GIRL FOLLOWED (TV Movie 2017) 4 out of 10 stars Time to Read: 3:24 min

BASIC PLOT: Regan Lindstrom (Emma Fuhrmann) is having a tough freshman year. She's fourteen, naive about the way things work, and trying hard to fit in. Her best friend Sabine (Olivia Nikkanen), isn't really her friend at all, and keeps Regan around only to feel better about herself. At home, things aren't any better. Her parents, Abby (Heather McComb) and Jim (Joey Lawrence) favor her sister Taylor (Gianna LePera), and this has left Regan with very little self-esteem. Her immaturity, her isolation, and her self loathing has left her vulnerable to a predator in her midst. Nate (Travis Caldwell) is a medical tech, working at her mother's doctor's office. He seems nice enough, he shares her interests, and says he understands her problems, but his help often crosses appropriate boundaries. Can Regan's family finally hear her cries for help, in time to save her from Nate's predatory clutches?

WHAT WORKS: *REGAN'S SISTER IS AN A$$, AND THE PARENTS DO FAVOR HER Wow! Regan (Emma Fuhrmann) is right! Her sister, Taylor (Gianna LePera), is a selfish b*tch, and the parents do prefer her over Regan! Taylor isn't worried about her sister at all, she just cares how Regan's problems affects her, and the parents don't discourage this egocentric behavior. Regan's what we call the "Identified Patient," or IP. When there's something wrong with the family dynamic, the sanest family member rebells against the dysfunction, often by acting out in some way (drugs, violence, alcohol or sex). The problem is, the acting out is often harmful to the IP. The parents say to Regan, it's her mistake alone, but when your child fails like this, it's never their mistake alone. The parents favoring one child over the other, destroyed Regan's self-esteem, and forced her to look elsewhere for approval. It's good to see plotlines that mirror actual family problems, albeit, in a simplified way (this is a melodrama after all).

*THE CINEMATOGRAPHY/DIRECTING IS BETTER THAN MOST The shots, are mostly set up in a good way, and the visual storytelling is efficacious. A few are too close, but for the most part, you could storyboard the movie with individual shots, and that means it's a successful outing from Carole McClintock (cinematographer) and Tom Shell (director).

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *NO FOURTEEN YEAR OLD IS THAT NAIVE No kid in this day and age is that sheltered, especially with an older sibling. The "obscene" pictures Regan sends out, are simply her in a bra and panties, which is pretty tame in 2017.

*REGAN'S QUESTIONS AND FEELINGS ARE MORE INLINE WITH SOMEONE YOUNGER I know that in our politically correct society, it wouldn't be ok to make Regan twelve, which is how she acts, but it would have made for a better movie. Having Regan be so naive at fourteen, is just not believable in the current environment. Her inexperience with sex, the way she asks Nate (Travis Caldwell) if she's pretty, all speak to someone younger, with a dysfunctional relationship with their family. Her parents refuse to take any responsibility, putting her upbringing back on her, which is pretty stressful for a twelve, or a fourteen year old.

*NATE SHOULD ALTER THE LINDSTROM'S MEDICAL INSURANCE, OR EASIER, NATE COULD JUST KILL THE COUNSELOR If the plot device is - 'Nate doesn't want Regan to see a counselor, because their relationship might be exposed', there are w-a-a-a-y easier paths to get there. Nate is a medical billing expert, he could easily tamper with the family's health insurance (show him clicking a box that would cancel the family's mental health coverage). If I'm confused about Nate's motivations (and I am), it's a fail. If it takes to long to complete the task (getting rid of the parents insurance, by sabotaging both parents jobs), it's a fail. Also, no ephebophile is going to expose his relationship needlessly, but sending the pictures to Jim's boss, does just that. Melissa Cassera, Christine Conradt and Chris Lancey really should have rethought this entire plot device.

*SCREWING WITH THE DAD'S JOB IS A BAD PLOT DEVICE No one would be fired because their young daughter was taken advantage of on the Internet. That is the STUPIDEST plot device ever! "We're firing you, or denying your promotion, because your daughter was the victim of a ephebophile." Also, the boss receiving pictures of a fourteen year old in her underwear, and opening them on his work computer, is outrageous. It's more damaging than Jim's (Joey Lawrence) fourteen year old daughter being groomed by a ephebophile. In reality, the boss might be fired or reprimanded, not Jim, her father.

*NEVER ADDRESSING THE BAD PARENTING IS A PROBLEM The family is suddenly 'healed', without the counseling they so desperately needed. Unfortunately, trauma (such as Regan's abduction) does not heal the underlying family problems that are abundant here. I'd rather hear they're going on a family vacation, to celebrate their successful completion of family therapy.

*BUSINESSES ARE TRAINED NOT TO OPEN ATTACHMENTS FROM EMAILS THEY DON'T RECOGNIZE Mr. Howard, Jim's boss, says everyone up the chain, "Got photos of your daughter from an unknown email." That means, the entire staff, opened, what could be construed as child porn, from an anonymous email address. They ALL opened the attachments, and we're supposed to believe they all still have their jobs? They work at a youth center for pity's sake! I expect more from Christine Conradt, her storylines don't usually have plot holes big enough for the whole movie to fall into.

*CONFIDENTIALITY APPLIES ALL THE TIME Detective White (Laura Kai Chen) tells Jim, "This is a child abduction case, so confidentiality doesn't apply." That's the biggest bunch of BS I've ever heard! They'd need a court order to lift confidentiality. No psychologist/psychiatrist would risk their license, and future, because some cop tells them too. It's asinine!

*THE TRAILER IS STUPID The trailer is a disjointed jumble, never capturing the ideas of the movie in it's entirety. Also, the voiceover artist starts out sounding like he's inveigling people into buying time shares, only at the end, does he use his "thriller" voice.

*THE COVER ART IS RIDICULOUS! It has nothing to do with the movie, and looks like it took about ten minutes to create. Come on guys, I could do better with my phone!

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *That's a hard question. If you enjoy low budget family dysfunction, teenage angst, or Joey Lawrence, you MIGHT enjoy this. I understand and appreciate melodramas, and this is right on the line of watchable. 4 out of 10

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 review 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. I do have a background in psychology, hope the review is not too technical.

Terrible script, terrible acting.. just terrible..

Just don't lol.

Terrible script, terrible acting.. just terrible..

Just don't lol.