Murder In-Law (2019 TV Movie) User Reviews

Melodramatic Perfection...

[vnssyndrome89 · 6/10 · 26 June 2023]

MURDER-IN-LAW (2019)

BASIC PLOT: Allison has just gotten a big promotion at work. Her family will be relocating to a new state, starting a new era of their lives. But, there's a problem. Clare is Allison's mother-in-law, and there's no way in hell she's going to let Allison take HER family anywhere.

WHAT WORKS: *Barbara Williams does a great job of portraying the over-the-top mother-in-law, Clare.

*The little jibes Clare gives Allison (Kristen Dalton) are perfection. They are not only written well, but Barbara Williams delivers them impeccably.

*They're are lots of little things that work here. The evil leprechaun statues that appear all over the house, are a great plot device. They are a visual clue that Clare is taking over Allison's house and life, and that her eyes are everywhere.

*Clare's manipulation of her husband's ex-police partner, Will (Tony Denison), is great. He inadvertantly gives Clare the means to alienate Allison's best friend, Charlie (Angie DeGrazia), further isolating Allison from any support.

Clare's twisted machinations are perfection. Clare has everyone wrapped around her manipulative finger, playing people like puppets, which is melodrama at it's finest.

*There are three types of movies on Lifetime. This is the second type, melodrama. According to dictionary. C o m, the definition of melodrama is "a dramatic form that does not observe the laws of cause and effect and that exaggerates emotion and emphasizes plot or action at the expense of characterization."

In other words, this is a PERFECT MELODRAMA. The characters are not so well defined, but their motives are. If you watch this movie with that in mind, you'll like it a whole lot more. You're not supposed to take the over-the-top motives too seriously, it's pure silly entertainment. STOP LOOKING FOR EMMYS FROM LIFETIME MOVIES!

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *Even for a melodramatic movie like this one, it is a little unbelievable that the husband and daughter would be THIS STUPID! And even in the most dysfunctional families, I doubt the wife would put up with this much shortsightedness from her husband.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *IF you can understand the art form that is melodrama, and you like that type of entertainment, you'll like this. If you are looking for lots of believable characters and motives in your TV movies, then give this a pass.

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.

Better than the average Lifetime movie

[callahans20 · 7/10 · 12 October 2020]

The acting overall was sometimes unsteady, but Claire was an incredibly well-done evil MIL. Even when she gets her comeuppance, it's beautifully played crazy. Plus any movie that makes me scream at the tv is a win in my book.

Psycho Mama

[kyleallencole9 · 6/10 · 28 April 2019]

Barbara Williams who played Corey Haims mom in the the 80s monster movie Watchers, stars as the unhinged mother in this one. She doesn't take it well when she finds out her son is moving his family out of state for his wife's (Kristen Dalton) new promotion. His father supports their decision, which his wife finds that as betrayal and quickly dispatches him. She works her way into her son's home and quickly begins to do things against her daughter in law which escalates to murder. Good TV thriller

Awful.

[annita-andrade · 1/10 · 18 March 2021]

Annoying and ridiculous plot. It made me cringe and I just could watch half of it.

Truly awful

[r96sk · 2/10 · 16 July 2020]

Horrific, and I don't say that lightly.

'Murder In-Law' is truly awful. It's interesting to note that this was released almost two months prior to 'Killer Grandma', also known as 'Killer In-Law'. That latter title is not the only similarity, as the majority of these films feels incredibly similar - perhaps an 'Antz'/'A Bug's Life' type of situation?

I thoroughly enjoyed that other production, which tackles a similar premise but executes the plot way better; mainly thanks to Nana Visitor's performance. This misses a big performer, all of the acting is pretty poor and adds nothing. The writing et al. is just as bad.

The characters act so stupidly, they all lack any awareness entirely. The whole viewing experience is painful, I was begging for the end credits from the very early stages, despite the short ~90 minute run time. Despite the dark nature of the story, the film shies away from most of the would-be entertaining/eye-catching moments.

Like the concept? Check out 'Killer Grandma'. Otherwise, I'd suggest avoiding... unless you want to witness this in all its 'glory', of course.

Jim needs to take a ride on the clue bus

[hoops-53436 · 1/10 · 23 March 2021]

In most LMN movies I have seen, the men are basically clueless tools. In this movie, Jim continues that great tradition. He should take a ride on the clue bus. Mama's boy doesn't even begin to describe him and what an immature idiot he is. The plot stinks. Charlie, in real life, would have gotten together with Allison and told her what Claire had done. Could have cleared that one up in a hurry. We had high hopes for the girl (Alexann) who played Sidney. But, she was a weak actor in all of this. And the ridiculous frame-up attempt on Charlie's murder. Wow! And the foolish attempt to frame Allison. Don't waste your time on this POC.

Great watch

[badaruwa · 9/10 · 4 September 2019]

Barbara Williams (Claire) gave a very compelling performance and her role was so real. This move is assured to keep you by the edge of your sit from the beginning to the end. I enjoyed watching it.

Cheapened by the killings

[CranberriAppl · 4 June 2021]

After all these years, I find that the more creative Lifetime movies manage to have either no or low body counts. Obviously the first killing was absurd, but the second was absolutely ridiculous. This movie would have been better as a suspense/psych thriller with maybe the absolute last straw being attempting to eliminate the person who is perceived to cause all of her problems.

