The BFF didn't have a Facebook page ( so no pictures of hubby) and only pictures she had on her phone of hubby he had a mask on.

it was your typical lifetime movie but am still curious about the ending.

If it's the movie I'm thinking of, it was the wife behind it all, not the politician.

[Maharincess]

I hope its ok to start this. I noticed we have a thread for Disney movies but not for Lifetime.

I mainly started it because I just watched Stockholm, Pennsylvania with Cynthia Nixon and just needed to say... What the hell was that? That was such a weird movie. It made no sense to me.

I watched Cleveland Abduction last week. As horrible as is was to watch, I thought the movie itself was good. What I could see through my tears anyway.

To the mods: Please delete this if I wasn't supposed to make it. Thank you.

Edited May 10, 2015 by Maharincess

[Armchair Critic]

I have a question about the ending of Stockholm, Pennsylvania ...  

did she kidnap that little girl?

 

That was pretty good for a Lifetime movie and it was actually 2 1/2 hours which was different.

Edited May 11, 2015 by Armchair Critic

[Maharincess]

I think that's What they were implying. I thought it was weird. The mom went from normal to freak in a matter of days.

[Armchair Critic]

Also it seemed weird to me that the husband didn't try harder to stay with his wife, they had a fight and then he just moved out and seemed to be living with another woman that I assume he had cheated with before. I guess it was realistic that something like that messes everyone up and there are no quick fixes, but that was depressing.

[purplemouth]

Stockholm, Pennsylvania was SO crazy! Just when I started to get bored with it, something insane happened. I'm pretty it elicited more "oh my god"s from me than any major motion picture, so...well done, Lifetime? I liked that it dealt with how the victim reintegrates into the world, although I guess in this case it's really integrating for the first time. My mind is still blown from this one.

Cleveland Abduction was also good.

[Maharincess]

I liked Cleveland Abduction too. Knowing it was a true story made it really hard to watch though.

I don't usually like Taryn Manning, she always looks dirty to me, like she hasn't showered in a couple weeks but she did a good job here.

[BitterApple]

I think it's because Taryn always plays roles where she is sort of dirty and gross. Eight Mile, Hustle and Flow and Cleveland Abduction all had her in white trash mode. No disrespect to Michelle, but her background is what it is.

Regarding Cleveland Abduction, I thought the movie was well done but to truly understand the horror of their ordeal you have to read the books. The movie only scratches the surface.

How the hell did Stockholm Pennsylvania end? I gave up an hour and a half in because I got so bored and the plot line was chugging along at a snail's pace.

Edited May 13, 2015 by BitterApple