Lifetime Film Review: Ruthless Realtor (dir by Devon Downs and Kenny Gage)

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Lisa Marie Bowman

So, imagine this scenario.

You’re young, you’re attractive, you’ve got a great career, and you’ve got a partner who is also young and attractive and who has a great career. You’ve just arranged to buy a new home and it’s a big, beautiful, and surprisingly affordable house. Of course, you suspect that the house has a history but then again, what house doesn’t? It’s a little bit annoying that the lights keep randomly going out but that’s what you get for living in California. So, you move into the house and it seems like everything’s perfect.

Except….

Your realtor simply will not go away! It’s not enough that she showed you the house and arranged for you to purchase it and that she also apparently lied to the bank on your behalf (even though you certainly didn’t ask her to do that). She also wants to be your best friend. She wants to be a part of your family. You simply cannot get rid of her….

That’s the situation in which Annie (Lily Anne Harrison) and her husband Ralph (Brian Ames) find themselves. Annie’s a successful lawyer. Ralph’s a photographer. Annie’s pregnant with their first child. The house is lovely. Everything should be great. But Meg (Christie Burson) simply won’t stop coming by the house!

Annie thinks it’s strange to come home and find her realtor cooking dinner in the kitchen. Ralph thinks that it’s nothing to worry about but then, during a photography session, Meg tries to kiss him. Ralph and Annie tell Meg to stop coming around but Meg keeps showing up. The increasingly distraught Meg insists that someone was trying to break into the house and that the house itself has a dangerous history that Annie and Ralph need to know about. Soon, Meg ends up in jail.

Problem solved, right?

Well, no. Not only does Meg escape from jail but it turns out that there’s even more to Meg’s story than Annie and Ralph originally suspected….

I’ve always felt that one of the best things about Lifetime movies is that they always seem to take place in big houses and Ruthless Realtor proves my point. The house really is gorgeous, regardless of how many have died inside of it. When Annie tells her friend Lynette (Alexandra Peters) that she plans on staying in the house regardless of all the craziness going on around and inside of it, you can hardly blame her. A big house like that? A few murders are worth the risk!

Along with the big house, the other thing that I liked about Ruthless Realtor is that, as played by Christie Burson, Meg is literally the only likable character in the film. Even though she’s obviously unstable and tries to break up a marriage, it’s impossible not to sympathize with her. Annie and Lynette are both extremely self-righteous and full of themselves. Ralph is painfully goofy. But Meg actually believes in something and you have to feel sorry for her as she vainly tries to convince Annie that something terrible has happened at the house. It should be noted that the film seems to fully understand that Meg is a hundred times more likable than any of the other characters and it takes good advantage of that fact with a few twists during the final half of the film.

Ruthless Realtor is an entertaining-enough Lifetime film. If nothing else, it deserves to be seen for Christie Burson’s performance as Meg and for that beautiful house.

What Lisa Watched Last Night #175: Devious Nanny (dir by Devon Downs and Kenny Gage)

Posted on March 3, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last night, I turned over to the Lifetime Movie Network and I watched Devious Nanny!

Why Was I Watching It?

I’ve got a long history with Lifetime nanny films. I’ve watched films about Bad Nannys, Betrayed Nannys, Nightmare Nannys, Evil Nannys, Killer Nannys, and Dangerous Nannys. So, how could I resist something called Devious Nanny?

(Actually, it was apparently also called both The Nanny Betrayal and The Au Pair. Devious Nanny, though is an improvement on both of those.)

What Was It About?

Elise (Michelle Borth) and Brian (Antonio Cupo) have it all. Elise works at an art gallery. Brian works in … well, I think it was advertising but I could be wrong. All I know is that he worked in an office and he was worried about landing a big account and he wore a suit to work. Isn’t that what they do in advertising? Anyway, it’s a good job. Brian and Elise have a nice house and an adorable son. All they need to complete the picture is … an au pair!

Enter Amber (Olesya Rulin), who appears to be the perfect nanny. She loves kids and she’s even okay with cleaning up around the house! Of course, Amber did lie a little to get her job. And she didn’t tell her new employers that she grew up in the foster system and that she has a history of mental instability. Soon, Brian and Amber are exchanging lustful glances and people are turning up dead.

But here’s the thing. I’ve seen enough killer nanny films that I immediately realized that it was probably significant that the film never actually showed Amber killing anyone. So, is Amber the murderer or is it someone else? The film is full of suspects!

What Worked?

