To Love, Honor & Betray

I had some time to kill on a Sunday afternoon, and happened to notice this while changing channels. It was just a few minutes into the film, and after a bit, I became fascinated in seeing it's one of those flicks which evokes neither interest in the characters portrayed nor the performances of the assigned actors.

I checked the two comments already here, and can't disagree with anything they've included.

However, the real fascination for me was the lead actress' husband, whose bizarre, sociopathic behavior makes Tony Perkins' Norman Bates character seem simply to have been a man with a bit of an Oedipal fixation, by comparison. "Norman" could have provided this guy with a few tips on a more rational approach to his life (and about how he could be more loving and nurturing to those close to him).

Maybe 2* for the story, and another for this fascinating element.

Excuse me! Can someone help me out with this? I ended up watching this show with my mom over the Christmas holidays. It's your standard Lifetime fare. It's very predictable, but somehow you get sucked in. Anyway, during a very dramatic court room scene where a man is on the stand talking about the possibility of an affair regarding his father-in-law, he used the word "slapadickilous." My mom heard it too, and we just stared at each other dumbfounded. Did you hear that? my mom asked me. We started laughing. We really could not believe he used the word so seriously and that even the lawyer who was questioning him, seemed to be nonchalant concerning "slapadickilious." I can understand using catchy phrases but this "phrase" did not seem to be consistent with the dramatic tone of the show. If this was a comedy it would have been OK but not for a drama. Did anyone else hear this and wonder? Please help. I really need to know.

If this TV-movie keeps you guessing, then it's obviously the very first one of its kind you have ever seen, or you are in the single digit ages. Those are the only two explanations. One question: On what planet does Dee Wallace pass as the mother of a 37-38 year-old Crystal Bernard?? It is even established in the story that her character is exactly 50, so even if we are to believe Brolin married her right out of high school, it would require some major airbrushing on Bernard.

This might not have been so bad if it wasn't so predictable, and the acting was okay. Dee Wallace has always been a very likable actor, but she doesn't have as big of a part as I would have liked. Several of the supporting actors are pretty good in their roles. This is a time filler and not much else. I'm sure the real people whose story is being told weren't involved in the production much, if at all.

To Love, Honor & Betray is not a bad film. The performances are quite good, especially James Brolin, and it is nicely paced to keep you interested from start to finish. I was interested to see how things turned out. However it was quite predictable. The main culprit was obvious from early on so there was no big reveal. Also the main motive behind the murder was not anything crafty or original. We see a very obvious and basic motive. Also how many lives does Melissa have? She ran into danger a few times and was watched by her husband but no harm came to her.

This is your typical B movie, nothing special but easy watching.

What we have here is your run of the mill TV movie. Crystal looks very sexy, but that does not make her a better actress. James Brolin hasn't done any decent acting probably since he made Westworld.

When a film says; "Based upon a true story." at it's start, it usually means "this film is in no way based upon what really happened.". It's safe to say that I wasn't impressed at all.