Your Next Guilty Pleasure: Lifetime Movies

I know what you’re thinking: You’re a bit skeptical about Lifetime movies because they’re often seen as a running joke, but trust me when I say that they make for a great Friday night. These movies can range from fictional plot lines about sexting scandals to real stories that have made national headlines. The variety is really exciting and makes for a great night in with the girls. As terrible as these movies might be, my friends and I still talk about some of them even a year after we viewed them. Three of my favorite Lifetime movies include “Drew Peterson: Untouchable,” “Girl Fight,” and “Flowers in the Attic.”

To begin, the “Drew Peterson” movie is probably the most talked about movie amongst my friends and me. The night that it aired, I remember we made the fastest dinner dash so that we could make it back by 7 ppm. We not only had to have dinner ready, but we also needed our signature comfy spots prepared for what was about to be an eventful evening. Let me tell you, that movie did not disappoint. First and foremost, the story of Drew Peterson and his “disappearing” wives was made for this network. Before the movie, I had only known the basics about the trial and never really looked into it. After, I caught myself looking up articles and doing research about the wives. Second, choosing Rob Lowe to portray Drew was one of the best casting choices I had seen in a while. There were scenes where I found myself cringing when he was trying to be intimate with Stacy (played by Kaley Cuoco), as well as haunting interactions with his kids. In fact, in the mourning process of Stacy’s disappearance, there is a conversation between Drew and their neighbor Karen in which I was actually scared. He was telling her that she no longer could see his kids, and my friends and I were actually upset for the kids. That movie could come on any weekend and I would gladly sit down and watch it, and probably find new things to comment on that I didn’t notice the first time.

Next film on the list would be “Girl Fight.” With certainty I can say that I chose to watch this movie based on the summary provided by my cable network. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. In essence, the movie is about a girl named Haley who unexpectedly befriends some upperclassmen and gets herself into a serious amount of trouble. Before making friends with these girls, she makes some harsh comments about them on a messaging board similar to Facebook. When the older girls find out, they set her up in a social situation and then beat the crap out of her. One of the girls in the group films the fight and Haley’s parents eventually find out, leading to a trial. Not only did this plot have me drawn in, but considering I work in a school setting as well as having a younger sister in high school, it worries me at how quickly girls turn and become this vicious over something as small as a petty Facebook post. As corny as it sounds, this movie opened my eyes to what could be a reality.

Last, but certainly not least, my friends and I recently watched the newest addition to the collection: “Flowers in the Attic.” Throughout the month of January my friend and I saw the preview with the haunting version of “Sweet Child O Mine” playing in the background and we were immediately drawn in. Every time the commercial came on it made me really excited to see the movie, and I cannot say that about a lot of other movies. The first aspect of the movie that I found absolutely brilliant was Heather Graham being cast as the airhead mother, Corrine. Throughout the movie there were moments where I wanted to punch her in the face due to her neglectful attitude towards her children, but at the same time I could not see any other actress in that role. The second aspect of the movie that was really well done was the coverage of the topic of incest. There are so many movies, especially on Lifetime, where this topic is over the top and uncomfortable to watch. In this movie, I wasn’t completely in a state of distress because of the plot. It’s hard to say much without giving the movie away, but that’s a major theme for sure. Another very relevant aspect that I appreciated, which I look out for in any movie, was the soundtrack. The music was so interesting in each scene and I think it wrapped it all together for me.

All in all, Lifetime movies are actually the greatest. Not just because they serve as some form of entertainment, but they also could be an interesting form of socializing. It’s fascinating to me that to this day, my friends and I can sit around and discuss the smallest aspects of a movie that we watched over a year ago. In other ways the movie can serve as an experience that makes you think for months about what could happen in the lives of those around you.  So if you get the chance, open a nice bottle of wine and enjoy one of these films if you get the chance.