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A Deadly Adoption (Lifetime)

BetterButter

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legaleagle53

legaleagle53

Rick Kitchen, I'm with you. I can't stand Will Ferrell either.

Why is he doing a Lifetime movie?

The movie sounds like cheesy goodness but I won't watch this one. I'd keep waiting for Ferrell to start doing his shtick.

 

That's what made it so hard for actors like Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Dick Van Dyke, and Lucille Ball to do dramatic roles.  Everyone kept expecting them to be Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Steve Carrell, Dick Van Dyke, and Lucille Ball.  It always seems to work better in reverse; Leslie Nielsen and Fred MacMurray both started out as dramatic actors and went into comedy relatively late in their respective careers, but it's their comedy roles that people remember nowadays.  The only exception I can think of is Hugh Laurie (started out in comedy in his native UK, but he's better known in the US for his dramatic turn in House).

 

That's why I'm intrigued by the thought of Will Farrell doing a straight dramatic role (if indeed, Lifetime isn't suddenly acting out-of-character itself and actually doing a comedy).  I'd love to see him try it just to see what he can do.

  • Love 1
Darian

Darian

My DirecTV has it listed as a comedy.

I'd consider Stranger than Fiction more a comedy-drama, but regardless, imo, Ferrell has plenty of opportunity to show off his dramatic chops (that role convinced me he has them). I love that movie and he's a big part of the reason.  The whole cast is excellent, really. 

 

(Ooh, Roger Ebert agreed!) 

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editorgrrl

editorgrrl

Here's the extended trailer for it.  It looks as though it at least has some great snark value, if nothing else:

 

https://youtu.be/F7cyCuMcU8k

 

The good news is Lifetime is promoting it heavily during their new drama, UnREAL. The bad news is that nobody's watching UnREAL. (It's about a Bachelor-like reality TV dating competition.)

BusyOctober

BusyOctober

(edited)

Is this supposed to be OTT cheez in the same way "Sharknado" was?  It's not meant to be watched as a real made for TV drama like "Roots" or "The Burning Bed", right??  I don't think a Lifetime movie is intended to be a proofing ground for great dramatic acting.  Please tell me this is a spoof.

Edited by BusyOctober
Monty9

Monty9

(edited)

Now I object. When Pseudo Megan Fox goes through her skank wear she is wear a lycra club skirt when as we know trashy skanks can either wear 1. A denim mini 2. Denim cutoffs 3. Animal print. Purple lycra club wear would have been acceptable if they were having an early 90's flashback but not in this case.

 

What have y'all called so far ?

I called: Fake pregnancy and the death of Charlie the minute he saw the turquoise truck for the second time.

Edited by Monty9
  • Love 3
Misslindsey

Misslindsey

 

Not going to lie, I laughed at the goofy dancing at the end.

I laughed so hard at the goofy dancing at the end. My personal favorite was the scene where Will Ferrell was driving the boat at the end. Really, the last 20 to 30 minutes had me in tears. The boat driving, the standing in the middle of the road, jumping off the bridge, Kristen showing up, and the ridiculous dancing with Kristen using the wooden spoon as a microphone. So much fun.

CMH1981

CMH1981

I enjoyed the movie, and I totally understood the tongue-in-cheek aspect they were going for.  They seemed to have nailed almost all the tropes you would find in a Lifetime movie / 80's tv movie of the week.  I think what has shocked me the most is that most of the reviewers didn't understand that this wasn't supposed to be a serious movie or a full on out comedy movie.  I just can't see how they missed the boat on this one.

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Armchair Critic

Armchair Critic

I was disappointed that they didn't up the cheeze factor, if you weren't watching it closely it was just another Lifetime movie. A few funny things I did catch though like when the pregant chick said something like it must be hard and Will Ferrell's character did a dramatic pause and said yes it does get hard *wink wink*.

 

 

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bref

bref

(edited)

I think my favorite moment was when the garage door rises to reveal Will holding the unconscious Kristin in his strong manly arms while a dramatic note resonates and a halo of light envelops him. That was most definitely a wink. And Bridget/Joni's transformation (adding blond extensions to her hair and heavy mascara, what an EVIL WHORE) was amusing. Also, I thought the kid actor playing Sully (!) was pretty good and hella cute. :)

 

I kind of agree it was played a little too straight overall, though. I wasn't looking for something as out-there as Sharknado, but it really did seem in many ways like a typical Lifetime movie if one was not looking for the parody. Maybe just a tad too subtle for me.

 

Jinx, Omega!

Edited by bref
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jjj

jjj

Also, in the garage door moment of manliness -- Kristen Wiig's left arm is oh-so-gracefully draped around the back of the neck of Will, although she has yet to be revived.  Speaking of reviving her -- was there something in the contract about Will not doing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on her?  Because it has been a while since the medical books advised yelling, "Breathe!  Breathe!  Breathe!" as an effective antidote to carbon monoxide poisoning. 

