Lifetime Original Movies - General Discussion

[Madding crowd]

Yes, I thought this ended badly too. They didn't bother to read the final DNA test to see if it was their son or not. They didn't know he was still alive though. They thought he drowned in the lake and they talked about dragging the lake and couldn't find anything. I felt sorry for him and was annoyed at the husband and daughter who were so mean to the boy's mother for caring about her missing son. Of course she needed to take care of her other kids too, but they just all seemed to move along without her.

 

Did anyone see the movie Problem Child? I don't know who the actors were but it was about a minister and his wife who took in a foster son with attachment disorder. I thought it was well done and I liked the appearance by Dee Stone as a counselor. 

[methodwriter85]

See, I kind of wish they had said definitively that it WAS really Mitchell, instead of the b.s. "choose your own adventure" ending.  That would have been brilliantly messed up.

 

I'm still leaning towards it not being Mitchell (the tattoo was AWFULLY convenient), but regardless, I did feel bad for the guy. It probably helps that he was easy on the eyes.

[Spartan Girl]

You know something that always bothers me about Lifetime movies? How in their thrillers there is usually the part when the psychotic femme fatale drugs the husband of the lead character to have sex with him, and when the wife founds out she acts like he cheated on her. Yet if a man does it to a woman, nobody would hesitate to call it rape.

Edited August 3, 2015 by Spartan Girl

[Maharincess]

I saw it and was unsure about the DNA. Was he their son? I was not sure. Also, wouldn't you immediately get this kid in therapy. Why didn't the kids say he was shifty. I know the son did but the mouthy daughter never did and thought that was OOC for her.

What is OOC?

[applecrisp]

OOC is out of character.

[Maharincess]

Oh, OK. Thanks.

[Bill C.]

So I finally got to see Double Daddy.  Other than that lingering mental comment of "Hutch Dano, what the hell are you doing in this movie?" I thought it was okay by Lifetime standards--if largely due to Brittany Curran, who just went all in on crazy bitch.  Either she or Liz Gillies probably needs to go ahead and become Lifetime's resident Josie Davis.  That said, it was still no The Bride He Bought Online (and they really need a same-sex movie to close that anthology out, but I digress), even with the nonstop floating tweets and texts and oppressively loud soundtrack and such...but it gets points for swerving me about the twin pregnancies.  I would have put money on at least one of them not coming to fruition, or the older sister who couldn't conceive getting one of the babies, but instead they got to keep both of them?  And everybody was happy about it?

[turbogirlnyc]

I admit I got sucked in by Sugar Daddies late last night. It was cheese but what's new? Immediately following Sugar Daddies, I started watching Sugar Babbies until I realized they were basically the same exact movie with different actors. Why am I even surprised?

[editorgrrl]

From the "Unauthorized Full House Story" thread:

The 90210 and Melrose Place movies are already in the can so what other TV shows will join Lifetime's "unauthorized" behind-the-scenes movies? The Fresh Prince of Bel Air? Dawson's Creek? Desperate Housewives, if it's not too soon for 2000s nostalgia?

Golden Girls, The Good Wife, Biggest Loser, or Downton Abbey?

Edited August 23, 2015 by editorgrrl

[Spartan Girl]

So I saw Dirty Teacher, and I think the girl was WAY too forgiving of her cheating boyfriend. And it would have been nice if, after the teacher was exposed, the boy's parents had at least apologized to her for accusing her of his murder. Just saying...

[Dejana]

From the Unauthorized Full House story thread:

 

I would love a DH tell all film, but i'm thinking since they are currently in the business w/ Cherry as well as Nicolette Sheridan still out for Cherry's throat over the "hitting" incident they know not to touch this one....yet.  Throw me in for a Dawson's Creek and Fresh Prince movies as well.

 

I'm hoping after Naya Rivera's book w/ the dirt on Glee comes out that Lifetime buys the rights for a scandalous tell-all about the show.  I would totally hope they wouldn't hold back the drama in regards to the relationships behind the scenes and the rumors about Ryan Murphy and some of the guys from the show.

