Dangerous Medicine (2021 Lifetime)
Cast: Leann Van Mol, Chris Cimperman, Meredith Thomas, Matthew Pohlkamp
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Synopsis (via Lifetime)
After losing the use of his legs in a car crash, Tony (Chris Cimperman) is helped to walk again by Daphne (Leann Van Mol), his physical therapist. But Daphne’s loving care soon morphs into a sick attempt to possess Tony forever. Meredith Thomas also stars. (2021)
Thoughts
The movie begins like most Lifetime movies… A woman is running through the woods being chased by a man. Her name is Daphne, and she is almost bludgeoned to death, but a red-headed woman stops the man, and Daphne gets away.
Six months later, Daphne is starting over and applies for a job as a caregiver. It is her life’s dream. In the interview, she overshares about an abusive husband and makes the interviewer uncomfortable. The husband is following Daphne around town.
Tony is a hunky track star with a full-ride scholarship to the college of his dreams. His girlfriend, Jasmine, is also excited to get into college and receives texts while she is driving from a recruiter. Jasmine gets distracted and blows through a red light. They get into an accident that leaves Tony paralyzed.
Daphne reads about the story online and calls to offer her services. Her services include spotting Tony while he works out, rubbing his legs with oil, and his penis in a bubble bath while calling him, Kyle. (Her old patient.) Daphne goes above, and beyond and no one thinks it is strange. When Jasmine comes over after school with news about a groundbreaking treatment, Daphne gets exceptionally jealous.
Later at Dinner, Daphne accuses Jasmine of pretending like things are normal because she doesn’t want to face her fault with the accident. Ellen, Tony’s mom, agrees, and it is too much for Jasmine; she rushed out of the house upset.
Daphne’s plan to get rid of Jasmine doesn’t work, so she resorts to sexy massages to threaten Tony’s girlfriend. That doesn’t work either, so Daphne breaks into Jasmine’s house and hacks into Jasmine’s phone to send a breakup message to Tony. (Jasmine’s Dad wakes up and walks around the house with a bat. I like this, dad!) The text works, and Tony breaks up with Jasmine for questioning his manhood.
Now that Jasmine is out of the way, Daphne tells Tony that she wants to kiss him. He realizes FINALLY that she has crossed a line. (It wasn’t the touching his penis? Or taking his pants off during a massage? It is asking for a kiss.) Ellen gets a call from the clinic that the specialized doctor called about an appointment, and Daphne “forgot” to tell Ellen. Ellen fires her on the spot.
The movie flashes back to what happened with Daphne’s previous patient, Kyle. She was obsessed with him, and his family found out about the inappropriate relationship. Kyle’s sister and brother, Gary, have been coming after Daphne since she killed their brother for trying to leave her. Gary shows up at Daphne’s house with the intent to kill her; she kills him instead and buries him in the yard.
Ellen hires a neighbor who makes lame-looking sandwiches and watches TV in the other room. (Is she me?) Tony still talks to Daphne on the phone. That isn’t enough for her. She puts on a sexy burglar outfit and breaks into the house. Daphne unhooks a gas line and pours CO2 into the house. Tony tries to save himself put passes out.
The next morning Daphne pretends to find him and makes a scene, so the neighbors rush to Tony’s rescue. I’m not sure how, but he survived the gas link. Tony calls Ellen, who is confused as to why Daphne was even there. Ellen reluctantly gives Daphne another chance.
Tony gets an appointment for the surgery. Daphne can’t have that. She poses as a nurse in the hospital the night of Tony’s surgery and injects potassium chloride into the surgeon’s neck, causing him to go into cardiac arrest.
Tony is upset about the surgery getting canceled. Daphne makes him feel better by sleeping with him. Ellen finds them in bed together the next day and fires Daphne again. Ellen also threatens to tell the medical board about Daphne’s unethical behavior. (She should!) Tony tells his mom that he loves Daphne and is 18, so he can do whatever he wants.
Jasmine sees posts on Instagram of Tony and Daphne together. She translates a tattoo on Daphne’s arm and realizes that it says “Kyle” she is putting things together and sneaks into Daphne’s house. Jasmine finds out Daphne’s real last name is Edwards. Daphne unexpectedly comes home and has phone sex on the couch with Tony while Jasmine hides behind it. AWKWARD!
Jasmine looks up Kyle Edwards and calls every number she finds online. She tracks down Kyle and tells him about the situation with Tony. Kyle’s story is very similar; she was a caregiver who crossed a line and eventually married him. The final straw was when Daphne tried to chop off Kyle’s arms so he would need her 100%. Kyle’s brother and sister caught Daphne in the act and ran her off. Jasmine calls Tony and warns him.
Tony confronts Daphne and sets her off. She screams, “I’M YOUR CAREGIVER AND THAT’S MY JOB.” (It is so campy. I love it.) Tony tries to crawl away from her, but she çhloroforms him and throws him in her car. Tony wakes up tied to a table. He screams for help. (I’m digging the gender role reversal here.)
Ellen and Jasmine track down Daphne and attempt to break into the house while Daphne googles “how to amputate an arm.” (She didn’t look this up before now?) Ellen gets hit in the face with a shovel, and Jasmine tries to untie Tony. Daphne catches her and hits Jasmine in the head. Jasmine delivers the line “Okay, Bitch!” with so much sass; I thought it was going to be a brawl. Nope, Jasmine gets knocked out. Ellen comes to and stabs Daphne just as she is is about to saw off Tony’s arms.
Tony gets the surgery and runs on the track as his mom and girlfriend cheer him on. The end!
Side Note
Minority Report: Jasmine, Jasmine’s dad, Neighbors,
During principal photography, the production was shut down due to COVID.
I would have LOVED this movie if actors with disabilities (People First Language) portrayed the characters in wheelchairs.
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Overall rating
🔪🔪🔪 (3 Knives)
🍷🍷🍷 (3 glasses of wine required.)
*Photo Credit: © 2021 Lifetime® | A+E Networks®
Hi Patrick, I love your blog. In the spirit of inclusivity, I’d encourage you to use person-first language when speaking about disabilities. Example: “I wish they had hired actors with disabilities” rather than disabled. We don’t want to define folks by their abilities & differences!
Thank you so much for this comment, Laura. I am always looking for ways to be more inclusive and people first language is such a simple way to do that. I am updating now!