Love Thy Neighbor

Great storyline but acting from the mother was terrible. Also to have a not so bright mother is played out. The movie was Predictable. Security guard was slow. Everything about the mother was off. The neighbor was good.

In the middle of the night, Laura Benson is alone in the house with her daughter Erin when she is awakened by the frantic barking of dog Fred. She goes to see what is going on and finds two burglars, one of whom is pointing a gun at her. She runs to protect Erin and call the cops.

When husband Jim gets home from a business trip, he refuses to leave his family again, despite a deadline. Laura goes back to work as a counselor for St. Agnes (we're never told just what that is), but it soon becomes clear SHE is the one in need of counseling.

With just Jim's income, selling the house and moving to a gated community doesn't seem the most logical course of action, but it is necessary for Laura to regain her sanity. Or at least that was the theory. Jim sells airplanes, and the more he can be away, the more money he can make, so maybe this will work out after all.

The family's first visitor is an affectionate feline who gets the name Fred. He is followed by the annoyingly friendly Janice Rivers and her shy daughter Jenny. Janice is divorced because of abuse (and Jenny's father wants custody), and she tries a little too hard to make sure her new neighbors like her. Jenny and Erin do become friends and try out for the soccer team.

Will this ideal community turn out to be better than the "real world"? Well, if it did, what would be the point of the movie? There are a lot of problems that need solving, and plenty of twists that may or may not be the result of what one might expect.

Shannon Lawson is the biggest reason to watch. She does a great job as the perky yet disturbed neighbor. She seems like a cross between Edie McClurg and Kelly Bishop in "Gilmore Girls". No, make that Joan Crawford. Yeah, that's better.

Ksenia Solo makes a likable but slightly edgy teenage daughter. And Alexandra Paul is quite good-looking, and a capable actress too.

Sean Baek doesn't spend much time on screen, but he's scary enough as one of the burglars.

There is some violence, but for the most part it's not too graphic. Language is tamer than in most theatrical movies, but one word that seems to trouble broadcast networks gets used quite a bit. I don't recommend this movie to pet lovers who might be easily upset.

It's actually a pretty good thriller. For a Lifetime movie, anyway.

I accessed this movie on this site for a friend. She was curious about it, since she had been in Toronto while they were shooting it (are any of these Lifetime flicks made anywhere but Canada or Seattle anymore?) -- and had met some of the cast.

By coincidence it was indicated as being shown again in a few days (Oct, 10/'07), and I was able to catch it -- and frankly was curious after seeing some of these comments.

It has the formula for which somebody at "Lifetine" obviously has a check-list -- where only some superfluous details in the particular story vary: (1) an initially friendly, even giddy, neighbor, who turns-out to be a raving sociopath; a disturbed "heroine," who at times is so banal as to diminish the degree of sympathy we might afford her; the husband who is something of an amiable doophus; dialog and several scenes which make the typical soap opera seem an intellectual presentation by comparison; to the inevitable child, sometimes annoying, sometimes (like here) a precocious catalyst to the story and the sociopath's actions.

There is also the further aspect to this particular story -- also not unknown to this genre -- where the family move, made following a "once-in-a-lifetime" dangerous experience, only finds worse in their new locale.

But, all-in-all, a bit fascinating in its predictable mediocrity, and watching the inevitable Jeckyll-to Hyde metamorphosis of the intrusive psycho

Sometimes this type flick rates, say 3 or 4 *'s. Give this one 5, because the acting is a bit better than most.

After a violent break-in and robbery, crisis-counselor Alexandra Paul (as Laura Benson) is disturbed by flashbacks. Her soccer-playing teen daughter Ksenia Solo (as Erin) has nightmares. Husband and father Gary Hudson (as Jim), often absent due to his work, decides to move the Illinois family of three to a gated community. Idyllic "Arbor Eden" is heavily secured; it has an entrance officer, coded doorways, and super-tough windows. As this is a "Lifetime" TV-thriller, you can assume they will be needed...

At first, all seems well. The family adopts smart cat "Fred" to replace their likewise named, and unfortunately murdered, dog. Problems involve missing furniture and overbearing neighbor Shannon Lawson (as Janis Rivers). In a custody battle with her ex, Ms. Lawson lives with painfully shy daughter Michelle Killoran (as Jenny), in a perfectly decorated house. As chicken-fed chubby as Paul is attractively thin, Lawson gets on her neighbors' nerves. Lawson deliciously bites into her role, helping make this one fun.

****** Love Thy Neighbor (2/26/06) Paul Schneider ~ Alexandra Paul, Shannon Lawson, Ksenia Solo, Gary Hudson

I don't watch a lot of movies but by accident tuned in "Love Thy Neighbour" on Sunday. Lately I end up tiring of movies and don't watch the complete show but I was pulled into the story and found it intriguing. I enjoy a good suspense but usually am freaked because they are too graphic or beyond belief...I found this story realistic and scary enough to put me on the edge of my seat without going beyond my scope of endurance. One part I found particularly unnerving was the idea that we are all looking for a secure place and that the actual threat can come right from within. I was satisfied with the resolution of the story and found the conclusion plausible and not contrived. All the plot tied together in the end. I would recommend this movie to my friends.