The Wrong Daughter
After her brush with the law Ellen Plainview (Danica McKellar - Coming Home for Christmas) has put herself through law school and is now a lawyer, making sure the innocent don't go through the trauma that she went through. She is also dealing with the fact that her daughter, Julie (Paige Searcy), is growing up and will be heading off to college soon. But there are more pressing issues to deal with when Julie is arrested for the murder of a teacher, Mr. Dutton (Andrew Bongiorno - Finding Normal), with his wife claiming Julie had been having an affair with her husband and had been harassing him. With the horror of her own brush with the law coming back whilst having to deal with the harsh Detective Hamer (Jaleel White - The Santa Con) once again, Ellen must find a way to prove that her daughter didn't do it.
A mom has to deal with her daughter being charged with murder and doing everything she can to try and prove she didn't do it. Of course as she tries to prove her daughter innocent she not only learns that her daughter had been keeping secrets from her but when ever she questions her daughter it creates tension between them as issues of trust surface as well as pent up feelings on the daughter's side. All of which is pretty standard stuff in the world of TV movies except in the case of "Mommy, I Didn't Do It" this is a sequel to "The Wrong Woman" with Danica McKellar returning to the role of Ellen Plainview. As such there is some continuation included into the story such as Ellen's relationship to Ben, played by Jonathan Bennett. In fact this almost feels like it isn't just a sequel but a made for TV movie which is laying some ground work to make way for more movies featuring Ellen Plainview and Ben as a crime solving duo.
The thing about "Mommy, I Didn't Do It" is that it is one of those movies which even if you are a fan of TV movies you need to be in the right mood to watch. The reason being that this is a movie where everyone has a tendency to over act be it Danica McKellar when as Ellen she tears witnesses apart in the courtroom or when Julie's friend shows up at their home and tells her he knows she didn't do it. It doesn't matter how much you like Danica McKellar because the over the top performances of her and others makes "Mommy, I Didn't Do It", at times, a little groan worthy. It also means that whilst there is the mystery of who the killer is that isn't always the focus and certainly doesn't contribute to any atmosphere or tension.
What this all boils down to is that "Mommy, I Didn't Do It" is likely to appeal to those who enjoyed "The Wrong Woman". But for those who like their thrillers a little more subtle and less over the top might find this a bit too groan worthy at times.
