Laurel's Moment of Zen

Now, as some of you may know, it's hasn't always been easy since I gave up my cable last year. (My cable was sacrificed in the hopes that I would save money and read more. While I have saved some money, getting through both US Weekly and In Touch magazines every week wasn't exactly what I meant by "reading more.") Anyway, the hardest part of letting my cable go was losing my beloved Lifetime network. (Television for women as some of you may call it.) I haven't seen a thriller with Tori Spelling in it for over a year. There has been no abused but triumphant Lindsay Wagner in my life. And, perhaps most painful of all, I haven't watched Patty Duke struggle with a mental illness, try to find a child she gave up for adoption, overcome an addiction, or donate an organ to a dying family member in 14 months and 22 days. Luckily for me, some of this changed last night. While I was wandering through my local Big Lots (the closeout superstore), I stumbled upon a DVD collection that must have been meant for me. There, in all of their hastily packaged glory, were some of my very favorite Lifetime offerings, and, best of all, they came at the bargain price of $1.50 per movie. Yes, I know. Can you believe it? Can you even burn a DVD, design a label for it, and shrinkwrap it for the production cost of $1.50? Sure, these aren't those fancy shmancy "special features" or "widescreen" DVDs, but what would you put on the special features of Lifetime movies to begin with? "Farrah Fawcett's Approach to Method Acting"? How Tracey Gold "researched" eating disorders? And, sure, these DVDs were in cardboard envelopes rather than actual cases, but I didn't care. I could finally get my Lifetime fix without paying for cable. The rush of euphoria I felt was even better than the first time I got to spend all day with the Lifetime Movie Network. After all, my movies had gone from 2 hours (on regular Lifetime), to 1:45 (on the Lifetime Movie Network), to 1:15 thanks to the glory of the commercial-free discount DVD. One word: heaven. I ended up buying 4 movies. Some of the selections at Big Lots were too played out - even for me. I mean, there are only so many times I can witness the exposive on screen chemistry that is Justine Bateman and Richard Dean Anderson (a.k.a. MacGyver) in "In the Eyes of a Stranger." Last night before bed, I popped in a little something called "The Deadly Look of Love." It stars Miss Jordan Ladd, who I can only hope is the struggling actress daughter of Cheryl Ladd (who we all know I enjoyed in such crowdpleasers as "Every Mother's Worst Fear" and "Her Best Friend's Husband"), and Mr. Vincent Spano who you might remember from such stellar performances as Matt in the ensemble drama "Indian Summer" and....well, that's about it. Vincent Spano, as Brett, seduces Jordan Ladd, as Janet, not realizing that his small town girl on the side is actually - yes, you guessed it - a homicidal woman scorned. Casualty upon casualty ensues. I particularly liked the strong use of dialogue on the writer's part. At one point, Brett, in his leather jacket sitting atop the hood of his red sports car, tells Janet, "I'm not going to try to put the moves on you. You're different. You're special." 2 scenes later, Brett and Janet are doing it in a motel room. If by "special," Brett meant "just like 17 year olds with no good prospects for the future on prom night" or "philandering real estate agents," then, yes, he nailed it. Unfortunately for Brett, who will later admit to being engaged to someone else, he has no idea that Janet keeps a chain bracelet with the wedding rings of all the married boyfriends she's murdered. Ah, I suppose Janet's rapturous gaze truly is "The Deadly Look of Love."