 

Oh, yeah, I forgot about Devious Maids being from Marc Cherry. Glee would be good, though I wouldn't want to take Naya Rivera's word as total gospel. I wouldn't say she's a fantasist like Dustin Diamond, but she can be messy. I doubt a Lifetime movie would really go there with the Ryan Murphy speculation. Even when they had the actual rights to the Flowers in the Attic book, they toned down how twisted it was on the page, so forget about alluding to casting couch rumors with real people. These are "unauthorized" takes but I doubt they want to get sued.

 

Maybe they will branch out to movies once they TV well runs dry.  I know I would watch a Harry Potter one.

 

 

Fatal Flip...do they just come up with the titles first and then figure out the plot later on? Great title and it has Tatyana Ali, so I will probably give it a shot.

Edited August 23, 2015 by Dejana

[applecrisp]

Then There are None a mini series based on an Agatha Christie novel is being brought to the US by Lifetime.  Has anyone heard of this?  Has some good stars and Poldark's Aiden Turner.  I am happy about this, I was afraid it would be on a channel I did not get.

[callmebetty]

Then There are None a mini series based on an Agatha Christie novel is being brought to the US by Lifetime. Has anyone heard of this? Has some good stars and Poldark's Aiden Turner. I am happy about this, I was afraid it would be on a channel I did not get.

If this is done well I would watch it. I loved the book.

[methodwriter85]

Maybe they will branch out to movies once they TV well runs dry.  I know I would watch a Harry Potter one.

 

Well, they got close to it- they did a story with Poppy Montgomery playing J.K. Rowling as she struggles and then triumphs as the writer of Harry Potter. The budget more than anything would probably keep them from doing it.

Edited August 24, 2015 by methodwriter85

[Dejana]

Well, they got close to it- they did a story with Poppy Montgomery playing J.K. Rowling as she struggles and then triumphs as the writer of Harry Potter. The budget more than anything would probably keep them from doing it.

 

I watched this last night and it was actually...good? Not re-inventing the wheel and the Brit-pickers might be irked by the Americanisms, but it was well-acted and heartwarming, even if I thought they reached sometimes to show how Rowling's life inspired the books. I know she really did have a red-haired friend named Sean who drove a Ford Anglia....did she have to tease him about being "weaselly", too? But I thought it was clever to show her seeing goblins behind counter as she waited in line for assistance. I was pleasantly surprised that the guy they cast as her then-fiance (now husband) resembled him and had a Scottish accent, even for about three lines and five minutes of airtime.

 

As for an "unauthorized" movie about life on the Harry Potter set, they could put a lot of the action in production offices, dressing rooms or at home, and when they're supposed to be filming, stick to the forests, the blue-screen stuff and downscale the number of extras and find some estate/mansion to be a substitute castle. Lifetime doesn't seem to want the sets to look too much like the real thing, anyway. These movies seem sort of plotless, just portraying various things that happened, or may have happened, to the cast in the life of a series, enough to fill 90 minutes. Off the top of my head I can think of:

 

• Spielberg being interested but wanting American Hogwarts with Haley Joel Osment as Harry 
• Casting (mention Tim Roth choosing Planet of the Apes over Snape, recreate Rupert's Harry Potter rap video)
• Richard Harris dies, sadness among the cast, CGI Dumbledore speculation
• David Heyman playing "good cop" to Alfonso Cuaron, especially the time when he was trying to direct Dan to look awed and finally told him to picture an actress he likes in a g-string
• The descent of the kid who played Crabbe into drugs and getting booted from the movies
• Teen moodiness and hormones (Rupert barely talks in interviews, Dan and Emma hold hands on the red carpet)
• Katie faces racist cyberbullies
• When your Boy Wizard wants to star in Equus and date a twentysomething crew member (age of consent laws are different in the UK)

 

They would probably have to fake storylines and all the magical creatures very specific to HP, which would add another layer of cheese (and hopefully keep it from being too boring). I think I really just want to see who they would scrounge up for Lifetime movie versions of Alfonso Cuaron, Gary Oldman and Maggie Smith.

