Wandering Eye

Maron Abbott (played by Amanda Righetti ) has had enough of the rejection from her husband. Yes, she knows he's a surgical resident, and she thought she knew what she was signing up for, but it has become clear to her, she is not not one of his priorities. Maron decides to seek attention elsewhere. She first considers her friend Graham played by Noam Jenkins . He's made it abundantly clear he's attracted to her, and available. But she just can't go through with it. It would be complicated having an affair with someone in her social circle. Then she hears about this new social networking site called 'Wandering Eye'. It's for married people who want discreet affairs. She searches the site, and finds Lucas Manning (played by Frank Chiesurin ) who's in the exact same position as she is, married to a doctor. He's still in love with his wife too, but the constant rejections from their spouses is taking a toll on both of their marriages. After an initial meeting with Lucas, (and yet another rejection from her husband), Maron decides to go through with the affair. She makes it all the way to his hotel room, but she cannot break her marriage vows.

As she's leaving the hotel room, someone else is coming up. It's the same someone who's been tracking, and killing off 'Wandering Eye' members. Maron left just in the nick of time, but Lucas wasn't so lucky.

Can the cops discover who the killer is in time? Or will more people with a wandering eye have to die?

THE GOOD: It's nice to see a movie convey the truth that women are sexual creatures, and have needs the same as men. All too often, woman are portrayed as frigid, non-sexual beings, who only have sex to placate their spouses. It's nice to see a more balanced view of women's sexuality.

THE BAD: *I hated Maron's "friend", who is judgmental, self-absorbed, and even at one point, says "I wish you hadn't told me any of this." Wow! What a selfish B! I would rather have seen Maron have someone she could turn to for help, instead of all these terrible people in her life. A good friend would have played better.

*There are not enough suspects to create a mystery. There is nothing to figure out, so it is less enjoyable. The actual killer is laughable, instead of believable.

*Midway through the movie, the lead female cop, Detective Jacqueline Fitzpatrick (played well by Krista Bridges ), gets a new partner, (a 'serial killer expert' whatever that means), Detective Will Atherton (played by Allen Altman. This added character is not only NOT needed, but also confusing. I gather we're supposed to get he's Detective Fitzpatrick's ex, and long ago, he cheated on her. But it's an unnecessary, CONFUSING, plot addition. I still don't get why he was added. It takes away from the story, it doesn't add anything.

*At the 1:29 mark, there's some odd twirly camera work. Some shots are too close throughout, awkward. This screams inexperience, but this is a made-for-TV movie. Cinematographers\directors have to start somewhere. It's not unwatchable, but distracting in places.

*REASONS FOR LOWERING RATING: I also have an extremely hard time believing the cops would pull surveillance off of Maron, because they THINK they have the right guy. They are dealing with a SERIAL KILLER! They wouldn't take anything for granted. That's just lazy writing, to build suspense. C'mon writers, give me a break! Cops would lose their jobs over that, it's just NOT BELIEVABLE!

Also, cops NOT shooting a suspect, after they've shot civilians & cops, is total and complete BS. The detective actually says to the armed suspect, AFTER shooting 2 people, "You don't have to do this, we can get you the help you need!" Are you freaking serious!? That lowers the rating for me by a whole ⭐.

TO RECOMMEND OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IT THE QUESTION: As Made-For-TV movies go, this is one I'd suggest you give a pass to. There are so many quality Made-For-TV movies, and vintage Movies-of-the-Week out there, there's no need to waste your time on this one.

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. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.

This is a dumb movie. Stupid contrived premise. Very stiff acting by everyone. Cliches all over the place: my favourite is that the woman in IT _has_ to have big geeky glasses of course. Irredeemable.

The staging is also hamhanded. When they leave the guy alone in the interrogation room, the camera provides a shot of the camera still recording. Which turns out to be unnecessary, as the next shot shows the guys on the other side, and with a monitor showing.

Housekeeping goes into room where the guy is dead. The predictable scream comes.

And on and on it goes. This movie kind of has it all. Except anything any good.

Argh.

In its narrative design, "Wandering Eye" was a routine detective-style thriller. But by the end, a very engaging protagonist emerges out of a standard psycho killer-on-the-loose plot.

The main character of Maren Abbott was trapped in a lackluster marriage with a doctor who is such a workaholic that Maren takes the step of meeting other men on a website called Wandering Eye.

It turns out that the website has been compromised, and a mad killer is stalking the clients during their trysts. As part of the stock formula of this genre of film, the police are completely incompetent in tracking the killer.

That brings us to Maren, the character who steps up to do the job of the police by serving as "bait" to draw the killer out. In the end, there is a clever plot twist in the identity of the killer.

But more than being the centerpiece of a suspenseful crime yarn, Maren gradually develops into a character of stature. At each turning point, she makes a choice based on integrity. Her thoughtful decisions eventually have a payoff--not so much in the entrapment of the killer--but as a decent person who did the right thing.

This was a well-conceived, multi-dimensional character with an excellent interpretation delivered by the performer.

Well done!