Killer Grades (2021 Lifetime)
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Cast: Megan Ashley Brown, Laurie Fortier, Liz Fenning
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Synopsis (via Lifetime)
Proud mom Katherine has just found out that her daughter Michelle has earned a spot on the academic decathlon team! But, when one student’s father dies and another student winds up int he hospital, Katherine starts to wonder if there’s more going on with the team than she knows… (2021)
Recap/Wine Thoughts
The movie begins in a school library. A brunette is kicked out and then stalked in the parking lot. Then while she is distracted, the brunette is pushed into oncoming traffic.
Six months later, Lifetime MVP, Laurie Fortier, plays Katherine, a mother of a teen girl named Michelle, who is under a lot of pressure. (The sound quality in this scene is sooo bad. Too much room noise.)
Michelle is an all-around star student and athlete. She finishes her test for the decathlon (I have no clue what this is, I did theater in high school.) and makes all the other students jealous, but Katherine is thrilled and takes her daughter out for celebratory dinner. Her teacher, Mr. Lou, is kind of hot and joins them at their table to tell them that Michelle is on the team and is the first person EVER to finish the test with a perfect score. Mr. Lou is also kind of vibing with Katherine.
Someone breaks into Michelle and Katherine’s house while they are out and steals some things. (I was talking to a boy on Hinge and missed it. Sorry, multi-tasking Gemini here AND Lifetime releasing a movie every night this week is exhausting!)
At decathlon practice, Michelle is excited to see her friend Sarah made it. Keri and her boyfriend Galen are the mean girls on the team. They are pumped to go to Nationals! CUE A STUDY MONTAGE! (Again, I don’t know what is happening, but it is kind of like an even nerdier Pitch Perfect.)
Sarah turns out to be a dummy and is bullied by Keri and her friends. Sarah tries to kill herself. The bullying is that bad—poor thing. No one should be bullied like that. Sarah’s dad yells at the teacher, and then someone murders him in the parking lot.
Cutie, Kevin, is brought on as an alternate to replace Sarah. This rattles Michelle, and she wants to quit the team. Katherine is supportive of her daughter and tells her to do what she needs to do. They have a mature and understanding relationship.
Michelle quits the team, and Mr. Lou doesn’t have it. He gives her some secret pills (Adderall and Xanax to help her study more.) They are the same pills that Sarah took when she OD’ed. Michelle reluctantly gives it a try. (When she does, she starts tripping and hides the pills from her mom.) He tells her to endure the stress a little bit longer to get to nationals.
Katherine and her friend/co-worker Molly work late on their business that doesn’t matter to the plot. Molly decides to stay later and works with headphones on as someone breaks into the place and trashes everything. Molly doesn’t make it out of there alive.
Michelle spirals fast, and everything is stressing her out. Mr. Lou tells her not to mix the pills. Katherine notices her daughter is off and is concerned.
In team practice, a text comes in about Sarah’s dad being murdered. Mr. Lou is livid that the class is gossiping, and he screams at them. Michelle refuses to take the test because she is upset. Keri calls everyone lazy and accuses them of ruining her scholarship. Michelle packs up her things and quits the team, making Mr. Lou so mad he throws a trash can.
Michelle runs home to tell her mom about the drugs. Mr. Lou follows and takes Katherine a knifepoint. He killed Sarah’s dad and tried to kill her. He broke into the house and Katherine’s shop. Michelle is so paralyzed with fear that she can’t call 911, leaving Katherine to stab him and push him into the pool.
Mr. Lou lives and will go on trial for murder and distributing drugs. The detective has a lot of work on his hands.
Katherine and Michelle apologize to one another and hug it out. The ordeal inspires Katherine to write a book called Deadly Decathlon, which should have been the title of this movie except no one know what the hell a decathlon is. Katherine takes over as the coach and Michelle is very happy. Yay!
Side Note
Minority Report: Sofie, Detective,
I loved the mother-daughter dynamic in this one. The actresses were having a lot of fun.
The sound department needs to all be fired. Sound mixing made this movie almost unwatchable.
Not sure if the school was filmed at a middle school, but it felt like it!
📺. Stream/Watch the Movie (Ad): N/A
➡️ Check out our Youtube Channel: Lifetime Uncorked: Lifetime Movie Reviews
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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:
🔪🔪🔪 ( 3 Knives)
Enjoyment Level: 🍷🍷 (2 glasses of wine)
*Photo Credit: © 2021 Lifetime® | A+E Networks®
Live tweet along with @LifetimeUncork using the hashtag #KillerGrades
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