Une infirmière trop parfaite

No pun intended with my summary line above. And I have to admit, I am a bit of a sucker when it comes to Sarah Butler. I could not imagine wanting someone else, if you were her significant other. Espcially when she is as cool as her character here. Of course even her character is not without flaws.

But can you blame her, after what happens with and to her boyfriend? Not really I'd say - but as with other movies/thrillers of this kind, you probably can guess who the culprit is and what their motivation is. So no brownie points for you, for guessing it right. Still if you are either a sucker like I am or just want an easy to digest thriller of the week kind of thing, there are worse options out there.

I would think the seductive nurse would obviously be played by Traci and the mastermind of the scheme would be Lindsay. The plot has a lot of unbelievable elements. I doubt if nurses ever get this personally involved with patients.

Somewhere in Los Angeles, professional chef Sarah Butler (as Brooke Harmon) gets a promotion. A happy cook, Ms. Butler has just moved in with handsome boyfriend Steven Good (as Lance Boston). An Internet web designer, Mr. Good proposed marriage to Butler. She decided the couple should live together for around three years, before making it legal. That seems reasonable, for our characters. After celebrating her work promotion, they have a tragic accident while driving home. For reasons unclear, a strange man walks into ongoing traffic and is hit by Good. Butler is fine, but Good has a broken leg. He needs a full-time nurse to help him take his medication and go to the bathroom. In walks attractive Lindsay Hartley (as Chloe Spade)...

"Nightmare Nurse" is your average "Lifetime" TV movie. The obvious weakness is a story with plot points that should have been clearer. Jake Helgren's story is implausible, as is necessary for the genre, but you'll see things happening that require further explanation. Most obviously, characters appear in places too unexpectedly...

Relatively new to this sort of movie, director Craig Moss is outstanding. His early hospital scenes capture the mood and characters very well. The shot of Good with his leg raised way up was great. Having the hapless couple wake up in Verdugo Hills Hospital with nurses "Barb" and "Paul" set the stage for a "Nightmare Nurse" adventure. Coming to consciousness with "Barb" and "Paul" in that hospital would make me squeamish. VHH nurses don't look like Traci Lords and Michael Finn. Still, considering the story, they are well cast. The folks who make TV movies should send the director a multi-picture contract, as Mr. Moss keeps the characters engaging with limited sets and budget. Moss should also consider holding out for bigger pictures.

***** Nightmare Nurse (3/5/2016) Craig Moss ~ Sarah Butler, Steven Good, Lindsay Hartley, Traci Lords

As a lot of viewers, comments have already pointed out a very predictable lifetime movie, started out interesting enough, but then went downhill and had a rushed ending. I don't like to do spoilers, but I will say, within the first 10 minutes of the movie you pretty much know how it is going to end. A couple of the main characters were very irritating, and like another viewer pointed out, the guy was not injured enough to where He couldn't cook or take his own meds, that was over the top for sure, and took the realness out of the film. He did not need a live-in nanny. And certain things happened in the film to where the nurse should've been fired immediately and jailed. Not given a chance to do more heinous things to the patient. That part of the film really ticked me off. But by then, I went ahead and finished it because I don't like reviewing films that I don't watch all the way through, it's at least one good watch, if you don't have anything else to do, and grabs your attention the first half hour or so, but takes you nowhere the rest of the way... I hadn't seen Tracy Lords in years in films like these, so believe it or not it was refreshing to see her, and she's aged well.

NIGHTMARE NURSE (TV Movie 2016)

BASIC PLOT: Brooke (Sarah Butler) and Lance (Steven Good) are a young couple happily sharing their lives together.

Hard work has earned Brooke a well deserved promotion to Sous Chef. After celebrating Brooke's newfound success, with cake and cocktails, the couple take their celebration homeward. To their horror, on the drive home, a drunkard steps out in front of their car. He is killed, and Lance is hurt. The couple is not to blame, but due to his injuries, Lance needs home health care. Chloe (Lindsay Hartley) seems like the perfect fit. She's attentive, well versed, and goes above and beyond her required duties as a nurse. But something strange is happening with Chloe. At first, it's nothing serious, just a little white lie or two. But as time goes on, Chloe's behavior becomes increasingly bizarre. She's fixated on Lance, and her obsessive actions are harder to ignore.

Is Chloe having a breakdown? Or is someone more dangerous, pulling her strings? Can Brooke and Lance survive long enough to find out?

WHAT WORKS: *The acting is above average for made-for-tv standards. All the actors deliver believable performances, and this elevates it above the standard faire.

*For a made-for-tv melodrama, there's a lot of character development. None of the characters are too over the top, so it's more believable, and more enjoyable. You find yourself rooting for these characters, and that doesn't often happen in made-for-tv offerings.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *Chloe calls, and tries to get an appointment with her psychiatrist. She's perspicuously agitated, and tells the receptionist her medication is not working. They put her off for a week, even though she's clearly in crisis. This would not happen! They would get her in immediately.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *This is a melodrama. If you watch this movie with that in mind, you'll like it a whole lot more. You're not supposed to take the over-the-top motives too seriously, it's pure entertainment. STOP LOOKING FOR EMMYS FROM LIFETIME MOVIES!

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.