A Deadly Adoption

There seems to be a lot of people struggling over 'the point' of this movie. Is it a spoof or is it just a regular cruddy Lifetime movie?

With a plot that is so tiresome that I'm not going to bother detailing it, I say it's undoubtedly the latter. This is no spoof and Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell are merely playing a standard Lifetime script totally straight. They're not winking at the audience and I'd be very surprised if this was written specifically for them. I imagine it was an off-the-peg script that was lying around in the Lifetime offices.

And *that* is the joke. That's why Wiig and Ferrell were keen on doing this. Everyone else involved was just doing their regular job, safe in the knowledge that the film would be seen by a far wider audience than their usual output because of the curiosity aspect. The currently awful rating on IMDb will be of no surprise to either star and I doubt either of them will be losing any sleep as it drops even further.

So... the point? To get lots of viewers. To give Wiig and Ferrell a bit of fun. To get people talking.

And they succeeded.

But should you watch this movie? No, because the joke isn't for anyone's amusement other than the two stars - and a joke that has to be explained is really no use to anyone.

This is a slightly dull movie that happens to star two A-list performers - and that's hardly unique.

Not a Will Ferrell fan of his blockbusters. But I really appreciate most of his experimental work from this era. The non-spoiler here is that they never break the "Lifetime format" while including every made-for-TV thriller tripe. So it is a Straight-faced satire that is entertaining on it's own. Fun to watch. You can't help but crack-up at many of the close-ups of Will Ferrell's "straight-face".

Worth seeing, because I cannot think of anything else like it. Until Frequent Collaborator James Franco would also experiment with the genre with the "Mother, may I sleep with Danger" remake.

This is just a recommendation review. Because, none of these experiments were a lasting success, and not on physical media. Anyone who appreciates this Lifetime love letter film should seek out Ferrell's "The Spoils of Babylon" & "The Spoils Before Dying". Both fairly unknown with a big cast. Ferrell also appeared in James Franco's "Zeroville", a 1970's Hollywood love letter which nobody liked or saw for some reason. These little gems all got lost in streaming-era over-saturation.

Maybe the 2023 writer/actor strikes will last forever, and all this "lost content" will premiere again.

Robert Benson (Will Ferrell) is a best selling author and financial guru. His wife Sarah (Kristen Wiig) suffers a miscarriage after a dock accident. Five years later, Robert is a recluse and a recovering alcoholic. Sarah is an organic food vendor. He's overprotective of their diabetic daughter Sully (Alyvia Alyn Lind). They're looking to adopt and they meet expecting mother Bridgette Gibson (Jessica Lowndes). They invite Bridgette to stay with them rather than going back to the women's shelter. The problem is that something ominous about Bridgette.

Is it a spoof? Yes, sort of. This is a fascinating odd little Lifetime TV movie. These are great comedians playing it somewhat straight. Yet the dialogue is read with a (pardon the pun) pregnant pause. They are acting sincere but they seem to be doing it with a nudge and a wink. It is serious but it is not at all serious. It opens with a ridiculous dock accident. There's no way this is being treated as a serious drama. Just look at Will Ferrell's hair. That's insanely wrong. But nobody is playing this for easy Wayans brothers' parody laughs. I laugh when Sarah and Bridgette fight but they are not doing a fake comedic fight. This is a fun weird movie.

After much speculation it turned out the movie wasn't at all a comedy/parody, although some moments could've been interpreted in a funny way(the garage door opening being one of them), it is actually a Lifetime tribute with essential elements of their movies that have been popular with its audience: a life-altering accident, a fresh start after couple of months/years(it occurs twice in perfect sync at the beginning and ending of the movie), alcoholic husband, naive partner/wife, dark past that gets everyone in trouble, a crazy ex-lover, best friend who knows too much for his own good, phone that stops working in a crucial moment, police getting involved all too late, saving the day ending and lets not forget the classic handgun shooting happening between almost all characters in a row.

For a Lifetime casual fan this will a great movie of their beloved genre full with all the dramatic bits that they enjoyed throughout the years involving 2 A+ listed actors who attracted attention, in order to celebrate their 25th anniversary of hilarious clichés.

For non-lifetime viewers this will be a new and enjoyable experience which they could find funny in some scenes given the 2 comedy Gods involved in it, but you need to have seen at least 1 Lifetime movie to understand the replicated elements that are included in this anniversary. Its not a parody per-se because they didn't had to exaggerate the already overly-dramatized bits which are usually found in Lifetime movies and which some of their casual viewers find hilarious, its simply a replication of those but bunched together in a single movie.

10/10

This is typical Lifetime fodder, neither good nor bad; pretty much middle of the pack. Nothing unique about this. Yes, when you watch Ferrell, you expect him to do something "over the top" to legitimize it as a spoof but that doesn't happen. It's not great or even good drama. It is mediocre. I know of what I speak because I have seen a lot of the Lifetime original movies.

Stating that, it can't be stated as satire. It is far too subtle to be considered satire. It can have a life of it's own as bad Lifetime but it's not really bad enough.

I don't know why Ferrell and Wiig did this movie.

I will say, however, that Lifetime, had a coup with this because it is has created a stir in social media and that may have been the outcome desired all along.