Her Affair to Die For 2023 * * 1/2 Stars

NO SMALL AFFAIR

"You've done enough". You can say that again. Being a potential homewrecker, a lousy roomie, and a murderous millennial is quite enough. Meghan Carrasquillo, well she channels all these things as Alyssa Winters in 2023's Her Affair to Die For.

Clocking in at the standard running time (90 minutes give or take) and filmed in what looks like Atlanta, GA (Hollywood's mainstay playground), Her Affair to Die For is plot over plot over plot. It's like the Lifetime network wanted to ditch the schlock and make you bask in its ripening. I applaud the effort. Too bad "Affair" starts with a bang and ends with a whimper, concluding with a weak, Fatal Attraction-like cessation where you say, "um, that's it?" "No prize?" "No true corollary?"

That's not to say that Her Affair to Die For doesn't have decent performances and/or intrigue that masks its predictability because it does. It really does. TV director Tamar Halpern makes the most of sparse set locations and creation of physical space that sort of dissolves as you take in a watch. No matter. There's a lot more going on in "Affair" than Vivica A. Fox popping in at the magic moment and saying one of her "you picked the wrong" lines. No Fox here and no camp when it comes to Her Affair to Die For, just Lifetime getting back to basics.

In "Affair", there's the husband character who's up for a promotion but doesn't make enough time for his college daughter and wife (check). There's the antagonist female who crushes on said husband and will off anyone in her path in order for them to be together (check it). There's the cops who are never around until the very end when a home invasion goes down (check the technique). Finally, there's that opening flashback scene that gets regurgitated about an hour in to let the audience know how cray cray the villain really is (quadruple jump checkers!). Bottom line: Her Affair to Die For has all its mythos points fitting like duplicate keys in keyholes. It's recommendable for at least most of the way.

Written by Jesse Burleson