Villainess Review: Janet Timms (The Bad Guardian)

One thing I love lately is that the Lifetime films have become quite star-studded. It used to be the true crime movies that snagged the big names, but we are seeing some well known names in the normal Lifetime thrillers as of late. This film, The Bad Guardian, is definitely no exception, with Melissa Joan Hart in the lead role as Leigh Davis-Delgado, the central protagonist of the film.

The film began with Leigh's father, Jason Davis, being taken to a senior care facility after what was revealed as a concussion after a fall. The news stunned Leigh and her family, who went to Jason's home looking for him, only to later head to the facility and encounter the facility's main owner, Janet Timms, who displays that typical warm demeanor before prohibiting Leigh and her husband, Luis Delgado, from taking Jason home with them. A fight for custody in court did not go Leigh's way, as Janet resorted to digging up Leigh's "criminal past": a grand theft auto charge caused by a misunderstanding.

So Janet received full guardianship, and that's when the trouble started. Jason was basically a prisoner at the facility, and Leigh discovered that her father's collectibles, which even included his Purple Heart, were being auctioned, and his house was being sold. Janet responded to Leigh's anger by using her own backstory involving her mother to defend her actions and claim that she's all about helping people like Jason. Leigh's not taken by this in the slightest. Her first attempt to turn this into a news story is slightly hampered, so she looks to speak to relatives of Janet's victims, but she gets no luck until she speaks to one woman (in Spanish), who revealed that Janet threatened to keep her away from her father if she didn't give her the key to his house. Leigh's quest also led her to a woman named Casey Hilder, a retired lawyer whose mother was also financially abused by Janet.

Speaking of Janet, we see her actually confront Leigh at her workplace. Seriously, I do love those parts--where the villain suddenly invades the hero's personal life out of nowhere. So Janet basically threatens Leigh to back off, or she might start paying less and less attention to Jason's important needs. Even this doesn't stop Leigh. Neither does nearly being run off the road. Leigh did have an ally in the place: Teresa Williams, one of the nurses. Unfortunately, Janet found out about Teresa being actually beneficial to Jason and had her fired, and right after Teresa's shown outside the news station, we see a report that she was killed in a hit and run.

Jason's health is at risk due to the discovery that he had neuropathy caused by diabetes in both of his feet, though Leigh saw that he would get stem cell medication. Or so she believed. Turns out actual helpful medication would hit Janet's wallet too hard for her liking, so she plans on having one of Jason's legs amputated. Even worse, Leigh was told by reporter Mitch Young that his bosses killed the story, and she ended up losing her job as a waitress because she took a lot of time off digging dirt on Janet. So Leigh's back is totally against the wall, but that's when she totally delivers.

After receiving a call from Jason that his roommate, Albert, suddenly died due to their neglect, Leigh and Luis crashed Janet's office, with the former half of the couple promising to back off in exchange for taking her father home with her. Janet refused and opted to settle things in court, and when Leigh mentioned that the judge in the case, Russell Bean (who is quite friendly with Janet), may rule in Leigh's favor. Janet responds that Bean is running for re-election, and that will keep her in line with the scheming businesswoman. The case is presented, and Janet (again) does everything she can to denigrate Leigh, who comes prepared this time. Leigh takes out her phone and reveals that she had recorded Janet saying (in so many words), that she has Bean in her back pocket.

Because the state allows one-party consent, there's nothing Janet can do, and Leigh ends up winning. To make matters worse for Janet, her rant against Leigh is interrupted by the arrest of her brother, David Timms, as he killed Teresa to keep her from exposing Janet. As for Jason, he was out of that facility and taken home by Leigh, who ended up with a new job as a paralegal as a result of her victorious quest that saved her father.

The Bad Guardian aired on Lifetime on May 18, 2024, and the film featured La La Anthony as the evil Janet Timms, the main reason why I was excited for this film. La La's done a few acting gigs, but one appearance that stayed in my mind was an episode of CSI: NY that aired in December 2009. La La was one of three big guest stars in that episode, with the other two being Kim Kardashian and Vanessa Lachey, who played the film's two main villainesses, while La La's character was a minor victim in their scheme, which included taking in homeless men and killing them after putting insurance policies out on them. Here it is, 14.5 years later, and La La's basically playing the same type of villainess that Kim K and Vanessa Lachey played. Epic!

Unsurprisingly, La La was so deliciously amazing in this role. Janet Timms had that "ruthless evil boss" look and demeanor for the entire film, and La La played every villainous facet of Janet to perfection. Janet was every bit as fiendish as I expected, though I was expecting Janet to be a bit more of a hands-on villainess, but I was pleased nonetheless. I would love to see La La Anthony take on more villainous roles, because this film proves she can play those roles very well.

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Check out Janet Timms' profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!