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Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

My favorite scenes: 

1.  When Will rescues his wife from the carbon monoxide-filled garage, opens the garage door, then stands there until the door is all the way up before stepping out.

2.  The truck leaves the cabin in the dark, Will leaves the dock by boat in the daylight, and they both meet at the bridge at the same time.

Those were awesome. I also liked when Kristen Wiig shot the fake mom at the end and she dramatically fell off the bridge.

  • Love 1
editorgrrl

editorgrrl

I enjoyed the movie, and I totally understood the tongue-in-cheek aspect they were going for. They seemed to have nailed almost all the tropes you would find in a Lifetime movie / 80's tv movie of the week.

I think what has shocked me the most is that most of the reviewers didn't understand that this wasn't supposed to be a serious movie or a full on out comedy movie. I just can't see how they missed the boat on this one.

The New York Times missed the motorboat: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/22/arts/television/review-a-deadly-adoption-stars-kristen-wiig-and-will-ferrell.html

It was full of suspense-movie tropes and clunky dialogue, served on a bare-bones budget. It seems a lock to win Emmys for least convincing truck crash, least convincing girl fight and least convincing dramatic rescue of a wife from a carbon-monoxide-filled garage (probably the film’s most unintentionally laughable scene).

"Unintentionally laughable"?!

mmecorday

mmecorday

What "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" was to soap operas, "A Deadly Adoption" is to Lifetime movies.

 

The Rent-a-Center Megan Fox playing the femme fatale acted as though she had not been clued in that this was a parody.

 

I liked Charlie, especially in the scene where he's trying to give the investigating officer a description of the dirt-bag boyfriend's truck.

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VCRTracking

VCRTracking

The final scene definitely felt like a punchline to a very long setup. Everybody's dancing and happy and completely forgetting that the one of them killed somebody a couple of months earlier, which is actually what happens in most of these movies!

 

I think my favorite joke is that an author of financial self-help books parties hard while on book tours and has groupies.

  • Love 7
Omega Mu

Omega Mu

(edited)

The final scene definitely felt like a punchline to a very long setup. Everybody's dancing and happy and completely forgetting that the one of them killed somebody a couple of months earlier, which is actually what happens in most of these movies!

 

And that her best friend/employee was brutally killed as he heroically tried to save their child (while they sat in their living room arguing).

 

Also, I have to ask where all their friends were?  They seemed to have plenty of people at the party in the opening scene, but they seem to have all abandoned them when the going got tough and the daughter was missing.  Fair weather much?

Edited by Omega Mu
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Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

And that her best friend/employee was brutally killed as he heroically tried to save their child (while they sat in their living room arguing).

All because he was too stupid to just call the cops, and tried to rescue the girl by himself.

 

Also, I have to ask where all their friends were?  They seemed to have plenty of people at the party in the opening scene, but they seem to have all abandoned them when the going got tough and the daughter was missing.  Fair weather much?

 

Well the party was 5 years earlier. Sounds like a lot of shit went down after she tragically lost the baby by falling in a lake and hitting her head.

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

 I think what has shocked me the most is that most of the reviewers didn't understand that this wasn't supposed to be a serious movie or a full on out comedy movie.  I just can't see how they missed the boat on this one.

 

Maybe it's the movie that missed the boat.  Take out Will Farrel and Kristen Wiig and would it be obvious that it was satire? I think the only thing that would have potentially clued me in would have been the rotten dock incident an the awkward dancing at the end.  Those weren't the only jokes but even some of the sillier elements, like a rock star financial author, weren't that far fetched in comparison to a generic Lifetime movie.  

 

I kind of like that they played it straight. I mean if they went really over the top it would have been funny. But I liked that this was something different than an Airplane!/Scary Movie kind of thing. 

It doesn't need to go as far Airplane or Scary Movie, though.  You can have the actors play it straight and yet still push the elements more than they did.  

 

I got what the movie was going for but personally, it wasn't fun enough on its own to work as a satire and wasn't engaging enough for me to work as a drama.

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Madding crowd

Madding crowd

(edited)

I think many of the reviews did get it, but like me thought it was unneeded and unsuccessful. So Ferell and Wiig decide to make a straight lifetime movie, but to the people who are really hip, it's a parody because it is like a real lifetime movie. Oh so clever!

To me it didn't work because it really said nothing that people don't already know. Will Ferrell was his usual wooden self, and I thought Wiig actually did a good job and was believable as a wife and mother and an organic farm person. The ending with the dancing made the movie silly, not clever.

There was some over the top silliness, just like in every lifetime movie. Loved the shot of Ferrell in the boat with the bullet holes and the sight of the girl's high heels going over the railing. Otherwise, meh.

Edited by Madding crowd
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