My Acting Coach Nightmare (2024 Lifetime)
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Cast: Samaire Armstrong, Cameron Jebo, Erik von Detten, Neela Jolene
Director: Glenn Ciano
Writer(s): Michael Varrati, Kendall Anlian
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Synopsis (via Lifetime)
It’s been years since her husband passed away, and Lisa’s life finally has a solid foundation again–she has a high power job, a stable relationship with her longtime boyfriend Mark, and her teenage daughter, Sienna, is excelling in life. That is, until Sienna expresses her desire to become an actress. Reluctantly, Lisa signs Sienna up for her dream acting class. As classes come and go, it feels as though Sienna is becoming more distant from Lisa and more controlled by the coach of the acting class, Max. Could Sienna’s acting coach be grooming her for a high-powered Hollywood cult on the West Coast? Soon, Lisa finds herself racing to Hollywood save her daughter before it’s too late. Starring Samaire Armstrong, Cameron Jebo, Neela Jolene, and Erik von Detten.
Recap/Wine Thoughts.
The movie starts along a sleepy river, not on Rodeo Drive. Teen aspiring actor Sienna gets a flyer in the mail about an acting workshop coming to town by a reputable actor, Max Forest, AND it includes headshots. (Which is a deal.) Sienna goes for the hard sell with her tech-savvy mom, Lisa, who says she will think about it.
Lisa worries that her daughter will regret not enjoying her last summer before college to study acting. She also worries that she can’t face reality since Sienna started acting after her father died. Mark (Erik von Detten?!?!?), Lisa’s boyfriend talks Lisa into letting Sienna chase her dreams.
Sienna attends class at the local theater, and her friend Amy shows her around. Max Frost tells Sienna that she has a presence. Max is intense, and everyone vies for Max’a approval; Hailey, the current star pupil, kills it in the mirroring exercise. Sienna is intimidated. She gushes to her mother when Lisa picks her up from class.
In the next class, the students work on Romeo and Juliet. Hailey seems disappointed even after getting the role of Juliet. She totally phones in her performance. Max is unimpressed and stares intently at his former star. He quickly moves onto Sienna and complements her appearance, oh, and her acting.
It is time for the class performances, and Hailey is out of the cast. Sienna takes her spot as Juliet because, as Max Frost says, “The show MUST go on!” (Did he make that up!?! Profound.) When Amy and Sienna leave class, they see Hailey and Max Frost arguing intensely across the street. Lisa comes to pick up her daughter, and Sienna tells her about the fight and about Sienna being her replacement. Lisa is concerned. Things just seem to be happening fast.
Lisa isn’t the only one with concerns. Amy starts acting strangely towards Sienna. When the actor playing Romeo doesn’t do the scene right, Max steps in. (That’s called a line reading!) He offers to stay late and work with Sienna after class. This makes Lisa even more paranoid.
Lisa and Mark play BIG Jenga with Sienna and talk about acting class. They try to warn her to be careful with men in powerful situations, and Sienna talks about it as an insult to her talent. Mark comes to class the next day, and Max Frost reassures Mark that everything is fine. That isn’t enough for Lisa; she wants to meet with Max Frost herself. (Mark tries to psycho-analyze his girlfriend’s behavior with a lot of therapy speak.)
Sienna asks Max Frost about Hollywood and how to break in. Max tells her that she is pretty enough to make it and that there are groups she can join to help her move her career forward. (Scientology?!?!?) He then takes her to a photoshoot he happens to have set up!
Photoshoot Montage!!! They are all terrible headshots. Then Max Frost asks Sienna to show more skin because it will help her get roles. At first, Sienna is reluctant but then agrees. As he reviews the photos, Max says, “They are going to love you.” under his breath, and Sienna is creeped out. She keeps the interaction from her mother.
That doesn’t stop Lisa from finding the photos on Sienna’s laptop and confronting her about them. Lisa tells her daughter that she is a teenager and it is unacceptable to take pictures like that alone with a strange man. Sienna runs off and returns to Max Frost in his dressing room. (Wait, does he live there?) He hugs her and tells her that it is a safe space. Mark bursts into the theater and calls Max inappropriate. Max tells Mark that he has complaints about MARK lurking around the theater and taking photos of the students.
