LMN
The Lifetime network has had a string of popular ‘Secret Life of…’ movies, including the recent ones with a Surgeon’s Wife and a Dean’s Wife, so it was a bit odd that the latest film in the series, Secret Life of My Other Wife, would be shuffled over to sister network LMN — perhaps to widen the reach of the franchise, but it also fits in with this month’s ‘Unhappily Ever After’ theme.
Emma Johnson stars as Bliss, a waitress at a local greasy spoon somewhere in Utah not far from Salt Lake City. One day on the job, she’s harassed by a customer and she gives him some what for so the irate man comes back after closing to assault Bliss as she’s getting into her car. Out of nowhere comes a man who steps in to save the day, and he and the shaken Bliss return to the diner to let her nerves settle. As they talk, Bliss is kind of taken with the stranger, Nathan (Giles Panton), who is undeniably handsome and knows how to speak in a way that his relationship status doesn’t seem completely nutty. Nathan puts it out there that he’s interested in getting to know Bliss more, but she’s puzzled by his story of having a wife (or two) but still being completely free to pursue another relationship. Intrigued she agrees to visit his home where she meets actual wife Lauren (Alana Hawley Purvis) and second wife (not legally) Jenna. Jenna gives Bliss a warm welcome, but Lauren is anything but, advising Bliss that this lifestyle is not for her and she should not even consider moving in. After Bliss meets Nathan’s son Matt (Axel Mars Django Hansen), who greets her with his William Tell act by shooting an arrow just past her head to prove he’s got perfect air, you’d think Bliss would be having second thoughts, but despite Matt’s and Lauren’s behavior, Bliss decides to move in. Also because she got fired from the diner and has nowhere to go and, apparently, no money.
Nathan and Jenna welcome Bliss, and Lauren is still being as mean to her as she can — but has sudden 180 turns in her attitude that seem … forced — and she bonds with Jenna in the kitchen. But there is more trouble as a man named Carl (Benjamin J Stevens) had approached Bliss while she was still working at the diner to warn her about Nathan because his sister Anna was also one of his wives, and he hasn’t heard from her in over a year. Bliss also happens to resemble Anna, but Bliss has never heard the name mentioned. Carl threatens to reveal Bliss’ own secrets (her name is Jen and she left her hometown after being caught stealing to get money to pay for her mother’s healthcare) if she doesn’t do some digging to find out what happened to Anna. At the compound, Lauren had laid down some ground rules for Bliss, and one of them was to never go into the hay loft. Of course, first chance she gets she goes into the hay loft (because Matt had offered to teach her how to shoot a bow and arrow but she needed a lighter one so Anna’s was up in the hay loft if she could find it) and discovers a suitcase full of Anna’s clothes and a jewelry box containing a locket given to her by her mother, something Carl says she would have never parted with. After Lauren catches Bliss in the loft, she has to confess why she was there and spills the beans about her past before Carl can. Nathan assures all of the women that Anna is fine and he has a voice mail to prove it. He even tells Bliss to invite Carl to the house so he can prove it to him as well, and it almost seems like everyone is buying the explanation … that is until Bliss does more digging, finds an address hidden behind the picture in the locket (Carl let her keep it in case Anna came back), discovers she had a hidden bank account that she was going to use to start a shelter for women in need, and Carl is killed by a hit and run driver in Salt Lake City. Not thrilled that Bliss has uncovered her ‘husband’s’ secrets and now suspects he killed Anna, Bliss is chained to her bed. Lauren comes to bring her some food (hopefully not laced with strawberries as Bliss is allergic to them … and had nearly died earlier when Lauren slipped some strawberries into her frozen fruit smoothie mix) and Bliss tries to appeal to her that Nathan is up to no good and if she and Jenna don’t help her, she’s going to end up like Anna. Will the wives turn on Nathan, or will Bliss be joining Anna buried somewhere on the vast acreage of Nathan’s farm?
