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Lifetime Review: 'The Wrong Friend'

Real-world issues and pure Lifetimey-ness converge in this intense teen drama.

By Trevor WellsPublished 5 years ago 4 min read
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When she first met the new boy at her school, Riley Cramer (Li Eubanks, in her film debut) was taken by him. Handsome and charming, Chris Andrews (Jared Scott) is just the distraction she needs from her strained relationship with her boyfriend, Matt (Cole Reinhardt). After a fight with Matt at a party being held by Chris, Riley accepts a drink from Chris and goes inside with him, despite the objections of her friend Kim (Sophia Katarina).

When Riley wakes up the next morning in her own bed without much memory of the party, she initially dismisses it as her drinking too much. But when Matt shows Riley that explicit photos of her with Chris were sent to him, Chris' true colors emerge and Riley finds herself being terrorized by Chris, while her claims against him are dismissed by the police and (initially) her own mother, Jaclyn (Galyn Görg). Working with her friends, Riley works to find a way to take her tormentor down, learning more about Chris' disturbing past and learning that she has been ensnared by a demented psychopath hellbent on destroying her.

With #MeToo having become a huge cultural milestone at the time of the film's release, it can be argued that The Wrong Friend was David DeCoteau's effort to use his blossoming "Wrong" series to comment on the movement and the misogynistic culture that it brought into the public spotlight. At the same time, The Wrong Friend succeeds in being a Lifetime-ian cavalcade of dramatic thrills, with the film striking a balance to where the film remains entertaining while not mitigating or disrespecting the story's heavy subject matter.

Much of the Lifetimey thrills are brought to the movie courtesy of Chris Andrews, played with immense vigor by Jared Scott (who would later have a bit part in the most recent "Wrong" movie, The Wrong Mommy). Scott obviously is having the time of his life hamming it up as the unprecedentedly revolting Chris, transforming him into both a love-to-hate, over-the-top villain, while not playing him too broadly (Scott wisely lets the audience know early on that Chris is much worse than a simple rich, entitled, misogynistic prick, making the transformation believable). Scott also plays well off the film's leading lady Li Eubanks, from their flirtatious banter during Riley and Chris' first interactions to the antagonistic relationship between the two that forms once Chris' true colors come out.

Speaking of Eubanks, her debut onto both Lifetime and film in general is a strong one, apart from a few moments of wooden delivery in Riley's quieter moments—none of which are enough to completely tank her performance. The Wrong Friend does a nice subversion to the classic way this type of story unfolds by not painting Riley as the idealized victim; instead, Riley starts out the story a brash and petulant girl, who openly toys with the idea of cheating on her boyfriend and engages in outright slut-shaming (the dramatic irony of this is kept to a minimum, likely to avoid making it appear the film is saying what Riley goes through is karma). Eubanks keeps Riley's negative qualities grounded to prevent her from becoming unlikable, and once she becomes caught in Chris's web, Riley's fierce and brash qualities are channeled in a way that makes her a compelling protagonist, as she boldly refuses to allow Chris to get the better of her and justifiably blasts anyone who attempts to deflect blame away from her tormentor.

Cole Reinhardt and Sophia Katarina are equally strong alongside Eubanks, with Katarina in particular, becoming equal parts proactive and sympathetic when she ends up going "undercover" in an effort to help Riley put a stop to Chris. Steve Richard Harris and Hilary Shepard make a brief, but strong, appearance in the film's opening as Chris's Stepford Smiler-esque parents, and Tracy Nelson brings heart-wrenching authenticity to her character, who is revealed to have a tragic connection to Chris that brings new light to his motivation. Vivica A. Fox is also strong as the no-nonsense and somewhat irksome Principal Atkins, but thankfully, Fox's character is not as irritatingly callous as her character in The Wrong Mommy and gets rightfully called out by Riley for her actions regarding Chris.

Galyn Görg is also strong as Riley's mother Jaclyn, and plays well off Eubanks in their mother-daughter dynamic. However, both Riley and Jaclyn suffer from character discrepancies that make no sense given their overall characterizations. Jaclyn gets hit with this the worst, as her initial disbelief of Riley's claims against Chris and prioritization on what others will think about the publicized photos of Riley are not only uncharacteristically cold of her, but make no sense, given that the next we see of Jaclyn, she's standing by her daughter's side. With the third act providing a surprising revelation regarding Jaclyn's past, her initial callousness with Riley becomes all the more confusing.

As for Riley and her friends, their attitude throughout their investigation into Chris seems to alternate with each scene. In some scenes, the teens are proactive and forward-thinking in their investigation, realizing they have to be careful as to not anger the clearly unstable Chris. In others, however, they seem to regard Chris as a non-violent threat and even go about intentionally provoking him at one point. The unevenness doesn't go far enough to make the film's central teens unsympathetic, but it still comes across as bizarre.

Aside from the hiccups that it has, The Wrong Friend is a shining example of David DeCoteau's strength in the realm of Lifetime, with a strong cast (particularly that of the film's villain) and excellently maintained tension throughout making for a movie that gives Lifetime fanatics like me and others something to enjoy. With equal parts drama and depth, The Wrong Friend is Lifetime at near perfection.

Score: 9 out of 10 sunglasses.

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About the Creator

Trevor Wells

Aspiring writer and film lover: Lifetime, Hallmark, indie, and anything else that strikes my interest. He/him.

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Twitter: @TrevorWells98

Instagram: @trevorwells_16

Email: [email protected]

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