For made-for-TV, this is better than average, though it doesn't bring anything original to the screen. Michael Riley does a good job of switching from the perfect to not-so-perfect husband in an instant, and his character is what keeps you watching. The rest of the acting is a bit bland, and instead of fearing for our protagonist, you identify more with our villain.
10 Reviews
Forgettable and Predictable Festival of Clichés
claudio_carvalho17 December 2004
The reporter Lisa (Tracy Nelson) meets the famous writer Ty Kellington (Michael Riley) in an interview, and sooner they get married. Their common life is perfect, almost a dream, until Lisa is invited by her old friend Matt Thompson (Thomas Calabro) to work with him in a radio show. The paranoid hidden side of the personality of Ty is unfolded, showing a deranged man capable of killing and threatening the life of Lisa, her sister Beverly (Andrea Roth) and close friends. "The Perfect Husband" is a forgettable and predictable festival of clichés, a low budget movie where is possible to guess the next scene. The performance of Tracy Nelson is horrible, in the lead female role, but Michael Riley and Andrea Roth have a good acting and at least I did not sleep along this foretold plot. My vote is four.
Title (Brazil): "O Perigo Dorme ao Lado" ("The Danger Sleeps SidebySide")
Title (Brazil): "O Perigo Dorme ao Lado" ("The Danger Sleeps SidebySide")
1 dimensional
petersjoelen17 August 2018
We have seen the cliché plot (woman marries perfect husband but turns out to be a psychopath) many times.
In the 70s, 80s and 90s we were inundated with this theme in the true stories category, in which the story was almost always told one-sidedly from the female perspective and in which the perpetrator was usually portrayed in a very two-dimensional way without a satisfactory backstory.
This was of course to demonize the perpetrator as much as possible and to portray the victim character as sympathetically as possible.
But why not some more backstory for the perpetrator? That could give the story a lot more depth and make for a much interesting film.
Here too it is actually very cliché. The fact that the couple gets married after 4 months does not make it much more believable.
Of course this is a 13 in a dozen thriller, but still, there were moments in the film where I thought: boy, is this all you could come up with in terms of text dialogue? Such as in the dinner scene in which TY shows up uninvited and they ask him how he comes up with his characters in his books.
Funny that Michael Riley plays this role, I had seen him play alongside Brian Dennehy in To Catch a Killer and he played really well in it, even though Dennhy was superior as gacy.
In the 70s, 80s and 90s we were inundated with this theme in the true stories category, in which the story was almost always told one-sidedly from the female perspective and in which the perpetrator was usually portrayed in a very two-dimensional way without a satisfactory backstory.
This was of course to demonize the perpetrator as much as possible and to portray the victim character as sympathetically as possible.
But why not some more backstory for the perpetrator? That could give the story a lot more depth and make for a much interesting film.
Here too it is actually very cliché. The fact that the couple gets married after 4 months does not make it much more believable.
Of course this is a 13 in a dozen thriller, but still, there were moments in the film where I thought: boy, is this all you could come up with in terms of text dialogue? Such as in the dinner scene in which TY shows up uninvited and they ask him how he comes up with his characters in his books.
Funny that Michael Riley plays this role, I had seen him play alongside Brian Dennehy in To Catch a Killer and he played really well in it, even though Dennhy was superior as gacy.
About a C- or D+ for Lifetime Movies
ajuda-577-157638 November 2009
This movie had two big strikes against it from the get-go.
First of all, whoever thought of putting Michael Riley and Tracy Nelson together ought to have their head examined. They are the most mismatched pair I've ever seen. On-screen chemistry was zero, and the disbelief that they would ever fall in love kept me from getting into the story.
Secondly, Sophie Gendron was just horrible. Not only is her acting completely wooden, but her lips take up half the screen. She unfortunately shows the consequences of cosmetic surgery addiction, and has done it to the point of not looking normal anymore. Granted, she's not as bad as Joan Rivers, but she's lost any natural look. (And after her last scene, I felt so guilty thinking oh good, she won't be in any more shots!)
On the up-side, Michael Riley was creepy enough to believe he could play Ty. And Thomas Calabro was the only actor worth his salt. I enjoyed every scene he was in.
My suggestion: tape it, and watch only the Thomas Calabro scenes. Then go out and rent a movie where he has more camera time.
First of all, whoever thought of putting Michael Riley and Tracy Nelson together ought to have their head examined. They are the most mismatched pair I've ever seen. On-screen chemistry was zero, and the disbelief that they would ever fall in love kept me from getting into the story.
Secondly, Sophie Gendron was just horrible. Not only is her acting completely wooden, but her lips take up half the screen. She unfortunately shows the consequences of cosmetic surgery addiction, and has done it to the point of not looking normal anymore. Granted, she's not as bad as Joan Rivers, but she's lost any natural look. (And after her last scene, I felt so guilty thinking oh good, she won't be in any more shots!)
On the up-side, Michael Riley was creepy enough to believe he could play Ty. And Thomas Calabro was the only actor worth his salt. I enjoyed every scene he was in.
My suggestion: tape it, and watch only the Thomas Calabro scenes. Then go out and rent a movie where he has more camera time.
The Truth About Ty
lavatch12 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Lisa Dorian was a perky investigative reporter given the assignment of interviewing a famous mystery writer, Tyson (Ty) Kennington. It was love at first sight for the couple, and Lisa believed that she had finally found her soul mate. She was wrong.
Far from being the perfect husband, Ty was a controlling and insanely jealous spouse. When Lisa lands a plum job on a radio program with her old colleague Matt, Ty cracks Matt over the skull with a tire iron during a jog, landing him in the hospital in a coma. When Lisa becomes pregnant, Ty cannot bear the prospect of competition and begins administering roofies to Lisa that will induce a miscarriage. When Lisa's bestie, Penny, has concerns about her friend, Ty stabs her to death.
