Sorority Wars

30 minutes in & after I was done laughing at the boat load of college film cliches & tropes, it occurred to me how much of a huge Mean Girls ripoff this is. & WHY does Lifetime perpetually cast actors who look like 30 to pass for high school teens??

The "On Demand" synopsis pretty well told it all. The questions weren't what was going to happen, only occasionally when. Lots of pretty people, although generally cardboard, even prettier campus housing/sorority houses. The hope is that this was all silly fiction, from the incredibly huge dorm rooms (two people in a room four times the size my daughter shared with three), to the silly trivia quiz, to the only course anybody seems to have gone to being art. To think that there could be people that actually pay $50K a year to have their children go to such an institution says things about our society I'd rather not address (gratuitous comment added to make the ten lines--this film isn't worth that many on its merits).

If you have nothing better to do, and you don't actually think about it, it isn't overly painful, but be warned, the banality oozes.

This film begins with a young college students named "Katie Parker" (Lucy Hale) and her best friend "Sara Snow" (Phoebe Strohl) endeavoring to determine which sorority to choose. Since her mother is a leading member of the Delta sorority, Katie is considered as a "legacy" and has an extremely good chance of being accepted to it. Sara, on the other hand, is not as fortunate and can only hope to be selected by it. Making things even more interesting is the fact that it is consider a coup if another sorority can lure a rival legacy over to them. To that effect, the Kappa sorority has expressed an interest in Katie as well. Recognizing this, the Delta sorority intentionally violates the rules in order to entice Katie join them--and that's when things go horribly wrong for both Katie and Sara. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an interesting made-for-television film which started off pretty well but began to lose some of its appeal at around the halfway mark due to some rather unrealistic scenarios from that point on-with the strained relationship between Katie and her mother "Lutie" (Courtney Thorne-Smith) being especially peculiar. But that's just my opinion. Be that as it may, while I certainly don't consider this to be a great film by any means, I suppose it still passed the time rather well, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

First, let me say I never saw Mean Girls - the movie and/ or any sequels or iterations (eg. Musical) - so for all the reviewers downgrading the movie because it's a "shameless Mean Girls rip-off," I have no basis to make that complaint. I reviewed this movie on its own merits alone.

Secondly, this is clearly a high-production value movie for a Lifetime movie. Not quite theatrical release quality, but certainly a Disney original movie or Netflix original movie quality.

The movie is carried brilliantly by hugely watchable multi-talented charismatic seasoned TV Queen Lucy Hale in an early-ish TV movie role that makes the movie engaging right out the gate.

Sticking to a common Lifetime setup wherein the star girl gets accepted or is recruited or pressured to join the same sorority as her mom as a "legacy" sister, the movie is built around the tension that ensues when the girl breaks from that mold. The movie could well have been entitle Mean Moms.

The campy sometimes cringy "warring" aside ("more like 'Little Whores on the Prairie'"), the movie does prove to be a mini-showcase for the loveable Hale.

This a Lifetime movie worth seeing.

"Sorority Wars" is a made-for-TV movie that, in many ways, is much better than many commercial motion pictures. The writing is sharp and well-developed, advancing the story, sometimes in humorous ways. The directing and editing move the storyline along smoothly and naturally without effort on the viewer's part.

While it may appear that girls and women would comprise the audience, the film has a great deal to offer males, namely an understanding of female competition, while seeking one's acceptance into a social network. The movie explores revenge and spiteful treatment of those ostracized by the college Greek system.

One of the most important elements deals with parental influence as freshmen attempt to establish themselves as independent individuals. Failing is often a major part of succeeding, and determines what group peer pressure elements are acceptable.

The last reason this film is excellent is Lucy Hale. She appears in nearly every scene, so consistency of her character is vital to the film's success. While her career is just getting started, Lucy's delivery and enthusiasm in acting, dancing, and singing demonstrate multi-talent that, a few years from now, may remind us of Doris Day.