Killing the Competition (2025 Lifetime Movie)
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Cast: Melissa Joan Hart, Lily Brooks O’Briant, Valerie Loo, Eddie Mills
Director: Lee Gabiana
Writer(s): Jane Espenson, Christina Welsh
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DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearlySynopsis (via Lifetime)
Melissa Joan Hart stars as Elizabeth Fenwick, a loving mother in her 40’s who continues to envision herself as the effortless star dancer and high school prom queen she once was. After returning to her hometown with her children and husband, Steve (Eddie Mills), Elizabeth sees her teenage daughter, Grace (Lily Brooks O’Briant), is poised to have the same vibrant life Elizabeth once cherished. She finds herself pouring all her unfulfilled ambitions into Grace as they prepare for the tryouts for the high school’s competitive dance team—the same team that once showcased Elizabeth’s brilliance. But, when Grace fails to make the team, Elizabeth’s world begins to unravel. Consumed by her frustration and disappointment, she channels her fury towards the school administration in a misguided attempt to remedy the situation. When her efforts backfire, Elizabeth grapples with the fallout and grows increasingly obsessed with Hannah (Valerie Loo), the true star of the dance team, and her mother Nicole (Anzu Lawson). Elizabeth’s misguided protective instincts become alarming and lead to a descent into dangerous territory fueled by her desperate need to reclaim the glory she once had.
Recap/Wine Thoughts
Inspire by Actual Events.
The movie begins on a high school football field, and no, this isn’t Friday Night Lights! One person in town isn’t at the game, Melissa Joan Hart. (Playing a fictional but kind of real character named Elizabeth Fenwick and definitely NOT Wanda Holloway.) MJH makes dinner for her family and yells at her teen daughter, Grace, for being on the phone too much. (Cellphone, we are not in the 80’s, we are in current times.)
In the middle of the night, the police bust into the house to arrest Melissa Joan Hart. They drag her away as her family questions what the heck is going on! MJH tries to explain that it has something to do with Grace and the football game that night, and she promises to get everything straightened out.
Cut to six weeks earlier, Grace practices to try out for the cheerleading squad. MJH is a major stage mom and shows Grace videos of when she was a cheerleader. Grace isn’t the best smiler, but she can twirl a baton. (WHICH IS USELESS IN CHEERLEADING!) They recently moved back to MJH’s new town, which is causing her to reminisce about her glory days and projecting them onto Grace. (To add insult to injury, MHJ casually calls her daughter fat.)
At the tryouts, one girl stands out above the rest. Hannah Li. Grace’s friend tries to give her a pep-talk, but Grace doesn’t feel like she can live up to her mother’s “reputation.” (In reality, no one remembers MJH, who tries to sneak into the tryouts.) MJH watches through some volleyballs secretly. (Insert ball joke here.)
In all honesty, Grace isn’t as good as Hannah Li. Grace worries about her mother’s reaction when she learns that Grace didn’t make the team. MJH makes a BIG deal out of it and talks to the coach, the principal, and the school board about the injustice. Melissa Joan Heart blames The Coach and Hannah Li’s mom, Nicole Li, for holding a personal vendetta against her and her daughter. (They all went to high school together) Grace is super embarrassed by her mother’s behavior. The school board rules in their favor of Grace (and the other rejected losers) gets a spot on the team. It isn’t enough for MJH, but she commits herself to training Grace to make her the best she can be!
Hannah Li is actually nice and welcomes Grace and her sidekicks to cheer practice. They learn that Coach Megan quit over the schoolboard ruling, and Hannah Li’s mother, Nicole, will be the interim coach. Melissa Joan Heart continues to sneakily watch practice from behind gym objects.
Grace tries to talk to her dad, who tells her that MJH will stop obsessing over this in a week or so and focus on something else. That doesn’t happen. Melissa Joan Hart gives her daughter a makeover while calling her a fat loser and suggests that Grace’s new boyfriend, Tyler, will dump her because she is not popular enough.
Instead of helping her son when he breaks his arm, MJH goes shopping for cool things for Grace and buys things for herself instead. The sales guy tells MJH she is a “lawnmower mom.” because she will mow over everyone for her kids. MJH laughs and loves the name. It is appropriate because MJH watches practice in disguise AND tries to run Tyler off the road while he is biking.
