Counterfeiting in Suburbia

Time lost ,what a colossal mistake. Acting horrible , story meh , script meh , IDK if you are 9 maybe you'll like it Its like when you buy a box of Legos it says on the box 5+ For this movie a person/s must not exceed 10 years of age.

In a moment of weakness I watched this fluffy, unbelievable, wreck of a movie. The basic premise could work: teenage counterfeiters use their criminal skills to buy a bunch of expensive swag with phoney money. But the execution is often unintentionally laughable. The last time I watched a movie where I thought "that would never happen!" so often was Sharknado. Tweens may enjoy this, if only because every adult in the film is clueless, inept, or both.

I try to judge these TV movies, especially the ones shown on Hallmark and Lifetime, on a curve. After all, they aren't even in the same universe as the movies from Scorsese, Spielberg, Tarantino, Kubrick, and a dozen other current and past filmmakers I could name. They are formulaic, aimed to meet specific audience expectations, and almost always follow a similar pattern.

Even grading on a scale, this one is especially bad. It started out with an interesting premise, but went downhill faster than a bobsled. No one noticed the bills all had the same serial numbers? Inept Secret Service agents that can't catch a high school girl - twice? No backup? I don't like reviews with spoilers, so I'll stop there with mentioning the things that were just wrong with the plot. Most especially, the last half hour or so, and the totally unrealistic ending, really had me shaking my head. I can suspend disbelief happily with some movies, but this one stretched by ability to do so beyond the breaking point.

I've long ago learned that when you see a move that claims to be "based on true events" or "inspired by true events", what you are really going to see is complete fiction. That had to be the case here. I would guess that somewhere some high school students tried to make counterfeit money. That would be where any similarity between reality and this movie ended.

I am curious about one thing, though. Why does Lifetime keep changing the titles of movies? This was "Counterfeiting in Suburbia" when it was originally released. Lifetime recently replayed it under the title "Deadly Transaction". That title change thing has happened with quite a few of the movies they have shown recently, with movies that are a couple of years or more older. Why do they do that?

This movie is something that would be good at your 14 year old daughter's sleepover. The two main characters are pretty static and predictable but the antagonists and supporting characters are entertaining especially near the end. The acting depicts teenagers how a 12-14 year old would think of teenagers which would explain why older people are less entertained. Not unlike the depiction of teenagers in riverdale. Also bonus points for attractive people.

It's an invalid story, but for a lazy Monday I was able to turn a blind eye to the flaws and get through its 90 minutes. The one caveat that the two main teens discussed is not frequenting the same retailer or currency exchange place more than once. But you see the girls buying mass quantities of designer clothes on two occasions with fake 100 dollar bills (based on the old style bills that aren't currently produced) and the cashier doesn't raise any red flag. Most retailers at least swipe a pen for large bills. And any time you need currency exchanged, a valid photo ID is required.

But anyways, the movie is made-for-TV, so it's not a reflection of reality. Sarah Butler is a dimensional actress, and has that attractive physique. Just wanted to mention that.

The ending especially was a slap in the face.