The Rival (TV Movie 2006)

The Rival: Directed by Douglas Jackson. With Tracy Nelson, Linden Ashby, Heather Tom, Barbara Niven. A couple unable to have children enlist the aid of a surrogate, only for the wife to be driven to insanity and murder by her paranoia.

“Tracy Nelsonu0026#39;s character is nuttier than the proverbial fruitcake. Of course, these Lifetime flicks largely rely upon a whacked-out lead character who makes others miserable, commits mayhem and murder, and provides a dark shroud which largely dominates the story.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTracy and her hubby need a surrogate, and finally find one who suits them and is willing to live in their spacious house during the nine-month pregnancy. Tracy seems to be obsessed with this live-in arrangement, and then makes everyone miserable with her jealousies, and the musings of her aunt, who is as crazy and sociopathic as she is. She offs Auntie, as well as her therapist, who becomes suspicious — but the aunt continues to push her even further into total lunacy from the dreams and visions which appear throughout.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs par for these flicks, the husband, while apparently a successful and authoritative businessman, schleps around like he has doubled his dose of downers, and as perceptively as if he possessed an IQ in two digits.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll-in-all, itu0026#39;s hard to care an iota about any of these folks, and Tracyu0026#39;s paranoiac and bipolar rantings, interspersed with whiny pleadings, are about as annoying as anything ever put on film. The rest of the cast does little or nothing to lessen this annoyance. In fact, the aunt only compounds it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe only minor positive aspect in watching this flick was a minimal fascination from its awfulness overall, coupled with watching Tracy and the aunt gnaw the scenery like a bevy of hungry beavers, amidst their thoroughly laconic fellow cast members.”