Barriga de Aluguel

Something remarkable may be afoot at Lifetime: movies that are not aggressively chintzy. Recently the network aired Dark Desire, released by The Asylum -notable in itself- , and very much unlike the typical Lifetime dreck. This was well acted, nicely directed by a director with a few above average pictures to his credit, and written in a way that kept up the pace and sustained the tension. The Surrogacy Trap is at least as good, with an acting and directorial style unlike what we've come to expect from Lifetime. The female lead does not have a smiley, wholesome friend with whom she shares cute, warm, folksy quips. The forced upbeat, uplifting character interactions are entirely absent. The patented ending remains though - it is a Lifetime movie after all. But this does not detract from the quick pace, engrossing story, snappy pace and actors quite unlike the usual Lifetime mediocrities. The performances are quite nice and sometimes actually interestingly subtle. (The male lead happens to be a dead ringer for SNL's Seth Meyers.) No Douglas Jackson directing this one. This is not the same old Lifetime movie you've seen a million times.

Let's hope something is changing at Lifetime.

At work, attractively pregnant brunette designer Mia Kirshner (as Christy) appears to go into labor. Unfortunately, it turns out to be another miscarriage – and Ms. Kirchner is now unable to bear children. One year later, she and scruffily sexy husband David Julian Hirsh (as Mitch Bennet) are sitting in a small bathtub, celebrating their happy marriage. They still want a baby of their own, though. Obviously wealthy, the couple sees a professional woman who arranges surrogate mothers. They are matched up with pretty blonde Rachel Blanchard (as Mallory Parkes), who seems too good to be true. She agrees to be implanted and carry the Bennet baby for $35,000 a month, plus expenses. For that kind of money, you'd think the agency would provide some strict boundaries and helpful guidelines for the happy trio...

Think again...

Many "Lifetime" TV stalker movies have characters and situations which make no sense, so "The Surrogacy Trap" could be considered average. One suggestion for this one would be to have the couple portrayed as financially strapped, and go to a shady dealer in surrogacy. Then, we could dispense with extras like their huge mansion and late-hired nanny. The prior infidelity is good, but should have been brought into the plot earlier. Beautifully blonde Blanchard is the most entertaining part of the story – we get to see her act as girlish innocent, hormone-crazed sexpot, and scraggily-haired loon. Best played scene may be when she hammers a water pipe to get herself all wet, then calls Mr. Hirsh to come over and help – hoping to seduce him. How Hirsh handles the situation is truly inspired.

***** The Surrogacy Trap (1/1/13) Adrian Wills ~ Rachel Blanchard, Mia Kirshner, David Julian Hirsh, Emma Campbell

The Surrogacy Trap is a predictable tale of a couple who go down the surrogacy route in order to get the family they want. Their choice doesn't go as well as they had hoped.

It's all a bit far fetched and you know exactly what is going to happen right down to the clichéd ending. However thanks to really good performances from the three leads it actually manages to overcome these obstacles and still manage to be entertaining from start to finish.

You shouldn't expect too much from this film but if you're in the mood for an easy watch on a rainy afternoon you could do far worse than this. One of the better TV movies.

Very enjoyable watch, not many films offer this premise and I personally think it was delivered well and delved into the characters emotions. Not your typical lifetime movie.

Peeves me off when people are writing reviews to down vote a movie they have caught 15 mins of, 15 mins in the wrong part of avengers could be considered crap too- watch from start to finish and then review.

this is a joke right . I think the evil person in this movie is the rich pompous women who pays 35k to the surrogate mother like shes a high class escort. She makes the comment "I'm gonna be a mother with out the baby bump" just prior to her and her husband about to get busy.Later referring to her as a "total stranger carrying our baby". Then does everything in her path to butt her out of her life like shes a used bathroom tissue. I agree the whole surrogate / new mother relationship is odd and am glad there's a film involving this sensitive topic; however, after watching this condescending rich snob act like this towards someone shes paying to "have her baby" just makes me resent "Christie" the women who cannot be pregnant. The Guy is a d-bag but so is every male on lifetime movies. I know "Mallorie" the Surrogate mother is crazy but I don't resent towards her or see her as the Villain. The pompous women who thinks she can buy her baby and make her life better. It was a okay movie worth watching 3/10