Lifetime Review: 'Best Friend's Betrayal'

Warning: This review contains spoilers.

For years, Jess Baker (Mary Grill) and Katie Sanders (Vanessa Walsh) have been inseparable best friends. And following her divorce from her ex-husband, fellow divorcee Katie has been a bit protective of Jess in regards to her love life.

So when Jess's work as an event planner has her meeting famed crime novelist Nick Moore (Jaime M. Callica) and becoming involved in a whirlwind romance, Katie cautions her friend on taking things too far too fast while also being taken aback by Nick's macabre novels. But following an incident with Jess's abusive ex-husband Marco (Matt Hamilton), who later turns up dead in what appears to be a drunken accident, Katie begins to suspect that Nick might not be as he appears. After secrets from Nick's past are uncovered by Katie and she winds up the victim of a hit-and-run accident, it appears her suspicions are confirmed. But as Jess will soon learn, something else is not as it seems—and the true danger lies closer to home than she realizes.

Given this film's title, it might seem odd for Best Friend's Betrayal to have the reveal that Jess's friend is the true villain of the story rather than Nick treated as a third act plot twist. But instead, thanks to the well-crafted script, this way of telling the story allows for Best Friend's Betrayal to create a unique identity of sorts for itself and even poke fun at the Lifetime formula itself. As the film progresses, we see hints of Katie's true form as a psychotic and jealous villainess, which keeps viewers on their toes on how far Katie will go to "protect" her best friend and how long it will take for her to finally go over the deep end.

Given this method of telling the story, seeing Katie set up as the ideal Lifetime protagonist (young woman becomes suspicious of the handsome stranger someone close to her is dating) results in Best Friend's Betrayal being viewable as a subversion of one of Lifetime's longest utilized plot threads. While Katie is being set up by the film's events to be the idealized heroine and Nick the ideal villain, the audience is clued into the fact that Katie is not as she seems and Nick is an innocent party roped into her obsession with Jess. Taking this into account, Best Friend's Betrayal can almost be viewed as Lifetime recognized their formula and turning it on its head—resulting in nice moments of self-aware comedy (namely revolving around Nick's writing, which seems to serve as a parallel to Lifetime movies) for longtime viewers of the channel.

The cast helps carry this unique plot, with Vanessa Walsh in particular throwing herself into Katie's overprotective and often times hot-blooded and hostile character. Mary Grill also makes Jess into a strong and proactive character, even though her rejection of Nick following the reveal of his secret (which, in all honesty, isn't as shocking as you might be imagining) comes off as uncharacteristic and just a quick excuse to have her run back into Katie's deranged arms. Jaime M. Callica, meanwhile, plays well off of Mary Grill, with the two developing a deep and authentic chemistry that makes you root for their fast romance. Britt McKillip is fun to watch as Jess's quirky assistant Anna, and Matt Hamilton gives unexpected depth to what could've been a generic "Asshole Ex-Husband" role. Lifetime regular Garry Chalk also makes a charming appearance as an investigating detective of the events, furthering the subversion motif by being competent and rational throughout the film's progression.

While it may initially appear to be a standard Lifetime drama, Best Friend's Betrayal flips the script on itself to become a film more engaging than many give Lifetime credit for. With meta nods to the Lifetime aesthetic and a very solid cast backing itself up, Best Friend's Betrayal makes for an easy recommendation to the Lifetime naysayers.

Score: 9 out of 10 Bookstore Meet Cutes.