Psycho Party Planner (2020 TV Movie) User Reviews

An okay movie

[aweirdsylvia · 5/10 · 22 March 2020]

The plot was predictable, but I liked how the story was played out.

One thing that bugged me was that the mom at the beginning seemed to care about her daughter and said "she only turns 16 once." But when it came to choosing a party planner, she didn't want to give her a choice (even after the daughter said the one she wanted to choose had a lot of her interests). Had she allowed her daughter to choose the party planner, the red headed planner would still be alive. Seemed like a pointless death.

Glad she didn't kill the dog btw.

Disappointing

[phd_travel · 5/10 · 17 January 2020]

The premise is quite watchable. A woman party planner has designs on a girl she plans a Sweet 16 for. Wants to be her mom. It's quite obvious she is the birth mom. This kind of movie has been done before - the birth mom coming back so besides the party planning element, I expected something different. The usual wacko elimination of various threats ensues and that is alright to watch. Too bad the ending is a let down - too straight forward. Some clever twist would have been better.

better than most lifetime movies

[NijazBaBs · 6/10 · 24 January 2020]

I liked the most in this movie confrontations, reactions, emotions. Meaning it has a ton of that stuff unlike low quality movies, from lifetime too, which are lacking such intense scenes that cause reaction in us too. Unpredictable somewhat. The only reason why this can't get more than 6 stars is because story has many missing parts like police and after the accidents scenes and lifetime movies are always low quality, for example can't be compared to more famous movies that usually have something extraordinary and rare, except crime. Meaning realistic but nothing extra to see compared to real life.

What a casting!

[telecartago · 1/10 · 13 February 2022]

Great casting: if you watch the real age of actors for the protagonist family.... The father was 9 years old when his daughter was born. The same for the mother, she was 10 years old.

In fact, the girl that us going yo have the 16 years birthday party, is... 28 years old.

Or course, I'm prepared for these B series: movies, bad actors, bad script, but this is too much.... The responsible of this is still laughing...sure.

Lifetime is ridiculous

[bklynprince · 2/10 · 2 November 2022]

I came across this on discovery plus and decided to watch it. Unfortunately, this is another rushed lifetime movie set in some unrealistic fantasy world.

The movie starts off fairly interesting enough, but becomes very dull and predictable. It feels like they dragged on the unnoticed psycho a bit too long, and then jumped the gun with everyone coming to the same conclusion. The mother and the drill team coach find themselves tied up in the psycho's house, but are able to free themselves. Instead of running out the door, like any sane person would, they stick around and look for a cellphone. So, of course, the party planner returns home with a gun. They sneak around this infinite spaced house, and play a game of hide and seek. The mother and coach find themselves outside the house, and again, instead of running they hangout right below a window. Coach is killed, the mother doesn't react and basically walks away. Now, the daughter whose party was in full swing, suddenly gets a weird feeling about this creepy adult lady who at one point served her alcohol and presented 1001 red flags. Why? Because she thought she saw the party planner using her moms phone. So, she leaves her party with her boyfriend, snow globe in hand for a weapon and the two rush to the party planners house. Too late for coach, but they're are able to save her mom. Boyfriend gets shot. The daughter hears the gun shot, and steps out to see her boyfriend laying there bleeding. She has the most uncaring reaction, and offers an "omg are you okay?" As homeboy is clearly bleeding. Lucky he was hit in the shoulder, the party planner claims to be the girls bio mom. Dad shows up too, and looks ridiculously stupid just standing there. Same song and dance with lifetime; if you adopt a child, be prepared for the birth mother to come back 16 years later to steal her child back. One month later, the art gallery is thriving. Nobody talks about how the original party planner was murdered, nobody talks about the coach being murdered, don't know where the dog that was stolen from the OG party planner after she killed her is, no closure on whether or not this psycho planner was truly the birth mom, or just absolutely insane on a whole different level. No police reports, no consequences, no investigations. The party planner / bio mom is dead. All is well and thriving in suburbia lol.

Idk

[tiffanylatrice · 3/10 · 8 May 2022]

First thing. I didn't see the actress who played a 16 year old as 16. I saw her more in her early 30s which threw the entire movie for me. Maybe the cast could pull off college but def not HS and certainly not 16.

Aside from that, how does she jump from not being able to have a kid to trying to take over a HS student as her own?

