DYING FOR A BABY/PREGNANT AND DEADLY (TV Movie 2019)

TO ALL THOSE WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND: This is called a M-E-L-O-D-R-A-M-A.

A melodrama is a work with exaggerated, sensational events and characters. It is highly emotional, focusing on exciting, but over-the-top situations that are designed to encourage emotional responses in the audience. Strong characterization is NOT a feature of melodrama; rather, characters are assigned STEREOTYPICAL or simple roles, often in "good versus evil" situations. -literaryterms. N e t. In other words, this is a PERFECT MELODRAMA, written more than adequately by Lindsay Hartley and Jason-Shane Scott. The characters are not so well defined, but their motives are. If you watch this movie with that in mind, you'll like it a whole lot more. You're not supposed to take the over-the-top motives too seriously, it's pure silly entertainment. STOP LOOKING FOR EMMYS FROM LIFETIME MOVIES!

BASIC PLOT: A serious car accident brings Amber Smith (Christa B. Allen) and Jessica Moore's (Sarah Minnich) lives crashing together. Both do not fare the same after the wreck however, and the impact to Jessica's life is much more severe. She was eight months pregnant when the tragedy occurred, and her injuries cost her the life of her unborn child. It also prevented her from ever getting pregnant again, and her marriage deteriorated soon after. Jessica isn't taking these setbacks well. She refuses to acknowledge she caused the accident, by texting while driving. She's tried to adopt, but her mental instability has blocked that option. With every disappointment, Jessica blames Amber more and more. Amber is happy, healthy and expecting her first child with her husband, Kyle (Grayson Berry). Why should Amber be allowed to be happy, while she suffers? Jessica has decided Amber's happiness has lasted long enough. It's not just about fixing her own life, it's also about destroying Amber's. Jessica has a plan, will Amber recognize her machinations, before it's too late?

WHAT WORKS: *JESSICA IS THE PERFECT VILLAINESS Sarah Minnich's portrayal of Jessica is damn near perfect. It's melodramatic gold! Her rigid body language, doesn't fit her bubbly demeanor, instantly alerting the viewer there's something wrong here. Conveying underlying thoughts and feelings, without using language, takes real talent, and Sarah Minnich's got it. (Check out the photo scroll, I added the many evil faces of Jessica.)

*MEN RUN WHEN FACED WITH TRAUMA It is an unfortunate psychological fact, many men run when faced with great trauma. This is mainly in regards to their family, not strangers. An example would be, a couple is given the sad news their child is critically ill. Typically, the father will leave the family. This is an unfortunate fact of American culture, and one we should try to fix. In this instance, the couple, Jessica (Sarah Minnich) and Dave Moore (Tom Sandoval) are fine in happier times. Then, Jessica is in an accident, losses the baby, and her mind. Does Dave get her help? Does he have her committed? No! Instead he leaves her, and gets a restraining order. This is a very believable trope written by Lindsay Hartley and Jason-Shane Scott. It's so common an occurrence, it's become a truism, almost cliched, which is perfect for melodrama.

*THE BABY WAS ACTUALLY A NEWBORN So often in made-for-tv movies, the "newborn" baby is actually six to eight months old, or older. But in this movie, the babies are all the age being portrayed.

*THE COVER ART IS ABOVE AVERAGE The cover art is above average for this type of made-for-tv movie. It needed a few more hours of work, but the basics are there.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *THE TRAILER GIVES AWAY THE WHOLE MOVIE! I don't know who thought it'd be a good idea to put the complete movie in the trailer, but they should be fired!

*AMBER DOESN'T SEEM VERY UPSET HER BEST FRIEND'S BEEN MURDERED Amber (Christa B. Allen) barely notices her best friend Nicole (Amber Lynn Ashley), has just been murdered. She doesn't cancel her doctor's appointment, or her double date, both for later in the week. This makes the character much less likable. Making light hearted banter, over burgers and beer, a few days after your best friend's murder, seems like an insensitive thing to do. Amber later calls Jessica her "closest friend". Wow! I know this is a melodrama, but without normal human emotions, like grief, Amber comes off looking like a selfish b*tch. She should mention Nicole occasionally, and at the very least, be interested in the murder investigation. A few added sentences of dialog could have taken care of this problem.

