Zoe Gone

An over wrought movie. A teen girl struggles to cope with her baby. The Dad is irresponsible. Any way the idiot dad decides to sell the baby. What a loser. Any way they try to get the baby back. The soundtrack is annoying. Missable.

The girl that had the baby is a loonie and doesn't even deserve the baby in the first place. Her acting is over the top and almost comedic. Most of the cast is playing melodrama. Crying, screaming and making total nuisances of themselves. No real drama here, not even mystery. Boring script of another steal my baby script. Even the detectives seemed lost and floundering throughout this epic silly story. However, it was a good flick to work on other things on my computer. Didn't have to watch this trite all the time. In a half hour nothing happening. The little girl then gets a gun (another comedic moment) that wasn't even loaded. Another laugh. Was this supposed to be tongue and cheek? I only wished they'd have kept the tape on her mouth all the time. Don't watch this silly movie on LMN. Doesn't get any worse than this, believe me. I didn't wait for the ending. So silly and unbelievable and the young girl actress annoyed the hell out of me.

Ok so I liked it. Little bit of "cheesy" acting, but the lead Sammi Hanratty made this movie bearable. What lifetime movie has "perfect" acting anyway? Exactly. I remember when this premiered on TV back in 2014. Along with Flowers in the Attic from 2014! Decent lifetime movie I give it an 8 out of 10.

Late night TV, flipping channels and was a fan of Yes, Dear...well kinda and saw that Jean Louisa Kelly was in this, who was in Uncle Buck as the super bitchy teen and I got sucked in.

Why reviews dumping on Sammi Hanratty--she is supposed to be a clueless teen that got pregnant and has co-dependent tendencies. This was a big role for a young actress. The low was when Jean Louisa Kelly enters as tough street cop (agent calls and says you want to work, well, better take this gig). Then the mother, Alexandra Holden, yeah, overacting, annoyingly so.

Here is a tip for the budding director of TV movies--keep all the actors on screen in character, like Jennifer's cute friend in the park after the baby is abducted--try not to look like "she is remembering her lines or what to do when I don't have any lines." I get it, you're on a tight budget, but the AD needs to keep this train rolling on track. That one scene can ruin a dramatic moment.

What Jean Louisa Kelly does best is empathize. She does not do tough, but let her develop emotion and she can carry a scene well.

Yes, it's a TV movie, but Lifetime can crank out some winners because the expectation isn't high, so the audience relaxes with more acceptance. I think these are more difficult to do well than higher budget movies--the acting skill isn't as developed, tight budget, easy to lose focus and over-develop a special effect, your main star probably wishes their career went in another direction...hard to hold that together.

Bottom line--the main target audience should like this movie. Good movie to show a youth group and have a discussion.

"I don't want it, I don't want it!" screams 16-year-old drop-out Sammi Hanratty (as Jennifer "Jen" Lynne), while giving birth to a healthy daughter. Outside the hospital room, mean mother Alexandra Holden (as Alicia Lynne) taunts nervous father Michael Grant (as Randy Chambers) with his new daddy status. The young man runs away and Ms. Holden tells her daughter she is on her own. Sick of her cry-baby daughter, Ms. Hanratty goes out to a party and gets drunk. Unexpectedly forced to babysit, Holden and handsome step-father Jeff Branson (as Walter) threaten to call Child Protective Services (CPS). It seems like Mr. Grant wants to get back together with Hanratty and the baby, but an incident at the park changes everything...

"Zoe Gone" won't get many viewers with that title – "Zoe" is the baby's name and you can figure out the rest...

The main problem with this drama is the unconvincing character changes give the three main players. Worse off is mother and grandmother Holden, who begins as bullying and cruel – and ends up as nurturing and supportive. Young dad Grant is fine until his very last scene – which may be a problem with the original script direction. The performers try their best. Lastly, the young leading woman must transcend unbelievable changes in character. Hanratty handles it smoothly, but unconvincingly. The film's thesis seems to be pro-adoption – but, it's unlikely many unmarried and unintentionally pregnant young women are going to want to go through this drama – possibly, it's better to view "Zoe Gone" as a heart-warmer for those who choose adoption.

**** Zoe Gone (3/29/14) Conor Allyn ~ Sammi Hanratty, Alexandra Holden, Michael Grant, Jean Louisa Kelly