My Diary of Lies (2023 Lifetime)
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Cast: Laurie Fortier, Amanda Jones, Noémi VanSlyke, Tyler Harlow
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Synopsis (via Lifetime)
High school senior Natalie is struggling to acclimate to her new school folowing her mom Caroline’s job transfer– until she meet handsome teacher, Mr. Rex, and cheer captain Madison. When Natalie makes the school’s elite cheer squad, she’s quickly introduced to a world of reckless behavior, which results in a teammates’s death. Knowing another cheerleader died just before she joined the squad, Natalie becomes concerned her death wasn’t an accident and write her suspicions in her diary. But when her diary goes missing, Natalie becomes concerned her entries have been edited out of context. With everyone turning against her daughter, Caroline must intervene to help prove Nartalie’s innocence of the mysterious cheerleader deaths. Starts Noémi VanSlyke, Laurie Fortier, Amanda Victoria Jones, and Tyler Harlow.
Recap/Wine Thoughts
We start at a party obsessed with black light and glow sticks, so maybe a throwback a 90s rave? A girl named Cassie is stumbling around the party and doesn’t seem to be ok. Everyone starts filming her with their phone when she falls to the ground. (Not cool, guys!)
Cut to a high school, where everyone walks in slow motion and is devastatingly attractive. (AKA me in High School.) The cheerleaders are practicing, also in slow motion. The song that plays is hilarious here.
“I’m ready to have a good time!
I’m on the phone with my girls right now! Confirmation is about to go down!”
(This song is the BEST Lifetime High School pop song in a while.)
Natalie is a new transfer student and has to have a meeting with the school counselor/theater teacher, Mr. Monroe. He welcomes Natalie and encourages her to go out for cheerleading, and gives her a rehab pamphlet. (Natalie was suspended from her last school for doing Adderall.)
Lifetime Legend, Laurie Fortier, is back as the mom. This time she plays Caroline, a supportive (but tough) mother who can cook spaghetti. Natalie is RUDE AS HELL to her mom and writes all about it in her diary.
The Diary is a thick red leather-bound book, and it is NOT cute. As Natalie writes down her thoughts, the words are scrawled across the screen in a handwriting font. It is a choice!
Natalie meets a wannabe cheerleader named Gina in the Science Lab. Gina shares hot gossip about the cheerleaders (See Cassie dying at the party and tryouts!) and warns Natalie not to partner with Jake Collins because he is the boyfriend of cheerleading co-captain, Madison. Natalie does it anyway.
At Cheerleader Practice, the girls are less than welcome by the squad. It doesn’t matter because Natalie nails the routine. She makes the squad, and Gina doesn’t.
There is a really hot Chemistry teacher, Mr. Rexford. Natalie flirts with him and laughs at his dumb teacher jokes. She even tells her mom about the crush and about Jake Collins. Natalie writes about fantasies about both men in her diary. She also trashes Viv and says she could see herself being co-captain.
The team gets together for a party with PINK Solo Cups. (Which honestly is so on-brand for them.) They all do Molly (or Fabulous as they say!) and peer pressure Natalie into dropping with them. Viv continues to pressure Natalie into taking more drugs and even pretends to do them with her.
Natalie wakes up on the couch and stumbles through the party, similar to how Cassie was in the beginning. Natalie hooks up with Jake Collins, who is shirtless and wearing a glow stick as a necklace. Jake Collins pumps the brakes and leaves Natalie on her own. She wanders outside and sees Viv arguing intensely with Mr. Rexford.
The following day, Natalie is hungover AF and has 27 texts from a jealous Gina. Natalie’s phone continues to chime because Viv is found dead in the pool in an apparent accidental drowning. Natalie vents about everything in her diary.
Natalie also talks to her counselor, Mr. Monroe, who actually seems like he might need some counseling. (The dude is a wreck.) He sets up a meeting with Caroline and tells her to trust her instincts, and even suggests that Natalie has fallen in with the wrong crowd.
I’m not sure how, but Natalie ends up living with Madison after a fight with her mom. Natalie and Jake Collins totally almost have sex in Madison’s room. (YIKES!) In return, Madison reads Natalie’s diary and starts spreading rumors about her and Mr. Rexford.
Cassie’s mom, Louise, meets with Caroline and cries about losing her daughter.
FINALLY, Natalie loses her diary. She searches around the school frantically. Then she does a sad cheerleading practice. (Where she goes through all these moves with a sad face.) Natalie becomes even more depressed when the details of her diary become public on a blog called “Confessions of a Cheerleader.”
The cheerleaders confront Natalie about the diary. Natalie swears everything has been taken out of context, but it is too late. Madison kicks her off the squad.
Natalie feels alone, and we again see this with some director choices! The director puts Natalie in the spotlight, so she seems more alone in class. Natalie cries to Caroline.
The principal calls Natalie and Caroline into a meeting with Mr. Monroe. Natalie denies everything that has gone online. The principal tells them that she has contacted the police and put Mr. Recford on administrative leave while they look into things.
Jack Collins calls Natalie frantically because Madison has OD’ed on pills. Natalie tells him to call the police, but he doesn’t want to get Madison in trouble. Natalie rushes over to help. Madison wakes up and explains that her life is falling apart due to the drugs. Natalie doesn’t care; she just wants to know who took her diary. Madison says it was Mr. Rexford.
Natalie takes Jack Collins to confront Mr. Rexford and waits in the bushes to sneak in afterward and steal back her diary.
When Jack Collins goes to the door, Mr. Rexford answers the door shirtless and hairy. (It’s giving gay porn, and I’m not mad about it!)
Jack accuses Mr. Rexford of killing Viv and selling the cheerleaders drugs. When Mr. Redford admits it is all true, even the sleeping with students part, Jack smashes a beer bottle over his head. Natalie screams and then Jack BEATS THE CRAP OUT OF NATALIE?!?!? (WTF!)
Natalie wakes up tied up, but her hair still looks great. Jack Collins apologizes for hitting her hard and asks her to forgive him. He stole the diary when he tried to sleep with her. He was covering up an affair with Cassie to save his scholarship. (She threatened to tell Madison’s parents, who are funding his tuition at the school.) To get rid of Cassie, he injected her with a lethal dose of Fabulous. He also knocked Viv in the head with a baseball bat by the pool.
When Caroline and Gine burst in to save her, Jake is about to stick Natalie with the syringe. They overtake him and save Natalie.
Natalie rushes home and writes all about everything in her diary. Gina makes the team, and Natalie thrives at school without all the DRAMA!
Side Note
Frequent Lifetime Hunk, Jason-Shane Scott, is the writer of this movie. He has a good handle on the genre and writes female characters well. I always enjoy his work.
Minority Report: Louise, Janitor, Cassie, Principal, Jasmine, Veronica,
I’m glad I am at the age where I can see the jocks AND teachers as hot.
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Overall rating
Number of Kills:
🔪🔪🔪 (3 knives)
Enjoyment Level (1-5 scale)
🍷🍷🍷
Should you watch it?
Pour it up! (Give it a shot)
Put a Cork in It (Skip It)
What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments or on social media @LifetimeUncorked & @patrickmiguel
*Photo Credit: © 2023 Lifetime® | A+E Networks®
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