A flaw in this overly unpleasant film was that Lisa was a sharp, quick-thinking investigative reporter, yet she failed to see the danger signs of her deranged husband. Even at the start of their marriage, an odd scene occurred when Ty was thinking through one of his mystery plots and was holding a gun in his hand and pointing it at Lisa! Yet, she seemed unconcerned about her husband's conduct.
One of the most interesting characters is Lisa's sister Beverly. Bev has had a problem with alcohol, and she has recently separated from her beau Adolfo. After Ty intentionally gets Bev drunk and attempts to kiss her, Bev tries to warn Lisa, who again fails to truly listen to her sister and see the feckless nature of her husband.
In the end, Bev was relentless in pursuing the truth about Ty. She then rescued her sister. Lisa is able to return to her radio program called "In Your Face." By this time, the naive and unsuspecting reporter has learned a life lesson about the two faces of Ty and the undying love of a sister.
Far from being the perfect husband, Ty was a controlling and insanely jealous spouse. When Lisa lands a plum job on a radio program with her old colleague Matt, Ty cracks Matt over the skull with a tire iron during a jog, landing him in the hospital in a coma. When Lisa becomes pregnant, Ty cannot bear the prospect of competition and begins administering roofies to Lisa that will induce a miscarriage. When Lisa's bestie, Penny, has concerns about her friend, Ty stabs her to death.
A flaw in this overly unpleasant film was that Lisa was a sharp, quick-thinking investigative reporter, yet she failed to see the danger signs of her deranged husband. Even at the start of their marriage, an odd scene occurred when Ty was thinking through one of his mystery plots and was holding a gun in his hand and pointing it at Lisa! Yet, she seemed unconcerned about her husband's conduct.
One of the most interesting characters is Lisa's sister Beverly. Bev has had a problem with alcohol, and she has recently separated from her beau Adolfo. After Ty intentionally gets Bev drunk and attempts to kiss her, Bev tries to warn Lisa, who again fails to truly listen to her sister and see the feckless nature of her husband.
In the end, Bev was relentless in pursuing the truth about Ty. She then rescued her sister. Lisa is able to return to her radio program called "In Your Face." By this time, the naive and unsuspecting reporter has learned a life lesson about the two faces of Ty and the undying love of a sister.
Love this movie
toridec22 September 2010
I loved this movie, To say Tracy Nelson is not a good actress is nuts. I think she's totally believable and a great actress. The movie had me on the edge of my seat. Tracy did the part like it was written,maybe she could of gotten out of the situation as some other reviewer said but that's not how the writers wrote her character. The actor who played the husband was absolutely nuts but played the part terrific. I was totally for Tracys character, she loved her husband and loved the child they were having together. He even killed their child making her have a miscarriage. This is the type of movie that gets you nuts but is fun to watch. I definitely want to add it to my collection!
Don't Watch this unless you have solid nerves
nicholas.rhodes5 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Be warned, this film starts out "light" and fairly inoffensive but builds in the second half to a horrifying climax. I can identify to a certain extent with the male character but even for me he was a bit too extreme, cutting phone wires, hiding portable phones, disposing of visitors in the garden etc. I have seen Tracey Nelson in a number of psychopathic rôles, she seems to have the right face for the job ( poor devil ! ) but I was surprised to see her here in the role of the innocent. Mind you, when she finally shoots the husband at the end, you can still see that evil psychopathic glint in her face. The character of the husband is extremely worring indeed, from being someone a little jealous and over possessive, which is commonplace, we gradually come to see that he has psychopathic tendencies. Indeed the film could even have been a little longer to draw out the suspense and there was the basis here for something a little more substantial. I thoroughly enjoy this type of film though it IS taxing on the nervous system so not to be recommended for the faint hearted !
Great plot, great actors, great scenery great... oh well, you get the point
amadala5123 June 2006
I really enjoyed this movie. it was a great thriller and was keeping you on the edge of your seat the entire time.I thought that the woman who played Lisa was a great actor as well as Beverly. It was definitely not a kids movie to watch so keep the kids out of the room while you are watching. If you like action packed movies it is the thing for you. It was a really good storyline, and I thought the whole thing was great to see. I really enjoyed it. I did not see the very beginning, but the middle and end were fabulous. Just when you were thinking that something was going to happen, another twist was thrown into the plot. Way up high on my fave. movies list Great movie to watch!(p.s. the title is okay but it would not be my top pick for the movie...)
Great Thriller
carolynocean24 March 2021
I really loved this movie . If you are into " controlling physco husband " movies, then this is the movie for you !
Michael Reily is excellent as the latter , played the part brilliantly , and Tracy Nelson is great as the submissive , unsuspecting wife.
I actually got a Stephen King vibe throughout !!
The whole story moves and builds at a steady pace , culminating in a tense and thrilling end !
I highly recommend this one , its a 9 rating from me !!
Michael Reily is excellent as the latter , played the part brilliantly , and Tracy Nelson is great as the submissive , unsuspecting wife.
I actually got a Stephen King vibe throughout !!
The whole story moves and builds at a steady pace , culminating in a tense and thrilling end !
I highly recommend this one , its a 9 rating from me !!
The Crown Jewel of Lifetime Movies!
shiningdiamond12 November 2019
This is my favorite Lifetime movie! It's the king of wacky Lifetime! Ty Kellington is hilarious and played to absolute perfection by Michael Riley. For such a typical premise (insecure, jealous controlling husband) it could've been dull but there's twist and turns and you're never bored.
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