Lifetime Review: 'Her Boyfriend's Deadly Secret'

Sadie (Kalen Bull) is a newly single high school student, having recently broken up with her boyfriend Jack McAllister (Carter W. Glade). While she's still reeling from the heartbreak, it doesn't take her long to catch the eye of someone new. Handsome and charming, Gavin Barett (Anthony Carro) connects with Sadie right away and the two begin falling hard. But not everyone is happy with Sadie's new boyfriend. Jack couldn't be more incensed while Sadie's mother Taryn (Alicia Leigh Willis) worries Gavin is a bad influence on her daughter.

But a jealous ex and a protective mother are the least of these lovebirds' worries. Someone is stalking Sadie and sending threatening messages telling her to stay away from Gavin. Sadie initially thinks Jack is behind the threats, but it becomes clear that there's more to her stalker--and to her new boyfriend--than Sadie realizes. And what Gavin is hiding could cost Sadie her life...

Give Her Boyfriend's Deadly Secret credit for at least trying to do something different. Its title and synopsis on Reel One Entertainment's website make it sound like another Lifetime movie about a teenage girl falling for a guy who turns out to be a psychopath. But the story is actually a bit more layered than that--something the cold open makes apparent. Sadly, those extra layers can't protect the movie from its poor execution. From the bloated runtime to the inexplicably daft decisions made by the protagonists, there's a lot in Her Boyfriend's Deadly Secret that keeps it from rising to its full potential. Pacing proves to be the film's biggest problem area. Starting out slow as we're introduced to Sadie and her romantic entanglements, the plot progression goes all over the map as the plot stretches itself thin. It results in a storyline that grows dull and at times confusing. A few plot holes appear and the climax is only possible due to the main characters being unbelievably shortsighted in their handling of a dangerous situation. Plus, as the film goes on, the dialogue (and how the actors deliver it) grows progressively more awkward.

Then there's the idiotic character decisions. Sadie is surprisingly dense for a girl who managed to earn a full-ride scholarship. She makes a bad first impression by getting unnecessarily upset at Jack for getting into a different college than the one they discussed. His later actions might show that Sadie dodged a bullet with him, but Jack not planning his education around a relationship isn't the selfish act the film paints it as. Then after dumping Jack, Sadie jumps headfirst into her romance with Gavin, quickly putting all her trust in this boy she barely knows. This might've been forgivable if we'd gotten to see Sadie and Gavin's relationship develop, but we don't. Kalen Bull and Anthony Carro share some chemistry, sure. But things between Sadie and Gavin are so rushed that the "deep love" they have for each other feels shallow and Sadie's willingness to stand by Gavin despite all his red flag behavior makes little sense.

The cast puts their best foot forward, even if some actors stumble more than others. While she's shaky in her first time playing a true Lifetime protagonist, Kalen Bull makes Sadie a likable enough lead. For all her dumb decisions, Sadie is still a relatively good person getting pulled into a harrowing situation. Anthony Carro is similarly appealing, making the most of the scenes where Gavin lets his vulnerable side out. After two Lifetime movies where her performance was plagued by stiffness, Sydney Malakeh is much more at ease playing Sadie's friend Michelle. Bubbly and sweet, Michelle also has some Genre Savvy to her that shows she's not just a vapid party girl. She frequently warns her friend to be careful with Gavin and rightfully points out to Sadie that she shouldn't be so quick to trust someone she doesn't know that well. Sadie doesn't really follow the advice and Michelle disappears in the third act, but it's the effort that counts. Meanwhile, Lifetime newbie Carter W. Glade makes Sadie's ridiculous reason for breaking up with Jack bearable by playing him up his post-breakup antics (entitlement, elitism, and basically just being a whiny loser) for all they're worth.

The cast playing the adults gets the shorter end of the stick when it comes to characterization. Iris Braydon is plenty likable as Gavin's godmother Edna, but Alicia Leigh Willis gets the shaft playing Sadie's mother Taryn. She gives a good performance, but Taryn is a rather generic Lifetime Movie Mom who spends most of the film on the sidelines giving Sadie a series of lectures about how much she's "changed" since she started dating Gavin. It's kind of disconcerting how little it takes for Taryn to go all "I don't even know who you are anymore, young lady" on her daughter. Cutting class a few times and sneaking out once aren't exactly life-wrecking behaviors, so Taryn's overblown response feels unwarranted. There are also some unsettling elitist undertones to Taryn's reaction to Sadie dating Gavin. In a few scenes, it feels like Taryn's primary concern isn't that Gavin is a "bad influence," but that he isn't a clean-cut rich guy like Jack.

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

Lastly, there's Matthew Pohlkamp as Jack's father John McAllister, the true villain of the movie. After a certain point in Her Boyfriend's Deadly Secret, you're sure to be able to piece together what Gavin's titular secret is and how John is connected to him. If not, the movie spells it out by the midway point. After John's villainous reveal, Pohlkamp sells him as a ruthlessly self-centered man who has the nerve to claim he cares about any of the people in his life when his actions have done nothing but hurt them. Pohlkamp's performance, however, is weighed down by John's dialogue in the climax. About 50% of his lines are exposition and the other 50% are cliché/on-the-nose villain rantings. Pohlkamp powers through it as best he can, but a lot of his climactic deliveries don't land smoothly.

On the subject of John McAllister, both his sons suffer from subpar character writing. Gavin's plan for getting John to confess to killing his mother is flimsy, nonsensical, and just plain stupid. John was previously willing to kill Gavin's mother while she was pregnant with him and was a second away from beating the kid to death when he broke into his house to get John's DNA. You'd think those two instances would make Gavin realize he's in over his head and listen to his worried godmother. But he doesn't and Edna ends up paying for it. As for Jack, the story seems to be building him up to be revealed as an accomplice to his father's actions, working with him to shut Gavin up and protect their family's reputation. His overall attitude and the implication that he knew Gavin was his half-brother all along would've supported that. But instead, the climax sees Jack do a complete 180 and stand up to John, blasting him for (among other things) trying to kill Gavin. It's an abrupt change in personality for Jack, who had been nothing but an obnoxious tool until that very moment. Having him be just as evil as his father would've made more sense and possibly would've resulted in a better finale.

(PS: It's strange how the epilogue is all about Sadie leaving for college rather than following up on Jack. They could've at least had Jack there to see Sadie off. With how Jack saved Sadie and Taryn's lives and fulfilled Gavin's desire of seeing his mother's killer brought to justice, it could've made for a touching farewell. Instead, it's a standard epilogue complete with more attempts to convince the viewer that Sadie and Gavin have any sort of depth as a couple.)

Spoilers Over

This is Brooke Nevin's second time directing a Lifetime movie. Her first time resulted in last year's Her Deadly Sugar Daddy. While Her Boyfriend's Deadly Secret inches ahead of Nevin's first directorial endeavor thanks to being comparatively more interesting, it still replicates a lot of that movie's mistakes. The plotting is dull, the actors start slipping in the second half, and the main protagonists are worthy contenders for the Darwin Award. Much like Sadie and Jack's relationship, Her Boyfriend's Deadly Secret starts out promising before swiftly going off the rails.

Score: 4 out of 10 SOS selfies.