Brazen is Netflix's latest original movie, starring Alyssa Milano, based on a novel by Nora Roberts. It's an, ahem, attempt at murder mystery with romance undertones. Here's a spoiler-free review.
What's It About?
Milano plays Gracie Miller, a well-known murder mystery author with a knack for getting inside the mind of the serial killer. But fiction becomes reality when her sister turns up murdered.
Kathleen, the sister, is an English schoolteacher going through a messy divorce with a rich, powerful soon-to-be ex husband. But she has a secret.
Behind her padlocked doors in the attic isn't just a crazy wine stash. It's a red light room where she performs as a dominatrix to paying clientele through a company called Fantasy Inc. As a local teacher, it's probably something she doesn't want getting out. But who would want her dead?
Luckily (I guess?) for Gracie, solving the murder is basically right up her alley. Even better? She gets to team up with next-door-neighbor-hottie, Ed, who also happens to be a local homicide detective. Imagine that! Oh, and he also happens to be a huge Gracie Miller book fan. Oh, and they also already went on a date that went swimmingly well before events took a turn for the worse.
The rest of the movie plays out as Gracie gets to live out a reality from her books by teaming up with the local police force to solve the murder.
Watch It Or Not?
I'm not quite sure if I would label this is bad trash, or really bad trash. Good for all you Alyssa Milano fans out there, but I've never seen the appeal. I would probably would have given this some air time on Hallmark or Lifetime but stopped there.
For a murder mystery, the film had virtually no surprises or twists. You can see who the murderer is from a mile away. The dialogue was dull and inventive, and the plot lines so predictably cheesy I couldn't help but feel embarrassed for myself as I watching it.
There was no real connection established between the sisters, where their familial bonds stem from. And before you know, Kathleen is already murdered in her home. The idea of hot neighbor for single woman Gracie to while on the hunt for her sister's murderer who also happens to be a detective just made me want to laugh.
I'm not sure if the book did better than the film, but we're talking 50 Shades of Grey, meets the Lifetime channel. With a title like "Brazen", there is absolutely nothing brazen about this film.
Spend your time elsewhere.