Surprisingly Good

[kyleallencole9 · 7/10 · 16 January 2020]

This new lifetime movie turned out to be pretty good. A woman (katrina begin) who can't have children, dispatches her wealthy husband who was planning to leave her and blames her for her condition. She currently is a party planner and comes in 2nd place for planning a woman's (McKeon) teen daughters sweet sixteen birthday party. First off, she quickly gets rid of the other party planner and is immediately hired. She becomes obsessed with making the teenage girl a daughter of her own and will eliminate anyone who stands in her way. This is a typical lifetime movie, but it is well made and entertaining .

A Party Pooper

[lavatch · 5/10 · 15 October 2020]

Young Kerry Anderson is looking forward to her coming out when she reaches the age of sixteen. Her doting mom Kayla, who is busy in running an art gallery, hires a party planner and gives a generous $2,000 budget for her daughter's party.

Unfortunately, the planner is just as deranged as any nanny ever to grace a Lifetime film. Lindy Shores murdered her Congressman husband when he was acting like Henry VIII in demanding that Lindy "do your job" and produce a child for him. Unfortunately, after giving one baby up for adoption, Lindy can no longer have children.

"Psycho Party Planner" was a by-the-numbers drama with the psycho Lindy seeking to reclaim her little, lost orphan for herself. There were two unfortunate casualties in the process of planning the party. Dulcie, who interviewed for the job and was the front-runner, was dispatched by Lindy. And the nice high school soccer coach, Marlow Meadows, was senselessly garrotted close to the finale.

One of the best characters in the film was Kayla, whose love for little Kerry was unconditional. The temper tantrum thrown by Kerry when she learned that she was adopted seemed strained, considering that the little princess was spoiled rotten. How many sixteen-year-olds have a $2,000 party thrown in their honor?

should check it

[arakirokuro · 6/10 · 29 August 2021]

Its an okey movie that ends pretty well. Check it out!!

Pretty good

[haroot_azarian · 27 February 2022]

Under the influence of psycho party planner Kerry almost lost her way! She lied about how much she had to drink considering she was giddy and slurring while being grilled by her mom! Also she was out of line with her reaction to finding out she was adopted! But she redeemed herself when she went back to her loving parents. And the ending was perfect! Oh and I agree with one contributor regarding the actors age differences. I mean don't they feel stupid playing parents and offsprings when they know their real age differences?! Oh and Marco? Learn your table manners and don't make slurpy noises when tou're wolfing down your bites!!!

Hilariously bad

[missraze · 2/10 · 23 June 2022]

I'm not going to bother putting together a professional sounding review because this film doesn't deserve that. If you want a summary or cast listing, go to the overview page; that's what imdb is for. Or go get the lifetime movie app like I did.

Anyway everything about this movie was a typical great lifetime movie, the typical guilty pleasure of perfect suburbanites in an uh-oh shaking up their perfect, pretty little world with beautiful homes and inspirational aesthetics and wardrobes. Most recent lifetime movies are so bad they're good, especially the Vivica A Fox and Eric Roberts ones. But this film was not endearingly cheesy.

First of all, I can't even pay attention and I'm annoyed. The lead damsel looks about THIRTY and has a full chest considering her size, but she's playing a 15 YEAR OLD. TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE TO OVERAGE AND OVERSEXUALIZE A TEEN CHILD ROLE BY CASTING A FULL BODIED GROWN WOMAN!!!! THAT IS RIDICULOUS!!! It's like those Chris Hansen To Catch A Predator things where the decoy is like a grown up with a bad wig playing a 13 year old victim.

Now...if I were a struggling 30 yr old actress, if my only opening was a teenage girl, I'D TAKE IT LOL. But still.

Also, the husband of the psycho planner looks like her SON. And the "teen's" dad looks annoyingly like a big brother instead.

Also, the mom and dad are kind of tan and healthy toned with tiny brown eyes and they're brunet but the daughter is rosy, washed out, big eyed, and blonde. The blonde, big eyed psycho planner should've played the mom, and vice versa. I can't even concentrate but I will try to. ***INCOMING SPOILER: THE "TEEN" WAS ADOPTED**** My other preceding and following points still stand outside of this paragraph. But FORESHADOWING is a good idea next time!!!

Also, the overly giddy, happy voices and cringe coy grins to make the lead actress look younger and innocent all have to go. I know the characters lives are perfect but my god, this isn't Disneyland. Chill out.

