Lifetime Review: 'The Wrong Fiancé'

While Abby Johnson (Jessica Morris) has been finding success in her rising photography career, her romantic life is a completely different story. Since breaking off her engagement to the possessive Richard Atkins (Jason-Shane Scott), he's been calling nonstop and harassing her in an attempt to get her back. Deciding she needs to get out of the city to clear her head, Abby takes up her editor Charlotte's (Vivica A. Fox) offer to rent out a past client's house in Kingston Bluff to work on a real estate photography project. Soon after getting settled into her temporary home, Abby slowly starts to unwind as she begins an unexpected romance with local bartender Logan Curtis (Justin Schwan).

But even miles away from the city, Abby is unsure if she's truly safe from her obsessed ex. In addition to his continued threatening phone calls and texts, strange occurrences around the house convince Abby that Richard has followed her to Kingston Bluff with more malicious plans in mind. If he can't have Abby, Richard intends to make sure no one else can either...

With their last shared "Wrong" movie being 2019's The Wrong Mommy, Jessica Morris and Jason-Shane Scott were long overdue for a reunion within the franchise that introduced them to me. If you have even a passing acquaintance with Lifetime's movie catalog, you'll know that The Wrong Fiancé's premise is one the network revisits very often. I'd say you could make a drinking game out of all the Lifetime movies where a woman is terrorized by a crazed lover, but I'm pretty sure that would be encouraging alcohol poisoning. But as I've no doubt said before in past reviews, formulaic doesn't necessarily equate to bad. Unlike the similarly themed previous installment of the Wrong saga, which was a stale and badly acted dud, The Wrong Fiancé keeps itself fresh with a consistent pace and a cast that will keep you engaged in the admittedly predictable story.

Granted, though, Abby Johnson seems to have inherited a bit of the denseness of Wrong Real Estate Agent's Julie Fields. Through the opening act as we're introduced to her ordeal with Richard, the idea of filing a restraining order never seems to cross her mind. She also has a moment of replicating Gale Foley's hypocrisy once she arrives in Kingston Bluff. She has the gall to go all "you're trespassing on private property" on Logan right after lustfully photographing him without consent--for the second time. I could imagine that getting a lot of backlash if the roles were reversed in this Lifetimey meet-cute. Unlike Gale, though, Abby's hypocrite status isn't as frustrating as Gale's and is mitigated by Logan giving her some snarky flak for it. Plus, it does create a sort of irony seeing a stalking victim engage in a little casual stalking herself. Elsewhere, Jessica Morris gives a likable performance, selling Abby's escalating fear of Richard and her desire to move on from his mistreatment. And while he suffers from a bit of stiffness in his first major appearance in the "Wrong" saga (he previously played a bit character in The Wrong Teacher), Justin Schwan otherwise gives Logan an appealingly laidback charm that allows him to play well off Morris during Abby and Logan's budding romance.

(SPOILER ALERT On a sour note, both Abby and Logan receive moments when their characters make impossibly dumb decisions. As much of a textbook Incompetent Lifetime Cop that Chief Sawyer--played by Michael Paré--is, I believe he would've taken Abby's concerns more seriously had she shown him the vandalized photo of Logan that she found in her makeshift darkroom. She also goes all "Cheesy Slasher Movie Victim" in the climax, not thinking to double-tap Richard with her knife and inexplicably wasting her chance to escape by hiding in the garage instead. As for Logan, despite being set up as a conspirator redeemed by love, it's baffling that he doesn't just tell Abby the truth and warn her about Richard. You'd think he'd be quick to realize how thoroughly empty Richard's "it'll look much worse for you than me" threat is. But no, he takes it at face value and ends up paying for his foolishness with his life. On the plus side, I liked how there was a little bit of "Is Logan Really Richard's Mole?" misdirection going on before it was officially confirmed that he was. Spoilers Over)

As a villain, Richard Atkins can't even begin to hold a candle to Jason-Shane Scott's first "Wrong" baddie. While The Wrong Roommate's Alan Cypher was a memorably charming and ruthless villain who Scott gave a surprising amount of depth to through his performance, Richard Atkins is the standard psycho ex. Even a great deal of Richard's dialogue consists of familiar crazy abusive boyfriend phrases ("look what you made me do", "I decide when we're over", and the like). Regardless, Scott still gives Richard the same cold menace that he brought to Alan's darker moments, whether he's viciously harassing Abby or abusing his current girlfriend Jen (played by Gina Hiraizumi in a sympathetic portrayal of a battered woman).

Vivica A. Fox rounds out the primary cast as Abby's editor Charlotte, making a fiery first impression when she gives Richard a piece of her mind. Charlotte continues to prove herself to be a protective friend and all-around badass throughout the movie, with the short-but-wild climax having Charlotte and Fox at their best. SPOILER ALERT And I liked how the film ends on a note of realism in regards to Abby's mental well-being. Even though Richard's gone, the trauma of all that he put her through is shown to be something that will take Abby some time to recover from. Spoilers Over

The supporting cast has a few solid Wrong regular cameos to be had in the form of Lesli Kay and Hilary Shepard. We also get Jamie Bernadette in a disappointingly brief appearance, but from the looks of the upcoming Wrong Prince Charming, we'll soon be seeing her in a Wrong role she can really sink her teeth into. Overall, what The Wrong Fiancé lacks in originality, it makes up for through its cast and atmosphere. The story knows how to keep its action moving steadily and the actors all bring forth their best efforts, even those in minor or generic roles. It doesn't even come close to usurping The Wrong Roommate for Best Jessica Morris/Jason-Shane Scott Led "Wrong" Movie, but for what it is, The Wrong Fiancé makes for an enjoyable Lifetime drama that leaves the previous chapter of this series in the dust.

Score: 6.5 out of 10 muskies.