Reviewing a Pair of Villainesses from "I Know Where Lizzie Is"

I want to tell you a story, and I swear there's a point to this. I'm a big fan of the Canadian Football League because of the wild rules making the game quite nail-biting when it can be. However, there's another reason why I love the CFL: it's because, at times, I just happen to enjoy a good game, while also enjoying a villainess (or two) run wild on Lifetime. This leads to the subject of this review. While I was watching the Toronto Argonauts and the Ottawa Redblacks battle it out, I was also watching this amazing movie, I Know Where Lizzie Is.

The film's began with a scene featuring Tracy Spencer, who is introduced as a psychic who is shown helping a woman find her lost dog. We then cut to the core of the story, teenager Elizabeth "Lizzie" Holden. Her parents are divorced; her father, media mogul Martin Holden, remarried, and we see Lizzie leaving the home she was sharing with Martin and his second wife (Lizzie's stepmother), Rebecca Holden. She's taken to her mother, Judith Holden, but it doesn't end well, as an argument over a teenage party leads to Lizzie storming out and berating her mother. Just as she texts an apology to Judith, Lizzie is abducted by a masked culprit.

I just want to gush about the casting for a bit. I was surprised to see Richard Ruccolo in this film as Martin Holden; at the time, I had known him for being part of the short-lived sitcom, Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place (later changed to Two Guys and a Girl). Also, it was 2016, and Tracey Gold was in a Lifetime movie; the same Tracey Gold known for playing on Growing Pains, and had done Lifetime films in the late 90s/early 2000s (usually) as villainesses. Just absolutely amazing!

The abduction becomes a big case, and it sees Martin offer $2 million for Lizzie's return, and it's followed by Tracy appearing and suddenly claiming to know where Lizzie was located. Rebecca recognizes Tracy from the online videos where she displays her gifts, Martin is skeptical, while Judith is all in. Tracy gives details regarding Lizzie, and then impresses a detective with her knowledge of his late wife. Her gifts later lead her to clues connected to Lizzie's disappearance, with one of them being a sneaker that the police somehow missed.

So Tracy seems to be all good. But here's the thing,,,she isn't.

We later cut to Tracy's home, and we see her put on a red mask and a mini-cloak of sorts, before entering a room where Lizzie is held captive and force-fed by the same white-masked culprit (who Lizzie calls "Whitey" due to the mask). So yeah, Tracy was involved in the abduction, and as for "Whitey," he was revealed as Henry Spencer, Tracy's husband. Of course, this includes the added revelation that Tracy's nowhere close to being a psychic, though she's hoping the attention will lead her to becoming famous, as well as rich, they're looking for that $2 million payday.

The ruse continues, and it includes reporter Gale Chambers doing what appears to be a mix between a business deal and flirting with Tracy--honestly, it was 60% flirting. During the progression, we see Henry suddenly have reservations and fears about the scheme falling apart, though his commitment remained after Tracy scolds him. However, after Judith tells Tracy that she would make an excellent mother one day, and that starts to soften Tracy's role in this abduction, as she promised to return Lizzie on the following day and collect their payday.

About that.

So we see Gale interview Tracy and the Holden family, but after Tracy leaves, she's suddenly approached by Rebecca, the all-too-supportive stepmother. Again, about that. The encounter provided a deliciously beautiful revelation: Rebecca's in on it. To further clarify, Rebecca's the quarterback of this whole thing; she's the one who sought out Tracy and enlisted her in this abduction plot, which now, under Rebecca's order, has become a murder plot. Though, as Rebecca herself sadistically admitted, killing Lizzie was always the plan. I'll just let Rebecca's words tell the whole story:

"Listen to me. I have been good to that little brat for four years, and that measly little two-million dollar ransom isn't nearly enough for all my hard work. Do you have any idea how much my husband is even worth? And that will gives it all to his precious little bitch! Lizzie is the only thing standing between me and Martin's many, many millions."

Eight years. Nearly eight years after seeing this movie, and I still beam over Rebecca's venomous lines of dialogue.

So Tracy told Henry about Rebecca's change in plan, and they voice their immense reluctance, but in spite of that, they start to go through with it. Henry's tasked with committing the deed, but he can't do it; all the while, Rebecca and Martin are interviewed by Gale, who received the news that Lizzie was actually found alive in the trunk of Rebecca's car. The news stuns everyone, especially Rebecca, who ends up on the receiving end of an interrogation by Gale. Rebecca walks off and stated that she won't answer questions without an attorney present. She's later struck and killed by an oncoming squad car, and as for Tracy, her trepidation over the discovery decreased after learning of Rebecca's demise, as she informed Henry that they were both in the clear, well...until Lizzie identified Henry as "Whitey."

The epilogue takes us six months later, and we see Gale reporting on the Lizzie Holden story, while basking in his newfound fame. From the looks of it, Judith and Martin are back together after Rebecca's demise, and as for Tracy, she's shown in prison giving readings. Holy moley.

An amazing movie with an awesome cast, and that includes the villainesses:

Tracy Spencer

I Know Where Lizzie Is aired on Lifetime on July 31, 2016, and the film featured Nadia Bjorlin as villainess Tracy Spencer. Yes, you read that right: Chloe Lane from Days of Our Lives took her turn as a Lifetime villainess. I actually remember looking forward to this film because Nadia Bjorlin was in it--and I had a feeling she'd be evil. I had wanted her to play a villainess in something, because she has that look to pull it off. I was happy with Tracy Spencer; she was deceptive, greedy, cunning, and at times, ruthless. That last word, "ruthless," is to a point, as Tracy did stay true to one of my favorite tropes, "Even Evil Has Standards," with her stance against committing murder.

And I can't mention "ruthless" without sharing this shot of Tracy in her masked disguise. As I've said before, the irony of the masked look is that it actually unmasks the true evil inside these villains, and that was the case with Tracy. Once Tracy put on the red mask and cloak, we see her transform into a viciously ruthless villainess who appeared to be capable of anything, and that was amazing acting from Bjorlin. I am still hoping we see Nadia Bjorlin do this Lifetime villainess thing again; this film proved she can really do it very well.

Check out Tracy Spencer's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

Rebecca Holden

Oooh man! One of the best Lifetime villainesses I've ever seen (and the best one from 2016) was the evil Rebecca Holden, played wonderfully and deliciously by Vanessa Evigan. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, the surname is hella familiar; Vanessa's father is Greg Evigan of My Two Dads fame, and her younger sister is actress Briana Evigan, who would follow in her sister's footsteps and play a Lifetime villainess two years after this film came out. Again, I loved Rebecca; she started out as this caring and concerned stepmother, but Rebecca's heel turn ended up turning this movie into a bit of a Snow White homage.

I drank in Rebecca's heel turn with much enjoyment, and I loved reliving it on a loop. Her verbal display of her greed and hatred of Lizzie gave us the best lines from the movie, and because the reveal came with a good amount of time left in the film, we are treated to multiple shows of Rebecca's true heel persona--including her expressive dismissal over seeing Judith and Martin bond over Lizzie. Vanessa Evigan absolutely shined in every scene, but when it came to Rebecca's reveal, she absolutely knocked it out of the park with her portrayal of Rebecca's fiendish demeanor.

Vanessa Evigan returned to Lifetime a year later in the film, Babynapped, and she's also appeared in episodes of Boy Meets World and How I Met Your Mother. I truly hope Vanessa Evigan (who I share a birthday with--March 18) does the Lifetime villainess thing again.

Check out Rebecca Holden's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

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