LMN
Secret Life of My Other Wife has an interesting premise that does its best to dance around the whole polygamy issue, setting the story in Utah but completely avoiding any of the Fundamentalist religious aspects that usually come with polygamous lifestyle. Nathan is just painted as a guy who doesn’t trust the outside world and he’s trying to create this ‘safe haven’ for the women he loves, and he is free to love as many women as he wants. It becomes clear, though, that he is manipulating and grooming these women to be subservient to him, resorting to intimidation and violence if need be. Nathan is written as a man who can be very seductive with his words, speaking in such a way that makes everything about his lifestyle seem perfectly normal. And he’s so dashing and seductive that he could probably even lure men to the compound to be his husbands if he wanted (and his farm hand Alex is just as devoted to Nathan as the women but he claims it’s because his boss pays well). The screenplay by Kim Hornsby and Steve Turner manages to make Nathan a magnetic character, while keeping both Bliss and Lauren strong-willed women who acquiesce to him just enough, but never fall totally under his spell (though Bliss does finally give in on having a baby, but is still bothered by the nagging questions surrounding Anna’s disappearance). Unfortunately, there are quite a few questions left unanswered. We never really know if Nathan targeted Bliss. Had he been to the diner hoping to find his next ‘wife’? It is made clear, or at least Bliss believes it to be so, that Nathan orchestrated her firing so she would have to move in with him. Was the man who assaulted her also on Nathan’s payroll? Also, when Bliss asks for some money to go out and buy a new pair of jeans, Nathan insists that she go through Anna’s left behind clothing, obviously not wanting her to leave the ranch, while at other times she seems free to come and go as she wants, as does Lauren, but Jenna … just disappears for long stretches of the story. Her main purpose seems to be the cook so perhaps she’s always out on grocery runs? It’s a decent story over all, but you have to look past those inconsistencies in the plot.
Emma Johnson does a nice job as Bliss, obviously a strong woman who is working hard to keep her secrets to herself, and even though she does begin to slip into the ‘sister wife’ lifestyle, she never completely crosses over, always aware of things around her, and never afraid to confront Nathan or Lauren. Giles Panton is perfect as Nathan, keeping him perfectly level emotionally even when Bliss begins to get too close to the truth about Anna, but turning frighteningly violent when he’s reached his limit. This violent streak is always just bubbling below the surface, and the other women know this so that’s how he keeps them in line. But when he’s speaking in his normal tone, it isn’t difficult to see why people can fall under his spell. Alana Hawley Purvis is excellent as Lauren. Right off the bat, she’s stern with Bliss but as the story progresses it becomes clear that she’s not being a bitch for the sake of being a bitch, she’s trying to keep Bliss from making a terrible mistake by moving in. Even the strawberry incident is more of a warning shot than an actual attempt on Bliss’ life as she is right there with the epi-pen to save her. Through her performance, while she seems devoted to Nathan, it’s clear that she lives in fear of his temper, which we also see when Bliss rats on her. It’s nice that she gets some redemption at the end. Teagan Vincze gives Jenna a total ‘Stepford Wife’ vibe, seeming to always be on Nathan’s side, trying to assure Bliss that Lauren isn’t really as bad as she seems, but there is always just that little bit of fear also under the skin of her performance as well. For Jenna, she’s trying to maintain the status quo, to keep life at the compound on an even keel so Nathan doesn’t lash out. Benjamin J Stevens makes Carl a bit overbearing and much too threatening, more threatening than Nathan, as he almost bullies Bliss into doing his bidding to find out what happened to his sister, but then he seems to buy Nathan’s explanation all too easily, readily handing over the locket in the hope that she returns. (Of course that was a convenient plot device so Bliss could find the mysterious address inside the locket.) The excellent performances of the cast manage to elevate the story, making the movie better than it should be. It’s not perfect, but it is gripping enough to hold your attention as long as you don’t ask too many question.
Secret Life of My Other Wife has a run time of 1 hour 27 minutes, and is rated TV-14.