Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall (2024 Lifetime)
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Cast:v The Lady of Rage, Ian Bohen, Towanda Braxton
Director: Tim Reid
Writer(s): Camara Davis
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Synopsis (via Lifetime)
Starring Robin “The Lady of Rage” Allen along with Shane Johnson and Ian Bohen and directed by Tim Reid, Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall picks up in the late 90s’ when, single mom Youree Dell Harris finds herself desperate to take care of her family and takes a job at the Psychic Readers Network — only to become one of the networks most beloved personalities, Miss Cleo. But her challenges don’t end there and when the network faces allegations of fraud and deception, they turn their sights on Miss Cleo. For the first time ever, Miss Cleo’s side of the story will finally be told.
Recap/Wine Thoughts
The movie starts with a loooooooong intro of tarot cards and cheesy music.
Miss Cleo gives an inspiring speech with vague platitudes in a Jamaican accent. She is an actress named Youree Harris, who is working on a character for a sold-out play. Youree is also the producer and is behind on payments for the production. (It seems like she is running a shady production, getting a grant, and running off with the money.) Youree has daughters and will do anything to ensure her kids are cared for. (This includes running off with the money and not paying anyone who worked on the show.)
Miss Cleo moves to Ft. Lauderdale to lay low for a while. She is out of work and running behind on payments. She searches for the help wanted and takes a job as a “psychic.” She starts immediately at Psychic Readers Network, and the calls are naughty, sexy calls. (The script provided doesn’t do her any favors.) Miss Cleo isn’t having that.
To set an example for her kids, Miss Cleo makes things happen and starts making her numbers by using her acting skills and the Miss Cleo character. She tells people what they want to hear and tells her callers that the “tarot cards don’t lie, and Miss Cleo doesn’t lie either.” People start calling in for Miss Cleo, including a singer who needs some encouragement. (that singer is Beyonce. Just kidding!)
The call center owners see Miss Cleo’s numbers after a year and are intrigued because she is the highest earner ever. Peter and Steven want to refine Miss Cleo and make her the brand’s ambassador. They want her to be the spokesperson. Miss Cleo jumps at the chance. They pay her 15K to shoot a commercial.
People do not separate Youree from the character of Miss Cleo and judge her for bastardizing her Jamacia heritage. Her mother scolded her and called her husband a homosexual, but Miss Cleo laughed it off. She is successful!
OMG! Miss Cleo goes on Jenny Jones, and the actress playing Jenny Jones is SPOT ON! Miss Cleo is quite famous and is getting hounded by fans on the street. The call center is booming.
It is time to renegotiate her contract, and Miss Cleo asks for more creative freedom with the character. She wants to write books and a Broadway show. Steven isn’t about to let her have anything because he “owns her ass.” They are making 25 Million a month and hiring homeless people off the street to pretend to be psychic.
Miss Cleo’s kids are embarrassed by their mother and everyone talking about her. Miss Cleo is a good mom, who is just trying to make money for her kids, other people’s opinions be damned. Miss Cleo thinks she is just giving people hope and not committing fraud crimes.
The FTC lawyers have other options and create a class action lawsuit. Nine states and counting are ready to take down Miss Cleo for fraud. They want to go after Steven, the company, and Miss Cleo. The public comes for Miss Cleo too and her reputation is in the toilet.
Peter tells Miss Cleo to publicly state that she was not involved with the business side of things and is just a psychic. Peter pitches it like they are a team. Peter is the good cop, and Steven is the bad cop; Miss Cleo falls for it and goes to the press circuit. Her accent, though, isn’t consistent.
Miss Cleo calls herself for advice, and the dream Miss Cleo tells her to get a lawyer! The lawyer tells her that they want to see her birth certificate, and they have documentation that Miss Cleo signed to certify that she was a psychic. They devise a strategy because Miss Cleo has to prove she is the character she created, not a con artist. 44 Million dollars is on the line.
The press releases Miss Cleo’s birth certificate before her deposition, during which she pleads the fifth to most of the questions. Miss Cleo storms out and feels like a criminal.
Miss Cleo confronts Steven and threatens to go to the press to become the prosecution’s star witness in their case. They decided to settle with the FTC in a 500 million dollar settlement. Deceptive claims will not be tolerated. It is over for Miss Cleo.
The public still makes fun of her, and she laughs with them. In 2015, Miss Cleo talks about having tough skin and looks knowingly at the camera. Leaving it up to the viewer to decide how coupable she was in the whole scheme.
Side Note/Stray Thoughts
The Lady of Rage gives a great debut Lifetime Movie performance here. For some reason, the Emmys don’t often consider TV movies for the TV movie category, but this is a standout.
Not Lifetime cutting out the curse words! We are all grown. Leave them in!
Harris married at age 19, gave birth to a daughter, and divorced at age 21. She had a second daughter while in her late 20s. In 2006, she came out as a lesbian.
Harris developed colorectal cancer, which metastasized. She died under hospice care in Palm Beach, Florida, on July 26, 2016, at the age of 53
Overall rating
Number of Kills: N/A
Enjoyment Level (1-5 scale)
🍷🍷🍷 (3 Glasses of Wine)
Should you watch it? Yes, Pour it Up (Give it a shot!)
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 A&E Television Networks, LLC
