Danger in the Spotlight (2021 Lifetime)
Cast: Jessica Morris, Anna Marie Dobbins, Alivea Disney, Trey McCurley
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Synopsis (via Lifetime)
After struggling with sobriety, Martha has been turning her life around to gain shared custody of her daughter. The night before the custody hearing, though, Martha wakes up from a car crash with alcohol on her breath and flees the scene, not wanting to lose her child forever. Martha knows she hadn’t been drinking, so she’s unsure how she ended up in an accident. Feeling guilty, Martha tracks down Daphne, the other driver she hurt in the accident. Horrified by her supposed role in paralyzing Daphne, Martha becomes her caretaker. But as Martha spends more time with Daphne and her husband, Henry, she begins to wonder if the car accident wasn’t an accident after all. Jessica Morris, Anna Marie Dobbins, Trey McCurley star. (2021)
Thoughts
The movie begins with Martha waking up from a car accident and injecting herself with an Epipen? (Maybe) She is confused and was on her way from a narcotics or alcohol anonymous support group. Martha can walk away from the crash and checks on the other driver, who is knocked unconscious. She doesn’t want to deal with the police (Her custody hearing is the following day) and calls 911 from the stranger’s phone. Then she flees the scene. (Leaving behind her bumper, a coffee cup, and a picture her daughter drew.)
At the court hearing, Martha is supported by her friend Gina. She isn’t awarded more custody, but the judge is impressed with her progress (minus the hit and run.) Martha lost her job as a nurse but still knows contacts at the hospital. She calls her friend, Ryan, to check on the hit and run victim. She turns out to be a famous ballet dancer named Daphne Novak. Daphne’s dance career is over, and Martha is flooded with guilt. She opens up to her mother about the whole thing and reveals that she has a GLUTEN ALLERGY. (Which caused the crash.) Her mother wants to believe her but finds empty bottles of whiskey in the car.) Martha insists she is sober, and they hide the car in a parking garage.
Martha works as an AA tela-support while driving a new red car. She distractedly looks at a gold Love necklace that she found in her car and sees that it matches Daphne’s bracelet.
Daphnie is in recovery and uses a wheelchair. Martha studies up on ballet and stops by Daphnie’s house as a “big fan.” Daphnie’s home is beautiful. (Which is strange because do dancers even make that much money? It turns out she was the Julia Roberts of Ballet.) Daphnie offers Martha a mid-day-martini, which sounds good to me, but Martha opts for tea instead. The women talk about their lives, and Martha is sad, sad, sad. Daphnie is very optimistic and decides to hire Martha as a home nurse. Daphnie’s husband, Henry, is not as welcoming and drinks WHISKEY. (The same brand that was in the car.)
On her first day on the job, Henry is short with Martha and makes a big show of locking the liquor cabinet. He tells her to take care of Daphnie and reminds her that he is keeping tabs on her.
For some reason, one of Martha’s first duties is giving Daphnie a sponge bath. They talk about Martha being an alcoholic and messing up medications for patients at work when she was a nurse. Daphnie doesn’t see it as a red flag and tells Martha that she trusts her. Daphnie talks about how hard it was to be a woman in her 30’s dancing. She is upset she has been disregarded by her industry.
Daphnie gets the 911 call somehow and listens to it over and over. Martha is horrified and suddenly starts speaking in a lower voice. (Just kidding, but that would be awesome.) Daphnie is angry that she was the victim of a hit and run, understandably.
Martha works out with her friend Gina to relieve the stress of the secret she is hiding. Someone is watching her and sends her a video of herself working out. Someone knows that Martha was the driver and wants her to turn herself in.
Things start looking more and more like Henry is behind all of this. The patient that Martha gave the wrong medicine to was Henry’s brother. She also notices Henry following her around town.
The police come and talk to Daphnie about her case. They found GHB in the coffee cup and talk about a five million dollar insurance policy that Daphnie has on her legs. Martha casually listens while cleaning the kitchen.
Martha comes up with a theory that Henry set her up and drugged her. She comes clean to Daphnie. Then she breaks into a locked closet and finds drugs. He has been drugging Daphnie and Martha. When Henry comes home, Henry gets violent and tries to force Martha to drink. She kills him with his own whiskey bottle.
Daphnie is at first shocked, she just took in a bunch of info, but then she wants to cover up the murder. When Martha calls the police, Daphnie gets up out of her chair and syringes Martha, paralyzing her.
The whole thing was an elaborate plan to get the insurance money. Henry and Daphnie selected Martha as an easy mark. They set her up to get a DUI, but Martha went off-script. Daphnie drags Martha up to the bathtub, dumps whiskey down her throat, and turns on the water. (Think Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath.)
Daphnie hides Henry’s body and gags Martha to take a meeting with the insurance company. She quickly gets him out of the house so she can finish off Marth. The drugs wear off quickly, and Martha fights for her life, throwing Daphnie over the balcony. This time paralyzing her FOR REAL.
We go back to court after a commercial break. I’m not sure what is happening. Daphnie testifies that people deserve second chances. Is she a character witness for Martha? Wha?????? Daphnie and Martha are friends after all this???? I’m just confused—they event co-conspire to cover up Henry’s murder.
Martha is awarded joint custody with her daughter and still is the caretaker for Daphnie. The movie ends with a sponge bath and giggling. Hmmm. Okay, well, I’m glad they could work it out.
Side Note
Minority Report: Gina, Ryan,
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*** I’ve updated the rating system moving forward start 7/26/2021. Knives represent # of kills. Wine is over enjoyment (NOT a value judgment) on a 1-5 scale.
I will use the following tags for those who want to know watch or skip: Pour it Up (Would Recommend) or Put A Cork In It (Would Not Recommend)
Overall rating
Number of Kills: 🔪 ( 1 Knife)
Enjoyment Level: 🍷 🍷 (2 glasses of wine)
*Photo Credit: © 2021 Lifetime® | A+E Networks®
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The ending…like what??? How? I thought I missed something, but I didnt lol