Betrayed: A Story of Three Women

Though "Betrayed: A Story of Three Women" has its faults — it's VERY much to the Lifetime formula (just read the synopsis in TV Guide and you could practically write the script yourself), starting with a hot soft-core porn scene between the illicit lovers and at times getting so melodramatic I wondered if I should turn it off and watch something a little more understated, like "Il Trovatore" — I'm posting here because I really resent some of the sexist attacks on the movie. I'm a man and men ARE like the philandering husband in the movie, or at least enough men are to make the broad outlines of the story believable. (And if you'll look at the credits again you'll notice that the director and writer were both male.) I liked the film — it wasn't a world-beater and I found the ending WAY too optimistic, but it was well-crafted and did what it set out to do. Also, decent roles for middle-aged actresses are rare enough one can see why Meredith Baxter and Swooosie Kurtz wanted to do this one; they tore into their cat-fight scenes like starving tigers descending on a piece of raw meat.

Does anyone else wonder why some psychiatrist or clinical psychologist hasn't written a book entitled:

•••"A View of All the Problems Women Can Experience and Endure - from Marital Infidelity, to Being Menaced by Psycopaths, Along With Every Conceivalble Type of Problem Imaginable In-Between - as Depicted by Made-for-Television Movies Starring Meredith Baxter" ???????•••

In this movie, Meredith is blind-sided by the fact that her best friend's daughter has been having a protracted affair with her husband (she works for his law firm).

The husband, portrayed by John Terry, may not be the least-sympathetic, as well as completely "dull" character in the history of this genre (or any other, for that matter) - but he certainly is a contender.

Swoosie Kurtz's daughter (Swoosie is the inevitable "best friend") is also wholly-unsympathetic, and presents no qualities whatever which would make one like or care about her in the least.

It's also difficult to care much about Birney's character, and Swoosie Kurtz is the only one, whose widowed-mother-of-the-adulterous-daughter, and best-friend-of-the-betrayed-wife is remotely "realistic" and completely sympathetic in this Lifetime extravaganza.

As in most of the movies, the women have varying amounts of strength (even the daughter has a modicum), but the male characters schlep around like Woody Allen on downers. But at least Woody's characters are intended to be as he presents them, and are engaging.

and yes, there is a great cat-fight scene wherein they have it out at the local supermarket. Clare Carey is the other, younger woman.

Yes, a common story that ends up better than real life...John Terry is an attorney who has an affair (if we check for this theme on IMDb there would probably be 300 more movies made this year with the same theme). Still, there is a sub-plot with Kurtz and Baxter, and they manage to pull it off.

Swoosie Kurt is underrated as an actress. She is always believable, and never appears shrill or fabricated, which is more than can be said for standard television fare. Just look at media hype like Jessica Simpson or Paris Hilton, to see what an actor is NOT. However, I digress.

If you enjoyed films like Adrian Lyne's "Unfaithful", think of this as an amusing TV version. The performances are decent, John Terry and Nicholas Pryor are also good, and the sub-plot about Baxter's husband not living up to her standards is realistic, while Kurtz tries to repair their damaged friendship.

Meredith Baxter lends a realism to the story, and I would certainly hope to see Kurtz and Baxter in similar TV movies. 8/10

I thought Meredith Baxter Birney and Swoosie Kurz were great, as well as the other actors.It is a story about two old friends and one of them has a daughter who is having an affair with the other friend's husband. A serious, but very funny scene in the parking lot after Meredith finds out about the affair between her friend's daughter and her husband. She's wheeling her grocery cart full of groceries to her car,when Swoosie spots her and wants to talk with her and resolve the situation. Swoosie takes and holds Meredith's groceries to get her attention. Meredith then tried to grab them back from her and they crash all over the ground. You have to watch it to appreciate the humor. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and it's too bad the other people commenting didn't rate the movie very highly, but they have a right to their opinion, of course. I think it deserves a much higher rating then they gave it And it's odd that one would actually watch it again when they didn't care for the movie. The movie had some very humorous moment considering the seriousness of it. I personally thought it was a very good movie.

Okay, I usually love the movies on Lifetime because they are heartwarming and emotional. This movie was neither.

A husband cheats on his wife with her best friend's daughter. Drama ensues. The best friends are at each other's throats. The acting is pretty bland throughout the entire movie.

The main problem with this movie is that it alludes that the wife will probably end up taking the husband back. WHAT??? Never, not in this lifetime (pun intended) do you take a man back who cheats. It made the wife seem desperate and pathetic.

I didn't feel anything for any of the characters in this film. They all could have died in a massive fire and it wouldn't have mattered to me.

Also, the ending of this movie was so terribly stupid I just couldn't believe it. One of the worst films I have ever seen.