YOU MAY NOW KILL THE BRIDE
(TV Movie 2016)
5.5 stars out of 10
Time to read: 2:38 min
BASIC PLOT:
Nicole (
Ashley Newbrough) and Mark (
Rocky Myers) are a happy young couple, with everything to look forward to. In fact, Mark is planning to propose to Nicole at her surprise thirtieth birthday party. But there's an unexpected guest at the celebration, one with hidden desires. Audrey (
Tammin Sursok) is Mark's stepsister, and unbeknownst to Mark, she has no intention of letting his wedding go forward. Nicole, who has never met Audrey before, accepts her, and invites her to stay in their home. Audrey's offered to help Nicole prepare the wedding, as they are under a deadline. They only have two weeks, because Nicole's dream wedding location is soon closing down permanently. But as the planning begins, disasters soon follow. Nicole's dress measurements are sabotaged, causing her to abandon her first choice. At her bridal shower, her sex tape "accidentally" gets shown, and Mark has "strippers" at his bachelor party, after he promised he wouldn't. Slowly but surely, Audrey's machinations sow the seeds of dissention into Mark and Nicole's relationship. Will they realize what Audrey's true motives are, or will their union crumble under the weight of her encroaching madness?
WHAT WORKS:
*THE SET-UPS AND SHOTS ARE FANTASTIC
This movie, for the most part, is very well shot. The suspenseful scenes are set up to create tension, and the rest are eye candy. It's very well done by
Kohl Glass and
Wes Johnson, the director and cinematographer.
*THE WARDROBE OF THE PRIMARY ACTORS IS A SUCCESSFUL VISUAL METAPHOR Not only is everyone in this movie fairly well dressed, but the wardrobe mistress succeeds in adding a visual layer about the characters. Nicole's clothes start out bright and cheery, and then become drab, it's a nice visual metaphor for her mood.
*THE TRAILER NEEDS A NEW VOICEOVER ARTIST This movie has a decent trailer, but as usual, the voiceover does not match the suspense shown. We used to have trailers that were almost as fun to watch as the movie (I'm talking to you
Sale temps pour un flic (1985)), but now, the voiceover guys sound like they're selling us toothpaste, instead of suspense. It's another depressing sign of the times, everyone aims at mediocrity.
*THE COVER ART IS EXCELLENT
Unlike so many made-for-tv movies, this has great cover art! I wish I could give credit, but alas, our search engines don't actually give out information anymore.
*THIS MOVIE HAS ABOVE AVERAGE MUSIC
The music was created for the film, and I believe it's from a fabulously talented studio musician, named Mike Bennett. He also did music for the movie,
A Neighbor's Deception (2017). Music adds another layer, and the movies where they splurge for music, are always my favorites.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
*NICOLE'S DISBELIEF OF CELINE DOESN'T WORK This is a good setup, but it doesn't play as believable. Your best friend wouldn't humiliated you in front of co-workers, by playing your sex tape at your bridal shower. If she was really your best friend, you'd believe her many denials. This needed to play out some other way. Also, when people are terrible to you (as Nicole is to Celine (
Aubrey Reynolds)), you don't tend to go out of your way to help them. A quick rethink of this plot device (removing Celine), would have made for smoother viewing.
*IF YOU DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW YOU'RE ON MEDS PROBABLY DON'T LEAVE THEM ON TOP OF THE TRASH This plot line turns up a lot in made-for-tv movies, and it's always cringe worthy. You don't leave things you're trying to hide, out in the open where others can see them.
*A MAN THAT DEFENDS ANYONE OVER HIS WIFE, IS NOT A MAN Men who don't defend their wives or fiancées, aren't men at all. If you're not willing to forsake all others, you're not ready to be a husband, or a protagonist in a movie I'm watching.
*NO ONE WOULD APOLOGIZE TO AUDREY, CERTAINLY NOT NICOLE Sick or not, sister or not, when someone treats you this way, you don't apologize to them. Also, the scene feels tacked on, and not needed.
*MOST MEN WHO KEEP FOUR MAJOR SECRETS, RIGHT BEFORE THE WEDDING, WOULDN'T END UP HAVING A WEDDING
This guy lies more than he tells the truth, and there's one thing ALL WOMEN HATE more than anything else, and that's LIES! Mark (
Rocky Myers) lied about being engaged before, he lied about his last fiancée's demise, he lied about his sister being a dangerous mental patient, and he lied about having strippers at his bachelor party, when he promised he wouldn't. Those are the kinds of lies that would make most women rethink getting married.
*MENTAL PATIENTS AREN'T ALLOWED TO HAVE GLASS full stop.
TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION:
*IF, you understand and appreciate the art form that is melodrama, you'll definitely like this. The characters are good vs evil, they have simple, predictable objectives (you stole my man!), and it is a fun ride. But don't watch if you like deep, intensive characters and storylines, you'll be disappointed.
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. This review was NOT written in ANY way by a bot. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews, and better entertainment. Hope I helped you out.