The blackmail scene with the best friend was so stilted...and of course even though she did what the villain wanted, she still died. Anyway, the conversation where the friendship "ends," is just too obviously written for the plot point and wasn't as bold or open as early ones they had. I realize things have to happen for the movie to "work," but best friends would not just sit and take that. This happens constantly in these movies and the person ends up dying. Another ridiculous moment was an ex-gf coming to the house for dinner? Who does that? And then who stays? Then the husband (of course clueless like the majority of Lifetime husbands) embarrasses his wife when she comes home and sees him in appropriately with the ex. Absurd. Then the ex apparently has a terminal illness that's supposed to make the wife feel bad...but of course no one tells her. What a joke. You have to accept abnormal behavior in order to get through this movie.

The villain also looked a good five years older than her "son" and his wife, so at first, I didn't even know who the MIL was.

I have a love/hate relationship with Lifetime and will watch for weeks and then not watch for months. I expect exactly what we're meant to from these movies, but sometimes you wish they'd do things a bit differently. This movie definitely could have worked as a mind game. I like to compare these movies to the plot/storyline of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. That's a big screen movie, but it's a good revenge/psych thriller template with a villain that you "get." I wish more Lifetime movies were tv versions of that.

The actors must have done it for the money

[statsdweeb · 2/10 · 5 October 2022]

I wonder whether the entire cast of this movie ever regrets doing such a lousy show. Perhaps they needed the work. The plot made absolutely no sense.

First, the reason Barbara Williams (Claire) pushes her husband down the stairs - and starts the whole chain of events - is not clear. Next, Angie DeGrazia (Charlie), the friend of Kristen Dalton (Allison, the daughter in-law) starts off really assertive, encouraging Allison to stand up to Claire. Doesn't one think that when Claire made that surprise visit to her house that Charlie would have just forced her out, rather than succumb to Claire's blackmailing her into fighting with Allison? Also, after that incident, Charlie lets Claire into her home a second time!

And Claire kills Charlie in her home with a meat tenderizer within her own kitchen! Really! A perpetrator who commits a premeditated murder at the victim's home is not likely to use a weapon or object found at the victim's home; the perpetrator would bring her own weapon. Even the veteran detective, Will (Tony Denison), misses this basic fact.

Finally, wouldn't Mark Collier (Jim) and Courtney Compton (Mariah, Jim's girlfriend before marrying Allison) immediately catch on to Claire's motives of that dinner to be caught by Allison? And wouldn't they be upset at her for being so deceptive?

Even the ending when the police are taking Claire away is just wrong: Allison and Jim kiss and walk back inside the house. If your mother/mother in-law is going off to prison - no matter how much she victimized your family - wouldn't it be a somber moment?

This - like many other recent Lifetime movies - is a waste of everyone's time and a blemish on each cast member's acting portfolio.

Bad movie

[ahmadq-02737 · 1/10 · 8 October 2021]

Very bad movie. No acting well just wasting ur time.

Wacko mother in law

[phd_travel · 8/10 · 17 March 2019]

For anyone who has had a crazy Mother in law this one is fun. The wacko of the week is a woman who is angry her daughter in law is making the family relocate. Quite shockingly she gets rid of her hubby and moves in with her son and his wife and grand daughter. She proceeds to undermine her frame her and worse. The acting is good and the sabotage quite delicious to watch. Only flaw is the mother in law looks a bit close in age to the daughter in law.

Do watch this.

"Have No Fear, Grandma's Here!!!"

[lavatch · 8/10 · 15 December 2019]

In this film, you don't want to crack a mother-in-law joke within earshot of Claire, the mother-in-law from hell.

For the beleaguered daughter-in-law Allison, her marriage to mama's boy Jim has been a trial ever since the wedding, which was planned entirely by Claire and was not what Allison had in mind at all. For years, Allison has been reluctant to stand up for herself in the face of the super control freak mother-in-law.

At the start of the film, Allison informs Claire that she, Jim, and little Sydney will be moving to New York, due to her promotion at work. This does not sit well for Claire, who promptly returns home, murders her husband, places him in the freezer, then moves in with Jim, Allison and Sydney, floating the story that "Pop Pop" ran off with Missy. The nightmare is about to begin.

The film attempts to develop the theme of assertiveness and how Allison needs to become better at defining boundaries. But, in nearly all of the conversations, Allison is actually quite a good communicator. What else could one possibly say to a manipulative and diabolical con artist like Claire?

In the various strands of the film Claire is able to pull the wool over the eyes of a police detective, blackmail Allison's best friend, drive a wedge between husband and wife, dupe the granddaughter into believing that "Pop Pop" grampa is a very bad man, and co-opt an old girlfriend of Jim into coming to dinner and renewing their old flame.

Ol' Pop Pop never ran away with Missy in her Winnebago. On his last night on earth, Grampa took a little blue pill in expectation of pleasuring his demanding spouse. Instead, he was on the receiving end of a fatal push down the stairs. It is only due to the resolve of Allison that the cruel and calculating murder-in-law does not become Murder, Inc.