Killer Cheer Mom (2021 Lifetime)
Cast: Denise Richards, Thomas Calabro, Courtney Fulk, Jay Jay Warren,
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Synopsis (via Lifetime)
Moving to a new town with her dad (Thomas Calabro) and stepmom Amanda (Denise Richards), high school junior Riley (Courtney Fulk) decides to try out for the cheer squad despite the stiff competition. With Amanda supporting her, Riley is hopeful she will make it on. But when some cheerleaders are expelled or injured under suspicious circumstances and Riley’s chances get better and better, she can’t help but wonder if Amanda is doing whatever it takes to get Riley on the squad. (2021)
Thoughts
The movie begins with a blonde teen setting another blonde teen on fire.
Cut to some lifetime Pop Music (Which means some random demo that Halsey or Jesse J passed up on.) We get a lengthy cheerleading routine, which has fewer lifts and flips and more booty shaking. A new girl, Riley, is shown around by Blaire and takes a special interest in the cheerleading squad and ROCK MUSIC. Riley meets a guy with greasy hair named Connor and makes frenemies named Dee at Cheerleading tryouts.
Riley is embarrassed when Denise Richards shows up at school and invites her to froyo. Later at dinner, Riley’s kooky father encourages his daughter to give their new town a chance. (Riley wants to go back to Chicago and blames Denise Richards to moving the family.) After a fatherly pep talk, Riley agrees to give it a shot; things might not be that bad if she makes the cheer squad. (Denise Richards listens to the conversation and will clearly go to any length.)
Denise Richards shows up at cheerleading tryouts and awkwardly gives the thumbs up to Riley. Then she tries to convince the coach to put her stepdaughter on the team, but Riley is subpar to an all-start athlete Dee. Denise Richards plots her next move over wine and ignores a text from her therapist.
Riley is mortified when her stepmother joins the PTA. Denise Richards spends a lot of the movie peeking around corners. With access to the school during a bake sale, Denise Richards messes with Dee’s medical paperwork. It doesn’t work because it is a stupid idea.
Riley continues to flirt with Connor and smashes a strawberry in science class (Something about DNA?) while speaking in double entendres. Then in the car on the way home, Riley opens up to Denise Richards about there being only one spot on the team up for grabs since Dee is a lock. Denise Richards takes care of that and plants drugs on a girl named Ariel. She is kicked off the squad.
Denise Richards visits her therapist and insists on getting her files back. At this point, her character has had like three names, so she is clearly she is hiding something. Then she does some more eavesdropping. (Like practically standing at Riley’s door with a class listening.)
Riley must be really bad at cheerleading because Denise Richards doubles down on the sabotage, THIS TIME doing heavy tech work. Digitally swapping out the faces of two cheerleaders, Tiana and Ariel, to make it look like they are drinking IN UNIFORM. They are let go from the team and suspended.
Denise Richards opens up to Riley about a past relationship. She was engaged to a man named Tim, who killed himself. (The acting here is better than your typical Lifetime fare. Denise Richards finds ways to make her character sympathetic even though she is behaving badly.) Riley and her stepmom seem to be growing closer until Denise Richards questions captain Chloe about the squad.
Putting on her midwestern accent, Denise Richards makes a smoothy and cuts Chloe’s breaks. Chloe gets into an accident while chugging smoothie and ends up in a coma. Chloe is also Connor’s sister, so that is convenient. Connor and Riley cuddle in the hospital lobby until a detective accuses Riley of sabotaging Chloe to get a spot on the team. Word gets around, and the whole school agrees.
Riley asks her BFF (Who has survived the whole movie.) to drive with her to Chicago. God, I love this best friend because she says no. Riley convinces Connor to go with her instead. They drive to Chicago to talk to Tim’s ex-wife, Sarah. The woman tells them that Tim died in a car accident but the car that was meant for her. Denise Richards was going by the name “Malory.” and is dangerous.
When she gets home, Riley tries to tell her father, who thinks she is jokey and tells her that she is overreacting. When he tells Denise Richards, she speculates that Riley is probably on drugs. Then she stands over Riley’s bed in the middle of the night and threatens her.
Connor and Blaire help Riley try to help catch Denise Richards in her lies. When step momma goes out for a jog, Connor and Riley hack into the GPS and finds Denise Richard’s therapist. The therapist refuses to talk to the kids, but it doesn’t matter because Denise Richards knocks them out in the parking lot in broad daylight.
The dad FINALLY realizes something is up and works with Blaire to track down Riley with a website called “Find Your Friends.” (Which I’d like to opt-out of.)
Denise Richards dumps gasoline all over Riley as she tells her that she is bad at cheerleading. (Haha, Brutal.) Riley untiles herself and the woman roll around the ground trying to strangle one another. The father arrives just in time to scare Denise Richards away. She drives through the woods and is stopped by the police. The gig is up! Consequences in a Lifetime Movie?!?! Wow!!!!!
Riley tries out for and makes it onto the team. She is happy to put her ex-stepmom, Denise Richards behind her, I’m like can we get a sequel? More bad girl Denise Richards.
Side Note
Minority Report: Ariel, Coach Toni, Mrs. Kennedy, Blaire
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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: (0 Knives)
Enjoyment Level: 🍷🍷🍷🍷
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