A Filha Errada

THE WRONG DAUGHTER (TV MOVIE 2018)

BASIC PLOT: Kate (nm122354) and Joseph (Jon Prescott) have almost everything they need to make their life complete. They're in love, successful, and Kate is finally fulfilling her dream to open a restaurant. There's just one thing missing, a child. After multiple unsuccessful IVF attempts, they've finally given up on having a family of their own. But, there's still one possibility, Kate gave up a child at 16. She thought the baby went to a good home, but due to a medical issue, her baby was returned to foster care. Danica (Sierra Pond) has been living in group homes ever since. Unfortunately, she doesn't live there alone. She shares a room with a troubled young woman named Samantha (Sydney Sweeney). Samantha has broken so many rules, she's been asked to leave. On her way out, she steals Danica's laptop, and her identity. If Danica doesn't want to reach out to her birth mother, Samantha will. She's determined to have a family, and will remove anyone who stands in her way, including Danica. Will Kate realize she's brought a homicidal maniac into her life in time to save those she loves?

WHAT WORKS: *This is a decent melodrama, with only one major plot hole. It's well acted, well paced, and is an enjoyable ride, for the most part.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *Knocking a few books off a bookshelf at someone, wouldn't knock them out. That's a bit ridiculous.

*It is a ludicrous plot device to have the police arrest Melissa (Kelsey Griswold) for breaking down in grief when she finds Ivan's (Jesse Pepe) body. It would open the police up to false arrest charges, and lawsuits. I fast forwarded through the cops speech about assaulting an officer, as it was the officer who assaulted Melissa. This movie was a great melodrama, up until this agregious plot hole. Jesenia Ruiz and Carlee Malemute know how to write quality melodramas, so why add a plot hole so big, they fall in it? They needed a plot device to delay Melissa from reaching Kate. Fine. There are a million ways she could be delayed that do not suspend my disbelief. She could be sedated, have to wait for Ivan's parents, anything but a false arrest. In this litigious day and age, police air on the side of caution. They would check out Melissa's story, and treat her with the respect most police officers give the grieving.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *I would recommend this to people who understand and enjoy the art form of melodrama. This is a step above the usual made-for-tv movie faire, so enjoy!

CLOSING NOTES: *This is a Made-For-TV movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.

Silly, silly, silly. Two things really bug us about this film- wait, three things; three things really bug us about this film. First, when Samantha knocks out Danica it looks like she just pushed a few books over on her. WTF? Apparently, one of the books must have been "Heavy." Second, when the real Danica calls Kate- that would not happen in real life. It would have been the woman who runs the home that would make the call....and she was sitting right there. Third, the ending where Kate talks Samantha out of killing Danica. Nah. Kate is another LMN who needs to take a ride on the clue bus. Would you not, in real life, do some checking on a girl who claims to be the daughter you gave up 17 years ago?

This movie was awfully bad. It isn't the worst movie. However, it is far from a decent movie. What I have gathered, from other reviews, it appears to be based on a true story. I don't know the events that this movie was based upon, but I assume that it is loosely based on said events. It was underwhelming, and rather hard to believe.

The acting: 3/10. I am far from an actor. However, I believe that I have potential to reach the height of acting portrayed in this film.

The plot: 5/10 It isn't a terrible plot, and with a different cast and production team, it could have been okay.

Some people have rated this film with 8 stars... those are people I hope will never plague my day-to-day life. I don't know what could be worse ; watching this film again, or befriending a person that rated this film above six stars. This film has a higher rating than it deserves, in my opinion. Often, many poor reviews stem from a bandwagon of single celled organisms, that dishonestly rate films based on a dishonest popular opinion... I don't do that ; this film is legitimately terrible.

Although, I have seen worse, and it gets four stars for not being the worst film that I have endured.

An unruly 18 years-old orphaned girl (Sydney Sweeney) leaves a group home and worms her way into a young couple's life by pretending to be the long lost daughter given up for adoption by the mother (Cindy Busby).

"The Wrong Daughter" (2018) is a television production that understandably lacks the artistry of Drew Barrymore's "Poison Ivy," yet it works well enough for a family-oriented drama with some crime thrills, prosaic though it may be.

Since it came out, Sweeney's star has risen and most people will consider her the main attraction. She was almost 20 during shooting (or just turned 20), but she's a little too thin here. As far as I'm concerned, Cindy Busby is the real highlight on the feminine front; she was 34 during shooting. (Be sure to check her out in "Behemoth" from seven years earlier, if you haven't already).

The flick is successful in making you root against the manipulations of the troubled young lass with the middle portion causing tedium and frustration. Yet the last act delivers the goods IMHO. She's a psycho, but some sympathy is cultivated for her, even if it's just a little. She executes evil deeds, indeed, yet the writers wisely keep it within plausibility. Less is more.

It runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles.

GRADE: B-

If you are a guy and are looking for a lolita type to fill your roster, watch it for Sydney Sweeney. At least the writers picked the prettier of the two girls in the foster home to feature for most of the movie. The protagonist was needy, her whining repetitive and her goal too modest to hold my interest. I love LFM movies. These movies are supposed to be fun where the protagonist is so clever that they are on the verge of obtaining their ambitious goal just before their plot suddenly unravels (love how that happens). I am not a snob, this movie was just not fun.