Who Wants Me Dead? (2020 Lifetime)
Cast: Karynn Moore, Robert Adamson, Rosalie McIntire, Jade Harlow
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Synopsis (via Lifetime)
After the death of her estranged sister Nikki, with whom she’d hadn’t seen since they were separated in foster care, Carlyn is surprised to learn that she is named in Nikki’s will as guardian of her adopted daughter Zoey. Upon moving across the country to honor her sister’s wishes, Carlyn quickly realizes that not only was Zoey left a substantial inheritance but that not everyone is happy about the existence of a long lost sister. Someone else wants custody of Zoey, and they aren’t going to let Carlyn stand in their way for much longer.
Thoughts
Two little girls are playing pattycake and having a swell time when their parents start fighting. The sisters watch on as their mother is shot in the face. (The music and editing here are so extra.)
Twenty years later, another little girl is eating cereal, and I am worried her parents are going to start fighting, AND THEY DO! Nikki and Corey argue as a neighbor watches on concerned, but then neighborly waves. It seems like some infidelity is going on. Before she runs off, Corey gives his wife a water bottle. The water bottle is full of poison, and she dies on a hiking trail with a shadowy figure standing over her.
Cut to another woman taking pictures of a happy couple. Carly or Carlyn (There is a typo in the synopsis and on IMDB, haha.) is a photographer and is now the legal guardian of Zoey, Nikki’s daughter. Corey is not her legal guardian and didn’t even know that his wife had a sister. (They grew up in foster care.) He could lose everything in Carly agrees to be the guardian. (Including a large inheritance
Carly, of course, does agree to move into Nikki’s house because she doesn’t want Zoey to end up in foster care, like her and her sister did. Corey is bitter and feels entitled to everything Nikki left her estranged sister. He angrily demands to be involved in his (step) daughter’s life. Carly also inherits her sister’s flower shop. (Yay?)
Generic happy music plays while Carly and Zoey meet for the first time. Things turn dark quickly when Carly discovers a broken flower vase and hears Zoey screaming in her bedroom. (She saw a monster?)
The next morning the neighbor Ms. Hanson stops by to tell Carly that she has something she needs to say to her about Corey and Nikki’s relationship. Ms. Hanson doesn’t live long enough to spill the tea. She actually dies from drinking tea. Poison again.
At the flower shop, Carly meets April, who is a little too excited to be taking over running the flower shop. April has no remorse about Nikki’s death, and neither does Carly, really. Who is too busy flirty with the town hunk named, Dave. (It is almost Hallmark, except for all the murder.) April and Carly are going to partner up with April’s flowers and Carly’s wedding photography; they can’t lose! The fast friends even party together, who cares about Zoey or the dead neighbor.
The party has a lot of ambient blue lighting and hip hop beats. Carly makes small talk about the dead neighbor. Then they drink wine and talk about Carly’s drunk father, who murdered her mother. Cool party, bro!!!!!!
Afterward, instead of getting it on with Dave, Carly tries to break into her sister’s cell phone. An intruder comes into the house again and scares Zoey. Zoey goes to Carly and tells her the monster tried to take her… because the monster is a REAL PERSON!
Zoey is turning to be a real bitch, she almost kills Carly with some beads at the top of the stairs, but Zoey does unlock the phone. Carly finds some pictures in a text of Corey with a mysterious other woman. Carly tells April and Dave, who promises to help her track down who sent the text messages with the photos.
Carly comes home to find Corey with Zoey and thinks he is trying to steal Zoey. The babysitter gets in an accident. (She is hit with a car on a bike with failed breaks.) Concenatly enough, Corey is available to babysit! Carly brushes him off and takes the hideaway key he used to get into the place.
After visiting the babysitter in the hospital, Carly pours herself some wine and locks the doors and windows. Then she goes out to the hot tub for a nighttime soak. She almost drowns because something was put in the wine that caused her to pass out quickly. Zoey saves her aunt, just in time.
Carly is piecing things together and talks to April about her suspicions and about the wine bottle being missing. Carly thinks that Corey drugged her and her sister. She is convinced that Corey is trying to kill her, detectives aren’t so sure. Dave has been doing some investigating of his own. He notices April has the same bracelet as the woman in the photos. Before he can leave a voicemail, April knocks him in the head with some pruning shears. Instead of finishing him, April dumps him in an Alley and makes it appear to be a mugging.
April offers to take Carly and Zoey in at her place, for safety. Before they leave the hospital, April attempts to poison Dave but is almost caught by a nurse. While Carly is packing, she finds a gun and packs that too. (Just in case!) She foolishly shows it to April, who offers to hide the weapon to keep it away from Zoey. April offers to do a lot of things for Carly. Take Zoey to school, make her coffee,
The toxicologist calls Corey to tell him that his wife had ingested Amaryllis, a toxic flower. Corey confronts April and tells her their hook up was a big mistake. April admits to killing the neighbor and texting the photos. She then reveals that she plans on killing Carly in the same way she killed Nikki to frame the murder on him. As Corey walks away, April attacks him with a fire poker, and they struggle. Carly walks in and knocks Corey out, then April pulls the gun on Carly.
April gives her Villian monologue. She had to give up Zoey when she was diagnosed with cancer. I guess Zoey is her biological daughter, and Nikki knew about it? April gets Carly to drink the flower poison, and as Carly is feeling woozy, April gets ready to kill Corey. Only Carly didn’t drink the poison, she faked it and grabs the gun out of April’s hands just as the police arrive on the scene.
In the hospital, Corey and Zoey are reunited. Carly and Dave are also reunited and have blossoming love.
Side Note
Minority Report: Tina, Denise, the social worker, Madison.
Jade Harlow is one of my fav TV movie villains.
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Overall rating
🔪🔪 (2 Knives)
🍷🍷🍷 (3 glasses of wine required.)
*Photo Credit: © 2020 Lifetime
