The Twin (2017 Lifetime)

The Twin (2017 Lifetime)

Cast: Brigid Brannagh, Timothy Granaderos, Jess Gabor

Listen to the Lifetime Uncorked Podcast here!

Synopsis (via Lifetime)

Spa owner, Aya, accidentally bumps into a distraught Taryn, who turns out to be a sorority sister. When Aya learns that Taryn has been dumped by the very guy she just moved to LA to be with, Aya welcomes her into her home and life like any sister would. But Taryn isn’t really her sister. She’s a former foster child who will do anything, even kill, to create the family bond she has desperately wanted her entire life.

Thoughts

The movie begins with a car crash. A bloody brooding hunk survives the crash.

Ashley is celebrating her birthday alone in PJ’s. She receives some flowers from a next-door neighbor, Jake. She is surprised by her daughter, Joelyn, who is back from college. Jocelyn brings her boyfriend, Tyler. (The bloody brooding hunk, or is he?) They are studying Japanese and speak to each other in the language. They plan a trip to Japan for independent study. Tyler wants to be an ER doctor and is going premed. Still, somehow, Ashley is unimpressed with her daughter and her new boyfriend.

Ashley and Jake go out for a brunch date and talk about her sleazy ex-husband.

Tyler runs out to do errands, leaving Jocelyn home alone. He stops by a mental hospital and visits his twin brother, Derek. Derek was in the car accident and has stopped taking his medication. Derek insists that HE is Tyler. The doctors speculate that Derek is traumatized by witnessing his parent’s death in the car crash and is coping by imagining he is Tyler. The brothers talk over a board game. Derek attacks Tyler and knocks him out, swapping outfits. Derek now is pretending to be Tyler to free himself.

Derek does a lousy job of impersonating his brother. He eats mayonnaise (which Tyler hates.) and can’t speak Japanese. Jocelyn wonders what is wrong with her boyfriend. (Does she not know he has a twin?) Derek is gross and only wants to have sex with Jocelyn. She stops him because he is acting so out of character.

Ashley notices Tyler is off too and is concerned. She finds the medication in Derek’s drawer, researches the car accident, and finds out about his brother in the mental hospital. Ashley tells her, annoyed daughter. Jocelyn reluctantly tells her mother that she will talk to her boyfriend about it and demands that Ashley mind her business. Ashley cannot do that, she is a mother in a Lifetime movie!!!

In the mental hospital, Tyler insists that he isn’t Derek. No one believes him because Derek was pulling a long con to take his brother’s place. Pretty evil genius. Tyler keeps getting in trouble for breaking hospital rules and is sedated.

Jocelyn confronts Derek about his brother in a mental institution. He pretends to be emotional and can’t talk about his family’s past. He promises to set things straight with Ashley and is upset to learn that Ashley is at the mental institution…. to visit the REAL TYLER.

Ashley meets with “Derek” and is surprised to learn he is a twin. Tyler tells Ashley what happened while crying. Ashley believes him and insists the staff take him seriously. A gossipy nurse tells Ashley that Derek is delusion/dangerous and killed his parents and girlfriend in a car accident. He will eventually stand trial for murder. The nurse promises that there is no way he could have escaped. Ashley confronts the real Derek, who explains everything away. Ashley quizzes him, but Derek has all the answers.

Tyler continues to be a trouble maker in the mental hospital, beating up sexy male nurses and sneaking out to call Jocelyn to get help. He ends up in a serious lockdown and is closely monitored. Tyler tells the nurse about a scar and a mole that could tell the twins apart. He lifts his shirt to show off his abs, I mean, scar. (Oof, this man is fine.) It works, and Tyler is free. The police are on the search for Derek.

Jake teaches Derek to shoot s shotgun. (Which seems like a terrible idea.) Jocelyn decides to take a break from “Tyler” and asks him to leave and meets back up at school. (Also a mistake.) Derek drugs Jocelyn on their way back to college. Tyler calls Derek and tells him to leave Jocelyn alone. Derek promises to kill Jocelyn if anyone comes after him.

Tyler realizes that Derek is taking his girlfriend to “the cabin.” and heads up that way. Ashley is also following them because she is tracking her daughter’s location with her cellphone. Jocelyn wakes up and tries to escape the moving car.

At the cabin, Jocelyn attempts to run away through the woods but is captured by Derek. He ties her up and screams about being the “bad twin.” Then he attempts to rape her but knocks her out instead and ties her to a bed. Then he changes his shirt and pretends to be Tyler rescuing her.

When Jocelyn wakes up, she sees the twin arguing. Derek killed his parents on purpose. Tyler tells his brother that he loves him and tries to reason with Derek and his shotgun. Ashley and Jake arrive. They can’t figure out who is telling the truth until Tyler speaks Japanese to Jocelyn to prove he is the REAL Tyler.

Ashley pulls a gun on Derek and stops him from killing them all. The police arrive and take the bad twin away. Tyler is left with his girlfriend and her family hugging by the cabin.

One month later, Ashley and Jake are a couple who do yoga together now. Jocelyn and Tyler facetime from Japan.

Side Note

Minority Report: Nurse, Mental Patient,

Timothy Granaderos from 13 Reasons Why is adorable. I love his midwestern accent here. Was it a character choice? IDK!

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.)