*THE BLOCKING AND SHOOTING CHOICES ARE BAD IN THE LAST FEW SCENES In the last few scenes, Jessica is basically giving the gun to Dr. Welsh (David Mackey. He could easily disarm her. Also, the blocking (where the actors are positioned), and the camera angle choices are bizarre and distracting. It's a jumble, you can't see what you need to see, the lighting is inadequate (often the case in made-for-tv movies), and there are objects in the way of the shot. It's only the last twenty minutes or so, but those are the most important.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *Melodrama is an ancient art form, perfected by Shakespeare. If you can understand and appreciate this type of art, you'll like this. If you like your characters with more depth, and your storylines more complex, try something else. However, this is a good melodrama, and a worthwhile effort from Lindsay Hartley and Jason-Shane Scott.

CLOSING NOTES: *This is a made-for-tv movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. This review was NOT written in ANY way by a bot. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews, and better entertainment. Hope I helped you out.

The lead actress who played Jessica was really good and I enjoyed watching her. I was all involved in the film until midway through when the best friend overheard Jessica's sordid plot in a bar where she hired a guy to play her husband.

The best friend would have immediately texted or called her friend to share what she just heard from the psycho, but the movie absurdly has her confronting Jessica in an empty ally outside the bar all alone. What idiot would do that?! No one is that dumb. And even if she was a stupid moron, she still would've alerted her friend immediately to warn her of the plot she just heard.

After that point, the film fell apart for me, but the lead who played Jessica was very good so I kept watching to the end. I just wish these Lifetime movies would write characters more realistically and not have them turn into idiots half way through the film.

My favorite character in "Pregnant and Deadly" (a.k.a., "Dying for a Baby") is Don, the male escort hired by the film's villainess to impersonate her husband. Don only has a few brief scenes trying to hold up his end of the bargain. His biggest gaffe comes when he explains that he is on a business trip to Shanghai, which he believes is located in Japan!

Don is only one of the colorful characters in this frenetic drama about Jessica Moore's obsession with having a baby. It is clear that she will stop at nothing in order to have Amber Goodwin's delivery moved up, so that she can kidnap the child.

Amber and her husband Kyle are looking forward with great anticipation to the birth of their baby boy. As a film buff, Kyle is recording every moment of the pregnancy period, and some of the footage will be crucial in unmasking the dangerous game played by Jessica, who once had a fateful encounter when her car slid across an intersection crashing into the vehicle driven by Amber. In the process, Jessica lost her baby and may no longer carry a child. In her twisted mind, she can never forgive Amber for the accident.

Another interesting character is Amber's savvy mom, Morgan. The mother recalls an incident when her friend named "Wild Shirley" had paid for an escort date. Morgan recognizes Don as the man who dated Wild Shirley.

There is a good amount of collateral damage in the film. Jessica first murders the prospective renter of a guest house, so that she can in close proximity to Amber as her neighbor. It was also unfortunate that Amber's bestie Nicole and Blanche, her nice boss at the Savory Fare bakery, died at the hands of the psychotic Jessica. Another secondary character is Taylor, who is also carrying a baby and is duped by Jessica into believing that Jessica will adopt the child. Fortunately for Taylor and her baby, Jessica will be thwarted in her scheme.

An ambiguous character in the film was Dr. Welch, who flirted with Jessica and subsequently was forced at gunpoint by her to induce labor on Amber, so that Jessica may steal the child. In the film's denouement, Dr. Welch was not present at the birthday celebration of little Jonathan. Dr. Welch may no longer be in practice as an obstetrician, but instead may be trading in his white doctor's gown for an orange jumpsuit.