Terrible messages for women...
NANNY NIGHTMARE/HUSH LITTLE BABY (2017 TV Movie) 2 of 10 stars ⭐
BASIC PLOT:
Lauren has finally had enough. James, her husband, is never around. He can't even bother to fix the things around the house that are a danger to his family. What's worse, he's a cheater, and he won't acknowledge his mistakes. He's also indoctrinating Carter, his teenaged son, to act and think just like him. Lauren has finally had enough, and relegates James to their guest house. Even though he's living in the backyard, they still hardly see him. Lauren is more than overwhelmed, with Carter, and a new baby, so when a trusted family friend comes for a visit, and needs a job, it seems like the perfect fit.
Owen lived next door to Lauren for years, and she babysat him as he grew up. He was always a great kid, and now that he's come home to help his sick mother, he has to find a job. Lauren doesn't think for a minute he'd want to be a manny, but he's more than open to the job, and he desperately needs the work, so they decide to give it a try.
Owen seems great, and the kids love him, but is this really the answer to Lauren's prayers? Or should she just steer clear of all men for awhile, and take the reigns herself?
WHAT WORKS:
*THE ACTING IS ABOVE AVERAGE for a made-for-tv movie.
*THE FILMMAKING IS DECENT I was never thrown by distracting shots, or bad lighting.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
*TERRIBLE MESSAGING FOR WOMEN
Brian McAuley, the screenwriter, needs a clue. This could have been decent
Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) faire, but the negative messages within it, can't be ignored. What are those messages? How did I know this was written by a man, before I even looked? Well, here's how -
*THE CHEATING HUSBAND IS THE GOOD GUY, and the overworked, cheated on, harried housewife is the bad guy. The teenage son takes after his father, and blames his mother for his father's indiscretions, etc. That sounds like a man wrote it to me. This writer actually included a scene where the teenage son, tells his mother that she's the one screwing up the family. You do realize you're writing for women, right?
Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) is a channel for w-o-m-e-n!
*THE WRITER NEVER ADDRESSES THE ISSUES THE HUSBAND HAS Lauren hires a manny (a trusted childhood friend) because her husband is too useless to fix the front door, & the baby is almost killed in the road. We never address these issues, the husband cheats, he's never home, he leaves responsibilities (dangerous ones) undone. But she's the one who screwed up the family?! She wouldn't have been targeted by a sociopath, if she'd had a PARTNER to help. The writer is really saying she screwed it up, because she didn't just accept her husband's cheating, & lower her expectations of him (victim blaming). If she'd just done everything, including her husband's responsibilities, (& worked herself into an early grave) she wouldn't have been targeted by Owen. Yet, we never address why she needed help to begin with (her husband's absent & useless). With this much victim blaming of the mother, and terrible messages aimed at it's target audience, this man
Brian McAuley SHOULD NEVER WRITE FOR
Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) AGAIN! We, as women, should expect more for ourselves, and for our children. IT IS NOT OK TO GET CHEATED ON, it's not ok to teach our sons violence is the answer, it's not ok to teach our sons women should put up with cheating & violence, it's not ok, to put up with ANYTHING, just for the sake of the family. This movie, & those like it, that perpetrate these types of negative stereotypes, that men can't help being weak and useless & women should just lower their expectations, SHOULD BE BOYCOTTED BY
Lifetime Movie Network (LMN).
*MEN ARE NOT WEAK AND USELESS So, why does
Brian McAuley, the writer, have every man in this turd, act that way?
*WOMEN SHOULD NOT BE BLAMED FOR THEIR HUSBAND'S INDISCRETIONS This is not 1953, and it's high time we should stop using victim blaming as an excuse for bad behavior, from either sex.