[aradia22]

I finally watched A Deadly Adoption. Meh. For a Lifetime movie it was OK. As a parody it was weak. Except for the ending they didn't really commit to going as far as they needed to. I preferred Double Daddy. I do think Ferrell and Wiig gave good performances. The writing on the whole was stronger. The jokes weren't actually funny but they were better than the usual dialogue. It's like I could see the meta humor but it didn't actually make me laugh.

[TimetoShine]

Fatal Flip: I know the guy is a killer but I kind of like him. Uh oh.

[KittyS]

The Fatal Flipper actor had a somewhat Matthew McConnaghy or Michael Vartan quality to him. I totally would have let him wrap me in plastic and hide me behind wallpaper!

I thought it was hilarious that they kept saying they were "almost done," yet the house pretty much looked like it did the day they moved in. Lifetime must have almost no budget for sets.

Also, we're supposed to believe that men are falling over themselves to be with the perky blonde? She was the most average-looking of the four main actors. Her career definitely peaked when she did Lolita in 1997.

Never change, Lifetime!

[aradia22]

Have you seen the Funny or Die parody of Lifetime biopics? Accurate in some ways, otherwise kind of a softball.

[methodwriter85]

Have you seen the Funny or Die parody of Lifetime biopics? Accurate in some ways, otherwise kind of a softball.

 

They really should have made fun of how they're often incredibly cheap and you might see 1 or 2 actual recreations of shows/movies/songs they did because they're too cheap to get rights. I just thought that this trailer showed a movie that would be MUCH more expensive than one Lifetime would be willing to make. (Well, save for the Marilyn one.)

[omgsowicked]

Did anyone else catch The Murder Pact? I DVR'd it on a whim after catching a glimpse of Michael J. Willett in a commercial for it. I just watched him in GBF, and watch him on Faking It, so I was curious. It was surprisingly entertaining! Much better than I expected.

 

All the actors were strong, though the actor who played Will, Beau Mirchoff, was particularly excellent. That character was a trip, how chill he was with killing people left and right, controlling everyone... when his father showed up to yell at him, I worried that he might want to off him, too. LOL.

 

The conclusion was so wild... I'll put it behind a spoiler tag just in case:

 

The detective reveal?! The Camille and Jane reveal?! The fact that Camille was the evil mastermind??? Wow! I don't usually watch/read mysteries, so maybe it wasn't that amazing, but it blew my mind, haha. Man, I spent the whole movie thinking Camille was a bit of a dip for putting up with Will, and in the end, she was the villain. Two of her friends got killed off, which she didn't seem too bothered by, and I take it she was also fine with her fiance's side piece being killed off? Or was that genuinely shocking to her? That's one of the things that confuses me, at what point did she decide to turn on Will, or was she always against him and was, in fact, in it for the lifestyle as he said? I'll have to go rewatch, I guess!

Edited September 14, 2015 by omgsowicked

[Irlandesa]

I half watched it while I was cooking.  It was fun.

 

But I did figure out that Lisa wasn't dead and that Camille helped her as soon as Camille walked away from the suggestion they kill her.  The next thing I knew, she was killing her.  Since I have seen a lot of mysteries, I reached the conclusion, although I didn't see the whole picture.

[DollEyes]

I saw it too and it was good, cheesy fun.

 

I not only thought that Lisa was till alive and that either Camille or Will's butler was helping her, I expected Lisa and Camille to be lovers themselves. I had no problem with what happened to the others, especially Will, who was not only a lying, cheating asshole, he tried to blackmail Heidi, his sidepiece-well, one of them-into keeping quiet about their affair, but when she refused, he killed her. In fairness, Heidi's death was an accident, but their covering it up wasn't. While tricking Will into confessing to the original crime was a stroke of genius on Camille's part, the second time it happened in front of a room full of witnesses was just dumb luck. All three of the co-conspirators got what they deserved, as far as I'm concerned

.

Edited September 14, 2015 by DollEyes

[Dejana]

Toni Braxton to star in autobiographical Lifetime movie:

 

Toni Braxton is set to unbreak her heart for a Lifetime movie about her life.

