Bad Tutor

BAD TUTOR (TV Movie 2018)

*This is a personal comment, but I was shocked and offended at the other IMDB reviewer's comments. The amount of personal vitriol spued at Alex Frnka, simply because of her appearance, was disgusting. I doubt the people vomiting out this garbage, about someone else's features, would like it in return. It was so hateful, I considered doxxing these people, and giving them a taste of their own medicine, but I doubt IMDB would allow it. So, instead I will just say, if you say such nasty things behind an avatar and a computer screen, without giving your real name, YOU ARE A PATHETIC COWARD! You should probably take stock in your own appearance, before you start speaking about others. Remember, she is a REAL PERSON, with feelings, not just some image on a screen. (My name is Vanessa Hooper, just so we're clear, I DON'T HIDE!)

BASIC PLOT: Emily's (Alex Frnka) last year of high school is fraught with turmoil. She's a burgeoning musician, who's focus is solely on her music. Her passion is having a deleterious effects on her grades, especially in chemistry. Emily's mother, Kelly (Vanessa Marcil), is worried she won't be able to get into Wittendale, if she doesn't improve her grades by the midterm. She's determined to help Emily improve her educational standing, and hires a chemistry tutor to do it. Emily is unwilling to fully engage with her new tutor, Devin (Charles Hittinger), often sneaking off to band practice, instead of studying. Devin is undeterred by Emily's lack of focus, and subtly begins ingratiating himself into Emily's life. First, he pretends to share her interests, then he helps her realize her dreams. He's hooked her up with an agent, and he's even paying for her new demo. He seems like the ultimate nice guy, but something is off with Devin. Are his motives altruistic, or does Devin have plans for Emily's future, she's not yet aware of?

WHAT WORKS: *THE FAMILY CHEMISTRY BETWEEN MOTHER AND DAUGHTER IS AUTHENTIC Vanessa Marcil and Alex Frnka do a convincing job portraying a mother and daughter. Vanessa Marcil always has a relaxed, familial energy with the actors she works with, and it elevates her made-for-tv movies. In the movie, The Wrong Mother (2017), she has an equally believable maternal vibe. (See my reviews for more on that movie.)

*DEVIN IS A GREAT VILLAIN Devin (Charles Hittinger) has great villainous energy. He makes the movie watchable, and I even wish they'd made a sequel, centering around Devin. He manages to excude maniacal intent, even when he's sitting alone at his computer. (Check out the photo scroll, I added the many evil faces of Devin.)

*KELLY'S SPEECH TO EMILY IS BELIEVABLE Kelly's speech to Emily about making her own decisions, good or bad, was an quality parenting choice, good dialog and a believable trope. Kelly's pain is convincing, but she doesn't let that hurt dictate her future choices. As a result, you get an authentic, healthy exchange between a mother and a daughter.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *THERE'S NO NEED TO TREAT STEVE THE WAY THEY DO They never give an adequate reason why they don't believe Steve, when he denies drugging Emily. Kelly says something inane like, "you never really know people." That's asinine! They've known Steve (Ian Ward) since the fifth grade, and he's never exhibited any suspect behavior. So, why don't they believe him, when he vehemently denies it? Couldn't it have been someone at the restaurant, instead? The whole Steve plot line, doesn't work! I believe this is why people are so angry at this movie, and at Alex Frnka, the actress who plays Emily. It's an unperceived, visceral reaction from the audience, a place to put their anger at the betrayal of the Steve character. Having a handsome, kind, caring young man treated this way, angers people. If Steve's (Ian Ward) iced tea had been poisoned at the restaurant, putting him into a coma (until the end of the movie), you'd have a more encouraging feeling about the whole situation. People review from the heart and gut, rarely from their head. I think you'd have a lot more favorable reviews for this movie, if you changed Steve's plotline, into one with an optimistic ending. One bad plot device, can spoil the whole enchilada.

*HOW DOES DEVIN GET INTO STEVE'S CAR? How does Devin, a chemist, know how to get into Steve's car? Modern cars lock automatically, and have alarms. So, how does he get into Steve's car, to plant the drugs?

*THE WHOLE PREMISE OF THE MOVIE IS THE TWO GIRLS ARE LOOKALIKES But, sadly, they aren't! Alex Frnka and Stephanie Pearson, don't look anything alike, other than the fact they both have brown hair. Hair color is not enough for the psycho stalker to fixate on, he'd be seeing Alexis (Stephanie Pearson), everywhere. To make the premise work, they should have casted this movie better. (I added pictures to the scroll to illustrate this.)

*THERE ARE COLLEGES WITH MUSIC PROGRAMS This is the second time I've seen this plot line in a made-for-tv movie, and it's irritating! Emily acts as if she either goes to college, OR works on her music career. Why couldn't she do BOTH?! Many colleges have music programs, why is it always either, or? I think they're trying to develop a plot line of descension between mother and daughter. Instead, it just sounds ridiculous.

*THE MUSIC IS TERRIBLE! I know people have a tendency to delude themselves, but even with auto-tune, I don't get how Emily could really believe she'd be a star. Her singing is mediocre, at best.

*THE FIRST DATE BANTER IS LUDICROUS The first date dialog is inane, and stupid. Kelly (Vanessa Marcil) tells Jared (Ben Reed), someone she's never met before, a saccharine story about Emily, her daughter, as a small child. She's eighteen now, why not tell a more current story? No one would tell a story like that, to a stranger on a first date. It's stupid, unsexy, and ridiculous. Bryan Dick and Delanie Fischer should have come up with ANYTHING else! The second date isn't much better. Kelly (Vanessa Marcill) talks about her daughter A LOT! We never hear her asking about Jared (Ben Reed) at all. Isn't that why she blew off her first blind date, at the beginning of the movie?

*WHY WOULDN'T DEVIN KNOW THE NAME OF THE SONG? Devin (Charles Hittinger) sneaks into Emily's (Alex Frnka) room, and sees she's a Seth Vertigo fan. He wears a Seth Vertigo t-shirt to their next tutoring session, but forgets to pick a favorite song to impress Emily with? Why? If you're this obsessed, you'd probably memorize the band's Fandom page.

*STEVE SAYS HE'S ON A LIST, WHAT LIST?! Steve says he's been put on a list, banned from school, and can't go near Emily. That's the biggest bunch of BS I've ever heard! I'm so sick of writers (I'm talking to you Bryan Dick and Delanie Fischer) using the law as a plot device, and using it badly. Steve would have to be CONVICTED of a crime, before being put on a list. He would have to be CONVICTED, before being expelled from school. HE'S INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY, WHO ARE YOUR FREAKING LEGAL CONSULTANTS?! Not to mention, a first year public defender could get him off of these charges. There's no witness, the cops are handling the evidence WITHOUT gloves, and his fingerprints wouldn't be on the baggie the drugs are in - case dismissed!

*LIGHTING IS TERRIBLE THROUGHOUT THE MOVIE There's not one shot that's lighted properly. It's pretty distracting, and not flattering to the actors.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *If you can get past the whole Steve scenario mentioned above, you have a pretty solid melodrama. It's mainly watchable because of Vanessa Marcil and Charles Hittinger's performances. If you don't like watching innocent people getting screwed over, then definitely, give this a pass.

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 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.