Dirty Little Secret

It was an okay movie up to the point of Melissa Joan Hart's character being vilified, then left for dead. OCD Hoarding is a disease, not a death sentence. Would have appreciated a more compassionate portrayal of the compulsive hoarder than it was given. Hart overacted in her role, that perhaps she really didn't identify with in the first place.

It was an awful ending. For someone afflicted or affected by hoarding watching the film it is a wound to the heart to see how her family and those around her portrayed the character ie., as someone unworthy of being loved or treated with dignity rather than a piece of trash.

There are just so many problems with this movie! I've always liked Melissa Joan Hart so I thought I'd watch. It was mediocre at best. They barely scratched the surface yet didn't go completely over the top until the end like a lot of these Lifetime movies do. It was about a teenage girl who is embarrassed by her mother who appears to have it all together at work as an intelligent hard working nurse until you see their house and the mom is a hoarder. As it turns out, she was a complete neat freak before the father left because of it and now she's gone the other direction. There are also 2 older siblings that have moved out and don't come around much. Well, in the end this takes a VERY DARK, DISTURBED AND UNDESERVED turn. And I'm saying this about a Lifetime movie mind you!! This is not the way you treat people with mental illness!! I wouldn't recommend this film on that alone.

This was really decent up until the last 20 min when it went completely off the rails. Missed opportunity for redemption and a better ending. Two stars for great acting by Melissa Joan Hart and Lizzie Boys but this was truly awful. No idea what the writers or producers were thinking here but it doesn't add up.

Shy high school student Lucy (Lizzie Boys) tries to keep to herself. She has one friend and never invites her home. There's a reason. Her highly-skilled nurse and functioning mother Joanna (Melissa Joan Hart) is actually a hoarder. She's always afraid of getting her mother in trouble.

It's Lifetime. It's Melissa Joan Hart. The story lacks drama. I've never considered a child's fear of children services although that would work better for a younger daughter. I don't know where the premise could go. For the drama, Lucy needs to be isolated. She shouldn't have a friend or even siblings. The story could unfold that she starts to open up and that's where the drama comes in. Lizzie looks like a prom queen and it doesn't fit. The last part could be dramatic but some of it seems laughable.

This movie was almost disturbing to watch, which means the lead character, Melissa Joan Hart killed it in this role! You could really feel that she has a disorder and the moments she freaks out in the movie are that of a real life hoarder. I do wish the movie had a more uplifting ending, but not all stories have a happy ending.