The Surrogacy Trap:

Greetings, commies!

October is a pregnancy and newborn loss awareness month, so it only makes sense that I should review a movie that touches upon this sensitive. The affected audiences would benefit from a realistic depicture of the surrogacy process. Instead, Lifetime came up with an implausible wannabe thriller full of legal and logistical loopholes. The writers of The Surrogacy Trap did not do their homework.  

Synopsis:

After losing hope of conceiving a child on their own, Christy and Mitch turn to surrogacy in hopes of creating the perfect family. However, their confidence is quickly shaken when they discover that the young woman might not be as perfect as they first thought.

My thoughts:

I realize that Lifetime doesn't always aim for accuracy, but this movie contains a few pretty gross factual errors. I am pretty sure it's a uniform rule that the surrogate must have at least one biological child - for good reasons. She needs to prove that she is at least capable of carrying a pregnancy through. Second, they really prefer women who are "done" having their own children, as surrogacy can potentially lead to infertility.

The couple comes across as unsympathetic and shallow, not to mention hypocritical, as they reject a more experienced surrogate for using the program as her main source of income and serving as a "professional incubator". Well, duh! What do they think a surrogate is? They wanted to a a "virginal" and altruistic surrogate who also looks like a supermodel?

Nobody specifies what sources of income Mallory has, yet she is able to afford a pretty fancy apartment. But that's to be expected in most TV productions. People live in apartments they would never afford in real life.

The cops look extremely naive and slow-witted. There were a few pretty close calls. Amazing how one psycho can totally outsmart the police department.

So, if you want to view this movie was a psycho fantasy, it you will be satisfied. But if you know the specifics of surrogacy, you will be rolling your eyes at the inaccuracies.

Kept Woman: "The Collector" meet "Stepford Wives"

Greetings, commies!

If need more moderately satisfying guilt-free guilty, not too mind-numbing pleasure, consider Kept Woman, a dark dark comedy exploring nightmares and gender stereotypes

Synopsis:

Jessica and her fiancé finally move out of the city and into their dream home on a quiet suburban street. When their strange and mysterious new neighbor lures Jessica inside his home, she finds herself imprisoned in a meticulously decorated 1950's bunker.

My thoughts:

Many of the reviewers already brought up the classic novel by John Fowles "The Collector" as the genre-setter. It's impressive that the novel is still read and remembered. "Kept Woman" is a satirical take on the hostage trope. Do not take it as a straight drama. It's a dark, dark comedy. No, it's not a feminist manifesto. It doesn't put down the work of homemakers. But it does make fun of stereotypes. It's also an allegory. The characters represent movements and ideologies. The dynamic between Jess and Robyn kind of busts the myth that women, when facing the same ordeal, will stick together. The only thing that seemed implausible is the naivete and stupidity of some of the characters. If you suspect that your neighbor is a murderous creep, why do you go into his house unarmed or alone? The cop who took it upon himself to confront the antagonist should have known better than going into his house alone. Same for Jess. She acts like a curious 12-year old schoolgirl. One would expect someone her age to be more cautious and savvy.