Bringing Ashley Home (2011 Lifetime)

Bringing Ashley Home (2011 Lifetime)

Cast: A.J. Cook, Jennifer Morrison, Patricia Richardson

Listen to the Lifetime Uncorked Podcast here!

Please buy me a coffee (or glass of 🍷 ) Support Lifetime Uncorked by leaving a $3 tip.

Synopsis (via Lifetime)

When her wild younger sister Ashley, who has bipolar disorder and drug addiction, goes missing, Libba Phillips pours all her time and energy to find Ashley and bring her home. As the years go by, Libba refuses to give up hope, and, at the expense of her marriage and career, Libba finds her calling in life: creating a much-needed resource center for other families whose missing loved ones have fallen through the cracks.

Thoughts

Libba and her sister Ashley party hard. They have so much fun that Libba invites her sister to live with her in LA. Ashley is a mess. She is a deadbeat with no job who parties at night. After Libba scolds her sister to get a job, she becomes a stripper to make money. Her life quickly spirals out of control.

Ashley’s mood swings are severe. She sleeps all day and parties all night. She steals jewelry from her sister for drugs. Ashley is arrested and put into a mental institution/rehab facility. She is ruled as bipolar and kicked out once her insurance is declined. Ashley is out on the streets, off her meds, and missing.

Libba is outraged at the mental hospital for losing track of her sister. She goes to the police, who couldn’t care less about a junkie homeless person. Even Libba and Ashley’s parents are overlooking for their daughter. Libba makes flyers and passes them around the city. She gets a call about her sister, and someone tells her that Ashley is dead. Libba doubles down and looks for her sister even harder. Her job and relationship are struggling. To take her mind off things, her boyfriend proposes to her, and Libba accepts.

Michelle and Chuck tell their daughter that they are done searching for Ashley. They want their names and number off the flyer. Finally, giving Patricia Richardson something to sink her teeth into acting-wise. Libba writes off her parents dramatically and continues to search to BRING ASHLEY HOME.

Libba starts a center for abused women called “Outpost for Hope.” and gets married in Vegas at the same chapel Britney Spears did. (Hopefully, it works out better for Libba and David.)

OMG, Ashley, is hit by a car. It is a scary scene. The EMT on the scene remembers seeing the flyer and calls. It is the first lead Libba has received. She searches a drug den for her sister but has no luck. The police eventually have Ashley in custody and call Libba.

A kind man takes Ashley in and gets her cleaned up. He shows Ashley the flyer, and she calls Libba. The sisters are reunited, and Ashley is literally barefoot and pregnant. Ashley explains she never called because she was waiting to get better and pull things together. Ashley has her baby, and her parents come to meet their grandson.

Libba advocates for missing persons through her organization and trains police officers to deal with these situations better.

Meanwhile, Ashley is living with her parents and raising her son. She works as a car salesman and struggles with sobriety. Ashley gets into her car and drives away from everything. Libba and her parents raise Ashley’s child. The real life Ashley is still missing.

Side Note

Minority Report: Therapist, police officer, homeless shelter, Darnell, EMT

Don’t forget to listen to the Lifetime Uncorked Podcast available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Donate to keep the blog and podcast going 😊

Overall rating

🔪🔪🔪 (3 Knives)

🍷🍷🍷 (3 glasses of wine required.)