A Deadly Adoption

A Deadly Adoption
The poster for the Lifetime movie
Screenplay by	Andrew Steele
Directed by	Rachel Lee Goldenberg
Starring	Will Ferrell Kristen Wiig Jessica Lowndes
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Fritz Manger Max Osswald Adam Silver Adam McKay
Editor(s)	Bill Parker
Cinematography	Adam Silver
Running time	84 minutes
Production company(s)	Gary Sanchez Productions MarVista Entertainment National Picture Show Entertainment
Distributor	MarVista Entertainment
Release
Original network	Lifetime
Original release	June 20, 2015 (2015-06-20)
External links
Website

A Deadly Adoption is a 2015 American made for television dramatic-thriller parody film^[1] directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg and written by Andrew Steele. The film aired on the Lifetime Network on June 20, 2015. It stars Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig and Jessica Lowndes.

Plot

Sarah Benson (Wiig) is a successful organic food vendor. Her husband Robert (Ferrell) is a best-selling author and finance guru. They're also the parents of a one-year-old daughter named Sully, and Sarah is pregnant with their second child.

One day, during a family gathering with friends for Sully's first birthday at their home, fictitious Storm Lake, Sarah gets an urge for Robert to take her on a boat ride on the lake behind their home. Despite Robert's repeated warnings for Sarah to get off the unsafe dock, she leans against its railing, causing it to break away. She hits her head on the boat as she falls into the water. Robert dives into the water, pulling her to safety and successfully resuscitating her. The resulting trauma from the experience causes Sarah to lose the baby. As a result, they can no longer have children.

Five years later, Robert has become a recluse but has been sober for six months, recovering from an alcohol addiction which began after the loss of his child. He has also become over-protective of their now-six-year old diabetic daughter Sully. Robert and Sarah plan to adopt an unwanted child, but are not satisfied with any of the birth mothers they have met with. They ultimately decide to house and care for an attractive young woman named Bridgette Gibson during the final months of her pregnancy. Robert is currently writing his new book, but is struggling for inspiration.

After Bridgette tells the Bensons that she is living in a homeless shelter, Robert and Sarah decide to offer her a bedroom they had built onto the house for their child lost during Sarah's pregnancy until Bridgette gives birth. Bridgette accepts the offer, and then after left alone in her room, she pulls out a magazine with the Bensons on the front cover. She rips the half containing Sarah out of it.

Sully discovers through Bridgette's cracked bathroom door as she's showering that her enlarged belly is fake. Bridgette explains to Sully that because of her small and slender build, she was worried that the Bensons wouldn't believe that she was pregnant. The impressionable youngster accepts this, and agrees to keep this secret from her parents. Another secret is when Bridgette removes the training wheels from Sully's bike (without Robert's knowledge or approval) and pushes her down the driveway where she's almost struck by a car. She steers away from the vehicle and into the path of Dwayne Tisdale, Bridgette's tattooed hoodlum boyfriend. Though unhurt, Bridgette persuades Sully to keep this a secret, which she agrees to.

One day, Robert opens the door to Bridgette's room, where he discovers a copy of one of his books among her belongings. He opens the front cover and recognizes the autograph as his own...to Joni. Robert then realizes that Bridgette is really Joni, a fan whom he slept with while on his last book tour and in the depths of his alcoholism. After Sully turns up missing, Robert and Sarah are questioned by police, who produce a photo of the real Bridgette. After questioning the police, they find out that the so-called Bridgette that was staying with them was after all, a completely different person, Joni.

Bridgette and Dwayne bring Sully back to their cabin across the lake, where Dwayne is led to believe Bridgette is with him on a plot to blackmail Robert in order to get Sully back. But Bridgette, unknown to Dwayne, has an agenda all her own: to kill Sarah and have Robert and Sully for herself. Charlie, an employee of Sarah's who's had suspicions of Bridgette, follows her and Dwayne back to the cabin. He is discovered and fatally shot by Dwayne.

After Sully begins to feel ill from not having her insulin, Bridgette speeds up her plan and confronts Robert and Sarah. A struggle breaks out and Bridgette shoots Robert in the shoulder moments after she overpowers Sarah, setting her in the driver's seat of her running car in the garage, making it look like a suicide attempt. Robert regains consciousness after being shot and finds Sarah, quickly moving her to fresh air. He then runs off to find Bridgette.

Bridgette is driving Dwayne's truck with Sully next to her, when she comes upon Robert standing in the middle of a bridge. She does not stop, and Robert dives out of the way just in time, but Bridgette halts the vehicle and aims her gun at Robert. Sully jumps out of the truck and runs to him. Holding them at gunpoint, Bridgette orders Sully to return to her or she will kill her father. Robert whispers something in Sully's ear before she turns to make her way back to Bridgette. On her way back to Bridgette, Sully darts to the bridge's railing and dives off the bridge. Distracted by the act, Bridgette shifts her gaze, allowing Robert to dive off the bridge after his daughter, as Bridgette fires her pistol after them.

Bridgette looks over the railing as Robert and Sully climb into a small boat with an outboard motor, which Robert tries frantically to start . She shouts after him not to make her shoot him again, but as she gets ready to pull the trigger, another shot rings out, with Bridgette sustaining a bullet wound below her right shoulder blade. The shot is from another gun that Bridgette left at the Benson home...now held by Sarah, having regained consciousness and followed her family to their would-be murder scene.

The movie ends with the final scene as being six months later, with the Benson family still intact. Robert and Sarah dance in the kitchen with their daughter.

Cast

• Will Ferrell as Robert Benson
• Kristen Wiig as Sarah Benson
• Jessica Lowndes as Bridgette / Joni
• Alyvia Alyn Lind as Sully Benson
• Jake Weary as Dwayne Tisdale
• Brooke Lyons as Christine
• Debra Christofferson as Ellen
• Bryan Safi as Charlie

Production

On April 1, 2015, it was revealed that Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, and Jessica Lowndes were set to star in the film as a parody of the genre of Lifetime films, with Rachel Lee Goldenberg directing and Andrew Steele writing the screenplay. Adam McKay's production company Gary Sanchez Productions and Ferrell are executive producing.^[1] The next day, Ferrell issued a statement regarding the film saying "We are deeply disappointed that our planned top-secret project was made public, Kristen and I have decided it is in the best interest for everyone to forgo the project entirely, and we thank Lifetime and all the people who were ready to help us make this film." shooting down the prospect of the film being released.^[2] However, in June 2015, a billboard for the film was spotted with a release date of June 20, 2015.^[3]

The premiere of the film coincides with the 25th anniversary of Lifetime’s movie franchise.^[4]

Marketing

On June 12, 2015, a teaser trailer was released.^[5] On June 15, 2015, a full length trailer was released.^[6]

Reception

Joshua Alston of The A. V. Club gave the film a B−, commenting on the straight dramatic acting by the principals, "Everything about Adoption is right visually, and Ferrell and Wiig are close enough to where they should be tonally, but it’s all a bit too earnest."^[7]

See also

• List of films featuring diabetes

References

External links

• A Deadly Adoption at Rotten Tomatoes
• A Deadly Adoption at the Internet Movie Database