Anna Hutchison

(In French, On TV, December 2021) If you thought Lifetime-broadcast romantic comedies were ludicrous, you clearly haven’t seen their thrillers yet. I was drawn to Killer Reputation for its Hollywood setting and subject matter: the premise has something to do with a PR professional defending an actor from accusations of murder despite tabloid TV scrutiny and another killer on the loose. That’s not a bad premise, actually, but doing it justice would mean much better dialogue, directing and acting than we get here. It would also mean focusing on suspense thriller elements rather than having danger and murder being mere pretext for a romantic triangle between the protagonist and two dangerous men. Oh that’s right — Killer Reputation may present itself as a thriller, but in Lifetime channel tradition it’s solidly a romance. Accordingly, the plotting is incredibly weak, and the threats ludicrous — by the time a character somehow finds herself in a carbon monoxide trap, we’re there wondering how that happens more than being concerned for her safety. (She gets rescued before the next commercial break anyway.)  Despite the lead character’s protests of being a professional, everything about her actions screams romantic contrivances (the biggest being hosting a fugitive in her own house). The ending is trite to the point of being irritating, with very little surprise as to what happens. No one associated with the film gets a badge of honour: Director Ben Meyerson gets the thing done, hopefully on budget, while lead actress Anna Hutchison can apparently hit her marks and not much more. The Los Angeles-setting isn’t particularly inspiring, and there’s no real look behind the scenes of the Hollywood ecosystem. Considering the pedigree of Killer Reputation, I shouldn’t be disappointed… and yet the result simply doesn’t satisfy.