Non-Stop

What a bizarre little movie. Lacey Chabert plays a recently-jilted woman on a transatlantic flight full of weirdos. The airline has a logo very similar to that of Aerosmith, which amused me. There's a mystery about a disappearing passenger she made out with after knowing for five minutes as well as a plot about a brotherhood of terrorists...or something like that.

The quality of the acting varies. Some I'm sure were intentionally eccentric (Betsy Russell, Veronica Cartwright). Others not so sure (Bo Svenson, Will Kemp). Then there's the outright terrible (Drew Seeley, David Lipper). Chabert does fine and portrays her character as a little emotionally unstable which actually adds an extra layer of interesting to the proceedings. There's a sense of disquiet about it all early on and this is in large part due to her character being so...off. About midway through it becomes a slightly more traditional Turbulence or Flight Plan type of air thriller. But the moments of weird never go away, as the bizarre supporting cast keeps popping up like hiccups in the plot. Just as Chabert is investigating her little mystery on board the plane, here comes Betsy Russell telling her to sit down for the millionth time or some random other guy I don't know the name of who seemed to only be in the movie so he could be a momentary red herring. Chabert even refers to him as "that guy" so I'm not sure what the heck his character's name is.

It's a movie filled with offbeat characters. A crazy bearded guy who seems obsessed with Lacey at the airport only to disappear from the movie altogether, a rude stewardess with a drinking problem, a boyish steward fresh out of acting school who never seems to blink, a kooky old lady who claims she's an empath, a little blonde girl and her Hispanic nanny, a fat guy who doesn't want anybody sitting next to him, a supposed Interpol agent, and a mysterious Brit who seduces our heroine with ease. "Heroes" fans might enjoy seeing Ando (James Kyson) playing an airline employee who doesn't seem to know the meaning of personal space.

The confrontation where Chabert learns the truth behind the mystery is risibly directed -- with the camera zooming in & out, jerking all around while the bad guy does all of his acting with his eyebrows. A character chases another in slow speed and inexplicably trips over a shoe with unintentionally comical results. Just when you think it's all over, look out -- there's a hilariously cheesy cat and busty mouse sequence where Lacey fulfills her cleavage quota that, if not already in her contract, should always be.

I want to give them credit for making a weird movie but I'm not sure how much of it was intentional. There are moments where it seems like certain actors are winging it. Other moments where the director lingers on certain scenes like he forgot to yell cut. The hardest part in reviewing this movie is trying to figure out if the movie's oddness is intended or a byproduct of a poorly made film. At least it's like nothing else you'll see from Lifetime or LMN or whatever. If you have the patience it's definitely worth checking out and deciding for yourself.

FIRST CLASS FEAR is a ridiculous plane-based thriller that feels like one of those TV 'movies of the week'. It sees a bumbling heroine drawn into a ridiculous plot on board a Transatlantic flight and suffering from the usual problems, namely a lack of evidence and disbelief on the part of everybody else. The only way I could sit through this was to treat it as an unintentional comedy, because the plot is so very, very silly.

Lead actress Lacey Chabert once found fame of sorts in MEAN GIRLS but nowadays is content to while away her days making TV movies. This film vaguely resembles the equally poor Jodie Foster film FLIGHTPLAN although it has an ending stolen from RED EYE. Supporting cast members include SAW's Betsy Russell and old timers Bo Svenson and Veronica Cartwright. The acting is wooden across the board (particularly in Russell's case) and the eventual solving of the mystery turns the whole thing into a laughing stock.

When using my inner Lifetime movie rating scale of 1 - 10, this movie gets an eight. It wasn't the usual formula movie I've come to expect from Lifetime, and while it wasn't necessarily realistic, it held my interest. I usually put on a Lifetime movie while I crochet so that I don't really have to concentrate on the movie, but I sat and watched this one all the way thru. I thought the lead actress did a nice job and was a strong asset to the movie. The stewardess cracked me up, kind of the stewardess from hell for a nine hour flight and added some comic relief. I've missed the better movies Lifetime used to present back when actresses like Valerie Bertanelli were a staple on the channel and I'm hoping this movie is a promise of more quality movies to come. If you watch it, though, don't waste any time trying to tie up the loose ends.

I'm embarrassed that i'm watching this piece of dreck. There are not a lot of choices for good TV during the holidays. but that is not an excuse. it is simply so extraordinarily bad that i can't turn away. i will not reveal any spoilers because i won't make it through the whole thing. but suffice it to say that Lacey Chabert's character -- is there a more boring actress on the face of the earth? -- boards a plane and immediately creepy things start to happen. they have already been happening but it escalates in the air.

but it's the things that aren't deliberately eery that bugged the crap out of me. this woman keeps wandering around the plane for various reasons, leaving her purse behind somewhere. she works on her laptop and then leaves that sitting there to wander around some more. she takes medication that a stranger insists she take. she lets the bitchy alcoholic flight attendant toss her smartphone in to the overhead bin without retrieving it later. all the commonsense things that a regular traveler would be careful about???? this complete idiot just ignores.

and of course she has helped a creepy man write a book about fascism and there have been threats against her and him but she still leaves her laptop unattended for anyone who might be plotting against her to pick up and do with it what he/she will.

it bugs the crap out of me for a story to be about fascism and treat the whole subject so lightly and stupidly. so i am going to stop watching this travesty. i just had to vent because i was hoping that it would just be not good while it is completely and utterly hopelessly terrible.

lady, go get your purse and your phone and your laptop and sit the freak down instead of walking around being a ridiculous victim.

I really liked this movie. It was put together well enough for me. It had enough variety in it that it was not overdone; it was very different from other movies I've seen.

All the characters added a lot of mystery for me so I didn't feel their acting was terrible.

I didn't know what would happen next.

The ending added to the attraction for me.

It was not depressing and foreboding like some movies I've seen. I'm not sure why it has so many poor reviews. Maybe it was too cheesy for others, but not for me.

I don't review many movies at all, nor other things I buy; but I enjoyed this so much, I wanted to review it.