Poor Tyler tells Grace that her mother is crazy, tried to kill him, and sents a text from Grace’s phone suggesting Grace wants to marry Tyler. Grace tells him that she knows her mother is crazy, but they can handle her mother. When Grace confronts her mother, MJH lists every failure Grace has ever made and calls Grace a loser.
Word gets out about MJH’s wild behavior, and the town is gossiping. Grace and MJH have it out in the car while Grace swerves all over the roof. MJH makes up lies about Tyler cheating on her and everyone in school laughing at her. They aren’t, of course. The cheer squad even gives Grace a baton-twirling solo. (WHICH IS UNHEARD OF! Cheerleaders aren’t majorettes.) Melissa Joan Hart tells Grace that they are going to “Carrie” her and she needs to quit the team. The argument devolves into an all-out fight, and Grace bans her mother from coming to the football game.
MJH purchases a gun for ‘self-defense,” puts on her disguise, breaks into Tyler’s home, and then goes to Hannah Li’s house and pulls a gun on them. Nicole rushes away to get help from a neighbor, leaving MHJ to kidnap Hannah Li. Hannah recognizes MJH and tells her she won’t get away with it, but MJH doubles down and drives off into the woods with the cheerleader teen. MJH locks Hannah Li in a garage FILLED with her high school memorabilia. (Haha, OMG!)
MJH makes Hannah Li dress up in her old cheerleading uniform, and they kill time, so Hannah Li misses the big game. MJH spends their time together telling Hannah Li about all the clubs and activities she participated in. Then MJH starts venting about being formerly popular and feeling rejected. After ranting more, MJH decides to make Hannah Li her new pet project.
Grace’s friend Kat fills in at the game, and we finally get some cheerleading. They use chairs, which is confusing. (What is this Flashdance?)
Finally, MJH realizes that there is no coming back from what she has started, and she attacks Hannah Li, strangling her while screaming, ” YOU MADE ME DO THIS!!!!” MJH straight-up kills Hannah Li and leaves her for dead in the garage. MJH goes home and acts like nothing happened. The only problem is that Hannah Li isn’t dead, and she escapes from the garage.
Grace tells her mother about the game and how well everything went. MJH is distracted and preoccupied with being a murderer! We are obviously back to the night when the movie started. Hannah Li is rescued by the police and her mother. She tells them what happened and who kidnapped her.
Eight months later, MJH is in court and wearing a little bitty skirt. MJH begs the judge for leniency. She doesn’t get any,
Six months AFTER that. MJH is in prison and happy to visit with her family. Even though MJH wants to live in the here and now, she can’t help judging that her daughter is attending community college. She adopts a new daughter in prison and advises her on becoming more popular.
Stray Thoughts
The lack of a soundtrack in this movie was an interesting choice.
Lifetime has made many Cheerleader murder movies, but this is the closest to the Wanda Holloway story. Holly Hunter starred in the 1993 HBO movie The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom. It is clearly an inspiration.
Overall rating
Number of Kills: N/A (0 knives)
Lifetime Tropes: Murder, Cheating Spouses, Birth mother stalker
Enjoyment Level (1-5 scale)
🍷🍷🍷🍷 (4 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 at @LifetimeUncorked and @patrickmiguel.
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*Photo Credit: © 2025 A&E Television Networks, LLC
Let me know what you thought of the movie in the comments below or @lifetimeuncorked
Music is giving Dora the explorer
Background music is giving Dora the explorer
The dad was THE DUMBEST person ever. He was so naive and useless. MJH carried this movie! Grace could’ve done better in the boyfriend department. At first I thought he was her gay friend (which would’ve been better).
First of all, this movie is a perfect example that most people who peak in high school usually dont do too well in the rest of their lives. Second of all, of course the mom got to go to a psych hospital (even for attempted murder). If she was black and/or poor, they would’ve thrown her in jail. For decades. They actually didn’t say how long she’d be in mental hospital. At the very end, in the last scene was her fam really there or was that a delusion? I couldn’t tell. One minute fam was there then they were gone.
OMG. this mom was craaaaaazzzzzzyyyyy. Talk bout living thru your kid. So pathetic. And what was really pathetic was when she told her kid that after high school her life went downhill. What does that say bout her kids and husband (as useless as he is)?! Its hysterical that mom keeps ragging on Grace’s weight(which looked fine to me. Certainly NOT fat or even chubby) when the mom is totally chunky. Look in the mirror mom