2021's Dangerous Medicine is my latest write-up. Its title, well it couldn't be more literal and/or obvious. "Medicine" is about a psychotic caregiver who by having a nurturing complex, tries to take possession of a paralyzed 18-year-old. At the fifteen minute mark, said caregiver (Daphne played by Leann Van Mol) is already a cray cray loon by default. The yelling, the screaming, the head voices, the spazzing, the desperation. Yes it's all there.
Trashy, belligerent, LA based, and shrewd like a Lifetime movie should be, Dangerous Medicine is icky and pretty uncomfortable to watch. The film is also a train wreck so well, you just keep watching. Mol's Daphne not only kills people, she also tries to romance younger guys while keeping them eternally crippled. She's like a cross between Nurse Ratched, Hanna Schmitz, and Mrs. Robinson. Heck, the bathtub scene where Daphne goes for the groin is pretty darn cringe-worthy.
Chris Cimperman plays 18-year-old Tony while veteran Lifetime lifer Meredith Thomas plays Tony's travel happy mom. Questions regarding "Medicine" are as follows: Why does Daphne's employer hire Daphne without a background check, a second interview, or a reference check? Why is Tony's girlfriend Jasmine not cited or put on probation (I mean she caused the accident that put Tony in a wheelchair)? How the heck did Tony's mommy and Jasmine find out where Daphne kidnapped Tony? Finally, how are Tony and Daphne able to be intimate from a sexual standpoint (the poor dude can't feel anything from the waist down)?
Bottom line: Dangerous Medicine may be nervously watchable but come on, you have to suspend your disbelief. I'm convinced that after thirty-one years, Lifetime has cinematic, diplomatic immunity-s and wants it that way. With implausibility, overacting, and sketchy plot developments on display, "Medicine" is an "antidote" to a mixed review.
Written by Jesse Burleson
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