Would have preferred three hours of 'Unanswered Prayers' over that 'Maneater' miniseries. I think this movie would have used the time better. I enjoyed this film. Lifetime is hit or miss for me, but this one was a winner. It had good acting, good characters (mostly), and a simple story. I thought the beginning set up the movie very well w/the family sitting around watching the old tape with dad during his football days, mom in her cheer outfit, and the ex who at the time was w/dad. From the beginning, it's clear that something made Dad hold on to the memories of 'Ava,' and Mom is still a tad insecure about it, even 20 years later. Well, Ava's back in town to bury her mother, and tensions begin.
I thought this movie was pretty good. One super plus that I have for it was that *******SPOILER********* Ben did not sleep with Ava. That would have been terrible. Granted, his actions were stupid, but I wouldn't have been as hopeful for him to reunite w/Lorrie if he had. As a character, Ava was up to no good. She really didn't care about anyone's feelings but her own. She seemed like she only still wanted Ben bc she couldn't have him. Lorrie was a good character as Ben's wife, without being a Mary Sue. I was glad she didn't end up cheating on him. The actor who played the son did a good job as a kid who was torn between his dreams for himself and the dreams his parents had for him. DID NOT like his girlfriend. She just rubbed me wrong.
As I said in my title. I feel this movie could have been longer. I'd be interested in knowing what got cut out. It seemed like there was a lot of build up, but the actual betrayal and breakdown of the family happened in the last 30-40 minutes. I did like the ending though w/Ben at Thanksgiving. I got the impression that things would eventually work out.
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