Lisa and Sienna go for a round two fight. Sienna tells Lisa about Max’s allegations against Mark. Lisa doesn’t believe it, but starts to have doubts. Lisa doesn’t know what to think and looks in Mark’s car. She finds a camera and pictures of girls in the acting class that Max Frost planted there. Lisa kicks Mark out of the house.
Amy confronts Sienna and tells her that it is weird that she got the lead role after only attending one class. The whole class backs Amy up. Max Frost interrupts the fight and tells them to save the drama for the Cheerleaders and Ballerinas, NOT Actors. (Someone put that on a T-Shirt.) Then, they work on some Misner exercises. (Which are actually really strange.)
Mark tries to explain himself to Lisa, and she has questions he can’t answer. He correctly thinks Max is behind it and tells Lisa that she and her daughter are everything to him.
Lisa and Sienna get into fight number three, and Sienna thinks her mom is projecting her relationship drama on Sienna’s relationship with Max Frost.
Max invites Sienna to a fancy dinner with WINE! Sienna feels overwhelmed with the relationships in her life falling apart, and Max Frost gives her a back rub to make her feel better. He tells her Amy is jealous because she doesn’t have what it takes. Then, he invites Sienna to go to Hollywood so he can introduce her to his group. He promises her an awakening or an ideology of betterment. When that doesn’t sound appealing, he just calls her a start over and over until she agrees.
Lisa finds a note on Sienna’s bed that reads.
“Went to Hollywood with Max! Don’t try and stop me!”
Lisa rushes to the theater to try and stop her daughter but she is too late. The police can’t help because Sienna is 18, and her former friend, Amy, doesn’t have any information either, except for Hailey’s number. Lisa sets up a meeting.
Max shows Sienna his LA home, and Sienna is impressed. It has a pool in the backyard and a gift in her bedroom: a sexy dress for her to wear to the group meeting. Sienna protests that it is too much, but Max insists she needs to do whatever it takes to impress the group.
Hailey is a motel maid who is embarrassed when Lisa shows up to ask her some questions about Max Frost. Hailey tells Lisa that Max is a good actor who is working for a group of industry insiders who traffic female actors by using photos as blackmail. Hailey gives Lisa the Hollywood address, and Lisa rushes to SAVE HER DAUGHTER!
Max meets Sienna by the pool with red wine and tells her that his group will love her. He steps away to take a phone call, and Sienna looks in the mirror; she doesn’t feel like herself. Then she looks through Max’s camera and finds photos of Hailey in the same dress. Max catches her, grabs Sienna by the neck, and says gruffly in her ear, “Hollywood is not done with you yet!”
Sienna wakes up tied to a chair in a candle-lit room. Lisa sneaks in the back door and rushes to untie her daughter. Then she punches Max in the stomach, but he overpowers her and throws Lisa on the floor. Before he can strangle Lisa to death, Sienna hits Max over the head with a wine bottle.
Back at the lake house, Sienna is an ordinary girl, and Mark is back in the picture! They press charges against Max, and Hailey will testify against him in court. Sienna decides to give up acting for now and wants to focus on just enjoying her summer.
THE END!
Side Note/Stray Thoughts
LA Traffic joke. It had to happen!
Not Erik von Detten playing the dad role! Oh man, I’m old!
Overall rating
Number of Kills: None (0 knives)
Enjoyment Level (1-5 scale)
🍷🍷🍷 (3 Glasses of Wine)
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
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*Photo Credit: © 2024 Lifetime® | A+E Networks®
Definitely put a cork in it!!!
Over these angtsy teens who swear they aren’t kids, but act like it. And non-kids can do their own laundry. Sienna was downright annoying to me. Liked her mom actually caring and being realistically concerned. Finally a mom acting like how moms should react to things. Aside from her quick to turn on her boyfriend like that. And who paid for those classes. My mom would’ve nipped that payment real quick with all that backtalk. It was sorta painful watching this till the end. Coming from a female-was Sienna hormonal this entire movie? It has been a LONG time since I was a teen, but are they truly this naieve and silly?
Sidenote actor playing Mark needs acting lessons.