A Deadly Adoption

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

OK. I sort of get it. Lifetime wanted to make fun of itself by doing a very typical Lifetime movie starring two comedic kingpins, but play it deadpan so that nobody will actually know what's what. The result? Nobody really knows what's what. Although there are a few moments that seem to be a parody of a Lifetime movie, mostly it is just played straight and the result is just a really poorly written plot orchestrated by two very talented actors. If only it would have decided which it wanted to be: a comedy or a serious drama. But it lingers somewhere in between so that at the end, it's really just another Lifetime movie, and if you don't get the jokes, a very poor one at that.

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.

If you watch Lifetime movies of the week you know they tend to be overwrought, supposedly true life melodramas with a cookie cutter story.

The script and acting are no great shakes.

A Deadly Adoption could had gone for the parody route like Scary Movie, Austin Powers or Naked Gun films. Instead they have de-constructed the typical Lifetime film and made a better version of it.

The film has the usual tropes and clichés with just a hint of a knowing wink here and there. As one character states:'I found an unopened box of chocolate today. You know the dangers of diabetic ketoacidosis.'

The biggest difference is that this television movie of the week has two A list cinema stars. Will Ferrell plays a financial management guru with a string of successful books.

Kristen Wiig is his wife who sells organic food in market stalls in their small town. They have a five year old daughter Sully to whom they are overprotective towards especially as she is diabetic.

Right at the beginning we see Wiig falls over from a dilapidated boat dock into the river which results in a miscarriage. Some years later as the story progresses they meet Jessica Lowndes who is homeless and giving her baby up for adoption however she is not all sweet and innocent and her path has crossed with Ferrell before.

Ferrell and Wiig play it straight. Ferrell also has what looks like a fake beard and recites the corny lines likes it is Shakespeare. You get a hint that he might be sexually attracted to Lowndes as he looks down her cleavage and Lowndes has a hoot playing the femme fatale role.

Yet it is surprisingly zippy, it moves along at a fast pace, it has a fair amount of cheesiness, bad stunts and ludicrous plot developments.

Still there is only so much you can do when you try to polish a turd.

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.