It all worked. This was the type of Lifetime movie that made me fall in love with the unique Lifetime aesthetic in the first place. Well-acted and full of snarky lines, Devious Nanny also featured a rather clever last-minute plot twist. The end of the film also features a line of dialogue that is perhaps the coldest sentiment over to be offered up in a Lifetime film.

Needless to say, this was a fun movie to live tweet. Those of us on twitter last night had a blast trying to figure out who the killer was and who was going to be the next victim.

All in all, it was a very entertaining movie.

What Did Not Work?

It all worked! At first, I was worried that the film would turn out to be just another Lifetime Nanny film but the script, by Adam Rockoff, was full of unexpected plot twists. I’m going to guess that Rockoff has seen enough nanny films that he knew exactly what most people would be expecting and he very skillfully manipulated those expectations.

In fact, my only issue is that Lifetime aired this on Friday night and it didn’t really seem like they made much of an effort to publicize it. Sometimes, I think Lifetime doesn’t truly understand just how many people love watching their movies. They’ll promote the Hell out of some forgettable (and often regrettable) celebrity biopic but entertaining thrillers, like this one, rarely get the fanfare that they deserve.

“Oh my God! Just like me!” Moments

I’ve been lucky, in that I’ve never had to work as an au pair. I’ve also never been suspected of murder. I guess I’ve just lived a sheltered life. However, if any of that did happen to me, I would hope, when it was all over, that I could be as snarky about it as Amber.

Lessons Learned

Life’s not easy when you’re a nanny.

Lisa Cleans Out Her DVR: A Neighbor’s Deception (dir by Devon Downs and Kenny Gage)

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

(I’m currently cleaning out my DVR and right now, I kinda suspect that a comic book movie might get a best picture nomination before I ever get finished. By that, I mean that this is taking forever! But, no matter! I’m having fun. Anyway, I recorded A Neighbor’s Deception off of Lifetime on April 8th.)

Welcome to the neighborhood!

And what a neighborhood it is. Big house, big yards, big SUVs, and … wait, where are all the people? Chloe (Ashley Bell) and Michael Anderson (Adam Mayfield) have just bought a new house in this neighborhood and everything should be perfect. Chloe has had her struggles and, from the first minute we see her, it’s obvious that she’s not exactly stable. She’s nervous and a bit too quick to smile. Michael feels that the new neighborhood will be perfect for Chloe.

While Michael goes to work during the day, Chloe runs and takes pictures. It’s a beautiful neighborhood, surrounded by wonderful scenery. And yet, there’s something off about it. The streets and sidewalks often seem to be strangely deserted The first time that Chloe sees her neighbor, he’s driving past her and he barely acknowledges her.

It’s not until later that Chloe and Michael finally meet their neighbors face-to-face. Gerald (Tom Amandes) and Cheryl Dixon (Isabella Hoffman) seems like their friendly enough but there are hints that everything may not be perfect with them. For one thing, Gerald is considerably more friendly than Cheryl. Gerald is also a retired psychologist and starts to counsel Chloe for free. He says he’s just doing it to be a good neighbor but are his motives truly pure?

That’s what Chloe being to wonder. It doesn’t help that she’s soon getting mysterious phone calls from a man who blames Gerald for the death of his sister. The man wants Chloe to investigate Gerald and his past. Chloe agrees but is her paranoia justified or, as Michael suggests, is she on the verge of having another breakdown?

Written by noted horror expert Adam Rockoff, A Neighbor’s Deception is a hundred times more creepy than the usual Lifetime film. Wisely, both the script and the direction puts the emphasis on atmosphere. That big and oddly empty neighborhood becomes as much of a character as Chloe, Michael, Gerald, and Cheryl. This is one of those films that seems to have literally been bathed in a tub full of existential dread. As we watch, we find ourselves wondering if the neighborhood is really as creepy as it looks or if maybe Chloe’s paranoia is rubbing off on us.

Chloe is played by Ashley Bell, who some will recognize as being the “possessed” girl in The Last Exorcism. Bell gives an excellent performance in this film. She’s immediately sympathetic but, at the same time, she plays the role with just enough a nervous edge that you’re always aware that she could be imagining things. (Bell is often framed in the scene so that she’s seen alone, reinforcing the feeling that Chloe is not quite living in the real world.) Also deserving of credit is Tom Amandes, who is all dapper menace as Gerald.

A Neighbor’s Deception ends with a twist that won’t necessarily take you by surprise but no matter. The journey makes it all worh it.