Villainess Review: Judy (My Son Didn't Do It)

So far, the month of August has been pretty fruitful regarding Lifetime films, though the centerpiece of this month's action, IMO, has to be My Son Didn't Do It (originally titled, Catfish Murder). The film centered on Helen Parker, a widowed mother of two teenagers, Taylor and Gia, the former receiving an award for his academics, though Taylor isn't too crazy about prestiges. The family has a strong bond with another mother-son duo, Judy and Miles. In fact, Miles, Taylor, and Gia all attend the same school, with Miles being a big time soccer star. Judy, basically sees her son as the next Lionel Messi.

Taylor also finds herself in a budding relationship with a girl named Emma, Gia is a little bit envious of Taylor's intelligence, but she does love her brother, and Miles is a bit of an outcast. The central focus of their social lives is a big party thrown by the immensely popular Sophia Bliss, but after the party, that's where the tragedy comes in. Sophia, as the Parkers would learn, was killed, and the main suspect, surprisingly, is Taylor--who is arrested on the spot.

Helen goes on a quest to clear her son's name, and it's at this point where I am immensely gushing over Gina Holden's latest Lifetime movie role. I've seen Gina Holden in so much; she's done a lot of TV and film, and that does includes her share of Lifetime films. This, IMO, was Holden's best protagonistic role, she totally dives in to Helen's drive to clear her son's name. Speaking of that, it's not easy. Though she has Judy at her side, there are many obstacles: Judy's revelation that she saw Taylor out that night, a photographer hounding her, Helen's house being vandalized, you name it.

A broken wing (and yes, Mr. Mister's song was in my mind as I typed that phrase) doesn't stop the photographer from his incessant mission. Another morbid wrinkle is added to this quest, as Lucas Peters, a student who had been bullying Taylor, was found deceased, having apparently committed suicide. As for Judy, she has her personal worries: Miles has been flunking out of his classes, and she now fears that Miles' only concern is soccer. As we would learn in the climax, that was only one of his concerns.

After it was uncovered that a car beloning to another schoolmate, Delaney, was involved, Gia confronted both Delaney and Miles, and that led to a big revelation. Miles was "Emma"; claiming to create Emma to boost Taylor's spirits. In addition, Miles had a bit of a thing for Sophia, but she turned him down at the party. Miles later catfished Sophia during the party, and while Taylor was with Sophia after she left, the pair were shown laughing about being catfished. Miles tracked Sophia and confessed his adoration for her, but that led to a scuffle that ended with Sophia's death, being shoved headfirst on a rock.

It gets more twisted. Miles called Judy afterwards and told him what happened with Sophia. Judy arrived, and Miles stated that what happened with Sophia was an accident, and wanted to call the police. Judy didn't want to take that chance, as she believed that the police may not believe that Sophia's death was accidental, so she decided to cover up for Miles. After the flashback, we see Judy and Helen at the latter's home, where Helen was contacted by her co-worker Jack, who revealed that both Judy and Miles were in Delaney's car that night. So Helen knows, but Judy overhears the call and orders Helen to put down the phone.

Judy denies killing Sophia, stating that her death was an accident. However, Judy did admit that she killed Lucas, doing so to continue to cover for Miles, while pleading with Helen to think of Miles. She added a claim that Helen would do the same for Gia and Taylor, but Helen was bent on calling the authorities, prompting the fully deranged Judy to tackle Helen and attempt to stop her. Gia, who had also learned everything, returned home to see Judy and Helen fighting, and later sprayed Judy's eyes with pepper-spray. When all was said and done, Miles and a red-eyed Judy were both arrested, and as we see, there's a budding romance between Jack and Helen.

My Son Didn't Do It aired on Lifetime Movie Network on August 17, 2023, and featured Stephanie Izsak as the villainous Judy. What mothers won't do for their children, I swear. Reel One's full trailer revealed Judy as the villainess, and once I recognized Stephanie Izsak, I anxiously looked forward to this. Izsak appeared in 24 episodes of The Flash as Daisy Korber, who is part of the Central City PD, and she also played red-herring Kate Winters in an earlier Lifetime film, A Mother's Fury. I also saw her in Mommy's Stolen Memories, which premiered in the UK earlier this month, so that increased my anticipation for Izsak's heel turn in the world of Lifetime films, and it was absolutely delightful.

Regarding Judy, she was the latest example of a key rule in Lifetime 101: "It's always the best friends." So was Miles, when you think about it, but Judy was much more evil. In true Rosemary Vick fashion (Google it, folks), Judy comes to her delusional son's aid and decides to cover up Miles' murderous act, with her mission including committing a murder of her own. If I recall, it wasn't revealed if Judy was behind the vandalism, though I wouldn't be shocked if she was. Despite being best friends with Helen, despite the fact that her and Helen's children were friends, Judy was all too willing to allow Taylor to be arrested for her son's crime, and was willing to kill whoever she felt was a threat to Miles. Izsak's performance was beautiful; she played Judy's support and kindness very well, but once the proverbial mask is removed, we see Izsak totally dive into Judy's insanity in such stellar fashion.

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