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Lifetime Review: 'Break-Up Nightmare'

Sexting and slut-shaming make life hell for a teenage girl in this entertaining and topical Lifetime film.

By Trevor WellsPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Originally titled 'Revenge Porn'

A personal fact about myself: I don't care for people who say that social media is "ruining society." Life has been greatly enhanced by social media, as it allows to people who never would've met otherwise to connect quickly and efficiently, and has made several tasks such as banking and journalism quicker and more reliable (for the most part, but that's an argument for another venue). While Lifetime has gained a reputation for having several "anti-Internet" movies, I realize now that they've made it clear that it's not technology that's evil; it's certain people who utilize it that are.

Break-Up Nightmare, originally titled as Revenge Porn (which ironically was the title of another Lifetime movie released later that year and a movie I also plan to review) is one such tale. Rachel Light (lovely brunette Celesta DeAstis) is your typical high school graduate who's staying with her mother Barbara (Jennifer Dorogi) until she can afford to go away to college. One day, Rachel is hanging out with her college-bound boyfriend Troy (Mark Grossman), when he convinces her to give him something to remember her by: naked photos. Rachel begrudgingly goes along with the act, and the intense music change makes it clear this will be a mistake that will come back to haunt Rachel.

And sure enough, it does! No sooner has Rachel dumped Troy for cheating on her than does she discover the photos of herself on LifeRuinerz, a website catering to misogynistic men wishing to humiliate and degrade women for (in their minds) breaking men's hearts. Running the website is mega-misogynist Ashton Banks (Daron McFarland), who can best be described as what would happen if Brock Turner fathered a son with Margaret White.

As a result, Rachel finds herself facing a barrage of harassment and ostracizing. A group of sleazy guys harass her at work. Her creepy neighbor flirts with her at the movies. Her distant father (Joel Berti) arrives after learning of the photos and uses it as a chance to chastise his ex-wife for being a "bad parent" (UGH this guy). Even her local church throws judgement at her, with one woman even pulling the old "my purse is sitting here, thank you," trick.

As the harassment increases and begins to affect Barbara's life as well, and with the police being unwilling to help, Rachel and Barbara have to stand together to defeat the vicious bullies coming after them. And along the way, it turns out that it might not have been Troy who posted the photos that started it all....

Break-Up Nightmare was made by The Asylum, the people known for the 'Sharknado' franchise and countless SyFy films. They've also dipped their hand into Lifetime, and have consistently given good results. Break-Up Nightmare knows how to keep the plot moving and the dramatic thrills coming. Even better, before the plot goes full on Lifetime-y melodrama, Break-Up Nightmare delivers a great message on women and sexuality. While she is, multiple times throughout the film, blamed for what befalls her throughout the movie, Rachel never allows herself to become a victim of society's prejudices. The movie makes it clear that the fault lies solely on Rachel's virtual humiliator and that nothing Rachel had done was wrong or immoral.

The cast is also at its best here, with DeAstis and Bourgi giving authentic mother-daughter chemistry and playing well off each other as two women fighting to overcome a misogynistic culture. The villains featured throughout the film (yes, there are many) are also quite memorably nasty, with Ashton Banks and a surprise villain I won't give away here making for memorable (if not a bit exaggerated) portrayals of a sadly common type of person women have to deal with on a regular basis.

Break-Up Nightmare is a well-made movie that is surprisingly true to Lifetime's "Television For Women" days. While great steps have been taken to combat it, misogyny and sexism are still common in the world today, and movies like Break-Up Nightmare help show that behavior like that shouldn't be tolerated by society and how to fight against it. With that, plenty of drama to keep you on your toes, and great actors to carry it, and you've got an entertaining film that will also give you something to think about.

Score: 8.5 out of 10 cans of spray paint.

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About the Creator

Trevor Wells

Aspiring writer and film lover: Lifetime, Hallmark, indie, and anything else that strikes my interest. He/him.

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Twitter: @TrevorWells98

Instagram: @trevorwells_16

Email: [email protected]

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