 

The network has given a greenlight to Un-Break My Heart, which is based on her 2014 memoir of the same title. This “authorized life story” will unspool the tale of the Grammy Award-winning R&B singer who has battled through lupus, financial woes, and divorce while raising a son with autism. The network bills Un-Break My Heart as “the never-before-told story of the measures Braxton took to make herself and her family whole again, serving as an inspiration to people around the world.”

 

But will it be better than the Fantasia one?

Edited September 16, 2015 by Dejana

[methodwriter85]

I just hope Toni Braxton has the good sense to cast someone to play the younger version of her, as Unbreak My Heart era was like 20 years ago. Natalie Cole did that and it worked well.

 

 

The Fatal Flipper actor had a somewhat Matthew McConnaghy or Michael Vartan quality to him. I totally would have let him wrap me in plastic and hide me behind wallpaper!

 

That's Mike Faiola, best known as the dad from MTV's Awkward.

Edited September 16, 2015 by methodwriter85

[Laurie4H]

Did anyone watch Ungodly Acts? Probably one of the best Lifetime movies in a long time. Very disturbing and good acting as well.

[KaveDweller]

I missed the very end of Ungodly Acts....did they reveal whether the woman really killed herself versus murder?

[methodwriter85]

I missed the very end of Ungodly Acts....did they reveal whether the woman really killed herself versus murder?

 

They said it was really a suicide and the redhead was exonerated; of course, Daniel Cooper is marked for life anyway as they show him unable to get a job because of background checks.

 

It was great. I like that they didn't go as over the top as you usual see in those "cult" movies, and the acting was far better than you usually see in Lifetime movies.

[JocelynCavanaugh]

Watching The Novack Murders now, after seeing the Beyond the Headlines about it, and Paz Vega, Rob Lowe, and even Candice Bergen are so much more attractive than the real life Novacks that it's pretty much a farce. Still entertaining, though!

[aradia22]

I decided to finally watch Perfect High today. Am I crazy or was that actually a good movie? I thought it'd be something fun to laugh at or at least watch 20 minutes of before deleting off the DVR but I ended up really liking it. I do think it was a little long. I was into it for the first hour and got a little bored in the second hour. But the acting was solid across the board. The writing wasn't bad. It felt really natural. I didn't know that Lifetime had it in them.

[TVFan17]

Here is Lifetime's line-up of brand new holiday movies this year -

 

http://itsawonderfulmovie.blogspot.com/2015/10/lifetimes-very-merry-christmas-2015.html

[methodwriter85]

I haven't read it yet, but I'm assuming there's one where a lonely single woman wakes up in a world where she's married to the best husband in the world and has perfect, Norman Rockwell painting kind of kids. Probably also another one where a woman goes on a road trip to try and fix her problems with her commitment-phobic boyfriend, and just happens to have a hottie male companion as part of her trip that she just can't help but bicker with.

 

Edited to add: I'm now laughing because I was right on one of those. Blossom, you lucky bitch. I have to laugh at them putting glasses on Ryan McPartlin. Are we supposed to think he's nerdy?

Edited October 22, 2015 by methodwriter85

[Rock73]

Good call methodwriter85...and of course there is the annual one about an adult child returning home to close/save the family Christmas-oriented business.  But I at least give kudos to Lifetime for not starting their holiday movies until after Thanksgiving, unlike that other channel which has decided that Halloween is the perfect day to start showing Christmas movies! 

[TVFan17]

I love that "other channel" that begins airing Christmas movies on October 31st (actually on the evening of 10/30).  I can't wait for their event!   I'm so glad they don't follow the schedule that other channels follow, and that they do their own thing.  That's why I usually watch that other channel more than I watch Lifetime or any other channel during the holidays -- because they are all Christmas, all the time, for 2 months.   Love it!  I love the predictable storylines and familiar actors -- all of it!

 

I love Halloween too, but I have no problems watching Christmas movies on 10/31 if I am home.  I watch The Walking Dead, American Horror Story and any other random 'dark' shows all year long, so I get my fill of that kind of fare outside of 10/31.

Edited October 22, 2015 by Sherry67

[callmebetty]

The Spirit of Christmas sounds intriguing. I hope it turns out to be as good as it sounds.