Looking through reviews, I can see other people point all this bad casting out as well. There's a movie called Rogers and Hammerstein Cinderella but a remake from the 90s with Whitney Houston and whoopi Goldberg and Victor Garber. Whoopi (black with dreadlocks) played the queen, Victor (white and LGBT in real life) played the king, and a clear east Asian played Prince Charming. Cinderella was played by a black woman, her evil stepmother and a stepsister were white and that stepsister looked clearly older than the mom, and Cinderella's other stepsister was black and looked like Cinderella's mom. No one looked alike in what became a world of unity to cancel out any racial biases in an innocent movie and also to promote diversity and representation. So no one looked like their role or trope and because it made no sense, viewers just ignored it and I know they did because no one mentioned it. But THIS movie is just purposelessly bad casting that makes no sense because they didn't bother and probably casted for personal reasons.

Also the rival candidate for the party planning "position" (it's a one time temporary brief assignment, not a position...) doesn't understand locked doors...does she? And she's MUCH bigger than the psycho planner, who's wearing stilettos not a Nike jumpsuit ready to fight. The planner's a-- could have been kicked easily.

Also, their life is so perfect but they don't have a maid or private chef. There's a gap. Too busy to plan a birthday party. Not to busy to make a full meal for the whole family every day and night. I'm not a perfect suburbanite so I don't know how the whole schedule and household dynamics thing works but...the way these characters are portrayed makes me think they'd have a maid and they don't. So either they need to, again, chill out with the overly happy thing, or the casting sucks and they're missing a maid. Or both. Hiring a planner for a kid's birthday party is child pop star stuff. This kid is just a suburban kid of a gallery owner. You don't need a party planner, little girl.

And why is the party planner killing over this literal gig...? A gig with a $2000 budget. And she doesn't get paid until it's over I would assume. It's not like this woman has an HR payroll office shelling out weekly payments lol and the budget means she's getting paid LESS than $2000 realistically. It's worth $2000, she should get paid a commission percentage that equals like a couple hundred probably, in the real world. Why stalk and kill over that. She owns her home, and she has to have savings. Come on. Also a $2000 budget...you need to hire someone for a party with a $2000 budget? The local monthly rent is probably more than that. $20,000, sure. I wouldn't be confused at all then! Plus the commission off that has to be like a few thousand. Seems more reasonable. Since this isn't a gig employed through an agency, she is only getting paid independently and who would pay anyone MORE than what the budget is when they're being cheap already.... But again I'm not a perfect suburbanite, so I don't know how they spend money.

Also...no sweet sixteen has just a $2000 budget. Your monthly groceries, your monthly commuting costs, and your monthly bills are probably more than $2000 total and those are just basic expenses. A grand "once in a lifetime" party with a DJ (as requested) and loads of friends, and I presume catering and printouts for invites or party decor, and a venue, and the dress and hair, trust me, is not $2000. What? I'm now looking at her pass out flyers. See? Just as I knew. You gotta pay for those to be made. I'm sure it's three figures alone considering the look and amount of flyers she had. Ugh.

And we're halfway through and I still have not seen a cop investigating her husband's death.

And why is the universe revolving around this girl's birthday party? She's not even popular?! She's an average kid at school! She's not even captain of the dance team?! And still why is this woman killing over it? Oh please spare me. As the movie progresses, it never makes sense. It's not even her 18th. That's certainly more important. Off to college (hopefully lol), a grown woman, moving out (shouldn't just yet but whatever)... Now THAT needs a party. But...again...I'm not a perfect suburbanite. So I don't know what's important to them.

The cheer coach calmly spills to the mom that she's having an affair with another coach at the school, but says in the next breath that she shouldn't trust her daughter around the party planner for threatening to expose said tryst and affair. Oooookay then. But again...I'm not a perfect suburbanite and unaware of what's important to them lol!

Ignoring all of the horrible...horrible details.. This is a good little film. I guess.

Good movie

[LaverneandShirleysucks · 8/10 · 27 April 2022]

For a Lifetime movie, this was a lot better done than their usual movies and I enjoyed it right to the climactic end. The only minor nitpick I have are the actress playing the girl having the sweet 16 party was pushing 30 in real life and that distracted a bit.

I'm sure there are tons of teenage actresses who could've done the part just as well, so why not hire one of them? Also, the actor who played her Dad could not act at all, but watching him try to act provided unintentional comic relief. On the flip side, the psycho party planner was definitely psycho and acted the part really well.

And that ending!....I don't like to spoil so i'll just leave it at that, but I thought it was good. I give it a solid 8.

Great acting

[hanna-oldenburg · 10/10 · 4 December 2020]

Katrina Begin is amazing in this film! I highly recommend watching it.