A Lifetime thriller about an 18-year-old former foster kid who takes a job as an au pair for a wealthy family with secrets, The Seemingly Perfect Family leans heavily into melodrama and predictable twists, though the unexpected airplane storyline makes it slightly more entertaining than the average Lifetime movie.
I watch all kinds of movies all the time, but for some reason, I find myself watching Lifetime movies more often than I would have expected. I’ve seen a bunch and none of them are particularly good, but some are definitely better than others. For example, I Was Octomom: The Natalie Suleman Story and Stolen Baby: The Murder of Heidi Broussard are WAY better than Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story. It doesn’t really matter, because at the end of the day, most use the same formula, and I guess I’m a glutton for punishment because I keep coming back for more.
The Seemingly Perfect Family is about 18-year-old Lexi, a young woman who is losing her place in foster care and with her mother in jail, has nowhere to go. After overhearing another young woman talk about an interview with a family to be their au pair, Lexi takes the meeting instead, getting room and board while expected to take care of the baby. Wife Chelsea is very demanding and thinks her husband, Daniel, is interested in Lexi, but things go awry when everyone’s true colors come out.
The first thing that I have to note is that I found this movie on Netflix’s Top 10 list. My initial thought was, “How did this movie get here? Maybe it’s actually good? Or maybe everyone is doom watching?” After watching it myself, I’m wondering who paid a guy at Netflix.
This is a low-budget, predictable film that follows the roadmap of most other Lifetime movies. From the beginning, you generally know how it has to end, but this movie has one extra nuance that makes it a bit more compelling.
Daniel is a pilot and a flight instructor. During the first half of the film, he takes Lexi up in his small plane and encourages her to take a turn flying. This is his job after all, so once she is comfortable, she tries it. I’ve never seen one of these movies incorporate a plane before, and although you know that there has to be some kind of callback here, it’s something different.
Even though the acting is over-the-top, the mother in jail seems to be the most innocent party, and it’s visually uninteresting, The Seemingly Perfect Family may be just the soap opera you’re looking for. It’s ridiculous, and you shouldn’t expect anything else, but I’ve seen worse.
Runtime: 87 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: TV-13
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? No
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 2/5 Stars
Available: Free on Netflix and Lifetime, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
I watch all kinds of movies all the time, but for some reason, I find myself watching Lifetime movies more often than I would have expected. I’ve seen a bunch and none of them are particularly good, but some are definitely better than others. For example, I Was Octomom: The Natalie Suleman Story and Stolen Baby: The Murder of Heidi Broussard are WAY better than Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story. It doesn’t really matter, because at the end of the day, most use the same formula, and I guess I’m a glutton for punishment because I keep coming back for more.