[methodwriter85]

The Spirit of Christmas sounds intriguing. I hope it turns out to be as good as it sounds.

It's got kind of a Somewhere in Time vibe to it. Also kind of reminds me of that 1990's Caroline B. Cooney book, Both Sides of Time.

 

It's kind of funny that present hipster looks can kinda,sorta pass for 1890's aesthetic. Anyway, I'm going to bet either the "ghost" somehow gets to live in the present day with her (or vice-versa with her in the past), or after learning how to truly love with him going off to the afterlife, she meets a great guy...who happens to look exactly like the ghost.

 

The dude's hot so I'm in.

Edited October 23, 2015 by methodwriter85

[callmebetty]

It's got kind of a Somewhere in Time vibe to it. Also kind of reminds me of that 1990's Caroline B. Cooney book, Both Sides of Time.

It's kind of funny that present hipster looks can kinda,sorta pass for 1890's aesthetic. Anyway, I'm going to bet either the "ghost" somehow gets to live in the present day with her (or vice-versa with her in the past), or after learning how to truly love with him going off to the afterlife, she meets a great guy...who happens to look exactly like the ghost.

The dude's hot so I'm in.

I'm a sucker for time travel type stories so I'm all in. I'm going with your last theory that she'll meet a look alike ,possibly great great nephew?

[TimetoShine]

The Spirit of Christmas sounds like it will be another Casper for me and I am not going to have my heart broken again.

[methodwriter85]

The Spirit of Christmas sounds like it will be another Casper for me and I am not going to have my heart broken again.

I always kept wanting a sequel where Casper comes alive again in Devon Sawa's teen idol form.

[TimetoShine]

You and me both.

[Madding crowd]

The 'new' movies they show on Sat and Sunday just keep getting worse. I watched Caught last night which was about a woman who kidnapped her husband's teenage mistress. The woman who played the wife was one of the worst actresses I have ever seen.

[TVFan17]

The 'new' movies they show on Sat and Sunday just keep getting worse. I watched Caught last night which was about a woman who kidnapped her husband's teenage mistress. The woman who played the wife was one of the worst actresses I have ever seen.

 

I didn't see the movie, but I saw the synopsis for the movie.  Is Anna Camp playing the scorned wife/kidnapper?  She played a recurring role on True Blood.

[Madding crowd]

I don't know her name and maybe she was playing it for camp, but campy just doesn't play right in these types of movies.

[Maharincess]

I agree that she was awful.

[basiltherat]

Miss Camp sure lived up to her name!  It was a great movie to snark at with a group.

[Maharincess]

My daughter and I were texting each other throughout the movie laughing about how bad it was.

[VCRTracking]

In this Onion AV Club interview with Barry Bostwick where he talks about his role as the mayor in Spin City:

 

It was a very unique experience in my life. I hadn’t had that kind of solidity and a paycheck that came in every week and I certainly miss that. I certainly miss the volume of work and the quality of the work that was so consistent and rather than a lot of the TV movies and things that I had done prior. I would do one that was sort of mushy and I’d play a jilted husband, and by the fourth jilted husband I was done with it. But I still had to do it because in that era, the TV movies were all generated by the female stars. They were all Lindsay Wagners and those people and so you had to play the either asshole husband or the young lover who was pulling her away from the asshole husband.

 

The one I remember most is from the early 90s Susan Lucci  with Bostwick as a jilted husband:

 

[Laurie4H]

Did anyone watch The Preachers Sin? I thought this was a pretty good one for Lifetime standards.

[emjohnson03]

Did anyone watch The Preachers Sin? I thought this was a pretty good one for Lifetime standards.

I did! I wasn't going to stay but it pulled me in. I thought the main guy was pretty good. Of course they did have to go the route of the "meeting the villain in the dark". Of course the girl didn't try too hard to get the guy she wanted.

 

I thought it was interesting he didn't ask for a DNA Test. He just accepted it.

 

It was a decent 2 hours.

[Madding crowd]

I liked the guy who played the preacher, but the movie was more about the teenage niece and the rich girl than the son.