Geeks logo

Lifetime Review: 'The Wrong Tutor'

A strong villainess, plot, and casting makes up for a lackluster ending to this otherwise excellent teen obsession film.

By Trevor WellsPublished 5 years ago 5 min read
1

After getting a DUI for trying to drive home drunk from a party, high school student Eric (Nate Wyatt) takes it as a wake-up call. But as he begins to rededicate himself to soccer, which he is hoping will earn him a scholarship, Eric learns that his poor math grades are threatening his position on the team. In addition to his somewhat estranged relationship with his mother, Carol (Vivica A. Fox), in the wake of his DUI, which she blames on his girlfriend Jess (Li Eubanks), the pressure is on for Eric.

Relief seems to come in the form of Emily Miller (Ivy Matheson), a new student at Eric's school, who offers to give him math tutoring to help him raise his grade. While her assistance is quick to improve Eric's grades, Emily's motives are quickly shown to go beyond academic help, as she has developed an intense crush on Eric and is determined to have him to herself. As Eric comes to realize Emily's infatuation with him and tries to distance himself from her, he learns that Emily will resort to whatever means are necessary to get what she wants. Can Eric and Jess stop Emily before her obsession turns deadly?

To best illustrate where a great deal of The Wrong Tutor's entertainment value lies, allow me to use a meme:

David DeCoteau: So, Ms. Matheson, I'm curious for your input: how dramatic do you think your character should be written and staged?Ivy Matheson: Yes.

When it comes to Lifetime obsession thrillers, how well they succeed hinges deeply on the performance of the film's obsessed antagonist, and Ivy Matheson throws herself into playing the pretty but unstable Emily. The Wrong Tutor wastes no time in establishing the true nature lurking behind Emily's mask of innocence, and Matheson delivers the Lifetime-ian goods in every scene where Emily lets her psycho flag fly. From her glares of pure insanity to the frequent slow-motion sequences she's featured in, Matheson (and in a greater sense, the movie) knows what the audience wants and delivers on the drama in the best way possible.

Opposite Matheson is Nate Wyatt as Eric, an aspiring soccer player pulled into the madness of a psychotic admirer. While fresh to the acting scene (his only other acting credit outside this film is a recurring role on web series Turnt), Wyatt plays Eric as the ideal mix of likable and active against the danger that has entered his life. In addition to having an effective backstory that makes Eric sympathetic, without feeling cheap or forced, Eric is quick to pick up the hints of Emily's true nature, and acts accordingly once it's all brought to the surface.

Li Eubanks (having made her debut to Lifetime in last year's The Wrong Friend) serves as the film's deuteragonist, as Eric's girlfriend Jess, exuding the same charm she showed as Riley Cramer and, in a refreshing twist for this sort of movie,Jess takes the news of Eric's drunken kiss with Emily (revealed to her by Eric in another refreshing turn) with mature level-headedness that takes her up to Eric's level of likable proactivity. Principal Callahan (played well by Jackée Harry) also shares in this level-headedness, taking an impartial approach to handling the situation when Emily drags her into her schemes against Eric.

WARNING: Spoilers below

However, there's one huge negative element of The Wrong Tutor that cannot be overlooked: the ending, which rivals The Wrong Boy Next Door in being anti-climatic. It starts out well enough, with Eric and Jess being caught by a knife-wielding Emily while investigating her house, with Emily blasting Eric for rejecting her and Jess for standing in the way of her romantic delusions. Apart from some overly robotic dialogue from Matheson, it appears this is gearing the audience up for a dramatic conclusion. But instead, Emily does a complete 180 in her 'I'm taking what's mine, whether you like it or not' rant and flees the scene after giving an 'I'll always be watching you, you'll never be safe' speech that sounds like it should be stated by the killer from a corny 80s slasher film.

John Link from The Wrong Boy Next Door at least had the excuse that he had to flee and leave his victims unharmed due to the approaching police; here, Emily changes her mind about attacking Eric and Jess for no explained reason. Even worse, the epilogue showing Emily starting over at a new high school and targeting a new victim contradicts her claims of continuing her obsession with Eric. It all combines to make a frustrating ending to a movie that deserved much better.

Spoilers Over

The above mentioned problems with the film's ending in the Spoiler section further prove a detriment to Vivica A. Fox's character (that being Eric's well-meaning but overprotective mother Carol) ending without resolution. This is especially disconcerting due to how her otherwise well-handled and emotional storyline with Eric goes, with Fox and Wyatt sharing strong mother-son chemistry that should've had an emotionally investing payoff. Outside of getting a well-earned telling off from Eric for believing Emily's word over the word of her own son, Fox's arc ends with little fanfare and no redemption for Carol.

(This is made all the more aggravating given that her character received the same treatment in The Wrong Mommy.)

In the last of the film's low points, The Wrong Tutor has Jason-Shane Scott and William McNamara as Eric's soccer coach and math teacher respectively. (Scott is even featured on the poster.) While Scott is at his best as usual and makes the most of his scenes with Wyatt and Matheson to establish himself as a competent and supportive mentor to Eric, he and McNamara feel underutilized in side roles that could be played by anyone to the same effect. This is most felt in McNamara's case, who hardly gets two minutes of screentime and has almost no personality developed, rendering his acting talents unfortunately wasted.

While the ending and wasted talents can prove hard to stomach, The Wrong Tutor is otherwise a strong Lifetime thriller high on entertainment, with a strong main cast, easy to root for protagonists, and an overall fantastic villain far outweighing the film's stumbling blocks. Prepare yourself for a flop of an ending, and The Wrong Tutor will prove a fun ride.

Score: 8 out of 10 heart tree carvings.

review
1

About the Creator

Trevor Wells

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

Link to Facebook

Twitter: @TrevorWells98

Instagram: @trevorwells_16

Email: [email protected]

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.