Giving a formulaic thriller this title is an act of wishful thinking, but as middlebrow trash goes, this “psycho ex from hell” tale isn’t bad—or at least no worse than it’s supposed to be. Web publisher Julia (Rosario Dawson) is engaged to gentleman David (Geoff Stults), whose bitter ex-wife Tessa (Katherine Heigl) is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. Tessa uses her and David’s young daughter as an excuse to micromanage and second-guess Julia, while plotting to get rid of her. Heigl is well cast as a soap opera villain, with the perfect mien for a character who drinks red wine in the dark while impersonating her rival on Facebook, but movies where the crazy person tells insane lies and the innocent person doesn't try hard enough to explain the truth are so frustrating.
By
Eric D. Snider