Lifetime Review: 'The Wrong Boy Next Door'

Ever since her father's death, Katie Foreman (Calli Taylor) has gone from a responsible high school student to a reckless troublemaker, much to the frustration of her mother Lori (Meredith Thomas). After an incident in which Katie injures a teacher in a fit of rage, Katie is placed under house arrest in lieu of facing criminal charges; a punishment Katie couldn't be less enthused about.

That is, until she encounters John Link (Travis Burns), a handsome and charming man renovating the house across the street following the passing of its elderly owner, who John claims was his grandmother. Soon after, Katie begins a casual relationship with John, one which initially serves as a welcome distraction from her house arrest stint. But as Katie soon learns, John has become far more invested in their casual flings than she has—and her paramour might be harboring a few secrets that could threaten her and those she loves.

With a director in Lifetime regular David DeCoteau, and a plot reminiscent of the Hitchcock classic Rear Window, The Wrong Boy Next Door certainly has a lot of potential built up for it. Unfortunately, while the film has its share of good points, and still makes for an entertaining watch, it has its shares of flaws that keep it from being as good as it could've been. To start things off with something that is ultimately minor, the Rear Window aspect makes for an interesting concept, it never gets utilized in a way that couldn't have been accomplished through other Lifetime tropes (in addition to the homage being heavy-handedly lamp-shaded by Lori).

As for other plot elements, The Wrong Boy Next Door does well in its opening act by establishing some intrigue and mystery regarding John and his backstory, leaving viewers wondering just what John's endgame is, and what his intentions with Katie are. This effective intrigue-building opener ends up being a double-edged sword for the film, as the rest of the movie goes in the standard Lifetime-ian route down to the letter, with even the film's formula-bending subplot (which will remain unspoiled) not being utilized as much as it could have been, and being dropped swiftly, without exploration.

The cast fares better, and does what they can to liven up the proceedings, though Lifetime viewers with a disdain for the Bratty Teenage Daughter trope will be cringing as Katie starts out the movie as a frustratingly self-centered brat intent on doing everything she can to break the rules, and get herself in trouble. But thanks to Calli Taylor's performance as John's true nature begins to be revealed, any hate you began to form for Katie dissipates as she finds herself terrified of John, and unable to get anyone to believe her due to her reckless behavior of the past.

Katie's more unlikable moments are mitigated thanks to her friend Samantha acting as her counterpoint, with Alexandra Scott playing her, almost as a surrogate for Lifetime viewers who like to shout at protagonists (particularly those of the Bratty Teenager variety) when they act stupid. Meredith Thomas is sympathetic as a mother both exasperated by her rebellious daughter's behavior, while also desperately trying to repair their broken relationship, and Vivica A. Fox does well as the stern, but well-meaning, Detective Watkins, sharing some strong emotional scenes with Taylor and Thomas.

WARNING: Spoilers below

Rounding out our main cast of plays is Travis Burns as John Link. Burns certainly has the looks and charm to pull off the "cute but Mysterious" allure that draws Katie to him, but in regards to character, The Wrong Boy Next Door gives him little to work with to make John distinguishable from similar "obsessed-with-the-main-heroine" Lifetime villains, from his backstory to his dialogue. Hardly anything he does or says hasn't been said by past villains, with his rantings during the climax (also very by-the-book Lifetime fare) being particularly cliche, "I did everything for you, we belong together, take me back or I'll kill your mom" lines that you've heard millions of times before—not helped by Burns' delivery during these scenes coming off as more silly than frightening in places.

The conclusion also suffers from an anti-climatic resolution, with the police arriving at the school in response to Katie's ankle monitor going off (how John didn't remember this when he was forcing Katie to come to his old school is beyond me) and John inexplicably decides to flee rather than doing anything more drastic—or thrilling—with the promise to be back for Katie. So unless DeCoteau intends to make a sequel, this ending (despite including a nice little scene between its four main female players) isn't particularly satisfying given how paint-by-numbers it is.

Lastly, there's the subplot regarding John's business partner Franklin Daniels, played by "Wrong" regular Jason-Shane Scott in an unfortunately thankless role. As revealed over the course of the film, John is Franklin's latest partner in his scheme of killing elderly home owners in order to buy and flip their houses, with the home of Katie's neighbor being their latest mark. With the film opening on a scene of Franklin murdering his last partner, you would think this would be a relevant subplot that could, in some way, connect with the main story. Instead, however, the subplot is left almost completely untouched by the main plot, with Franklin being unceremoniously killed off before he has any chance to make any impact on the otherwise bone dry story.

Spoilers over

As much as I've been harping on how unimaginative The Wrong Boy Next Door is, it still remains a mostly enjoyable Lifetime flick with a solid cast and a consistent pace that should keep viewers from losing interest. But with so much potential in the story, it's disheartening to see it all ignored in favor of routine "I Fell for a Psychopath" material. I'd say this is a good film for when you have down time, and want to enjoy a little Lifetime-ian drama, but The Wrong Boy Next Door likely won't be a film you'll return to.

Score: five out of ten binoculars.