The Perfect Neighbor (2005) Barbara Niven, Perry King, Susan Blakely, Linda Darlow, Lila Bata-Walsh, Anna Silk, Tori Hammond Movie Review

The Perfect Neighbor (2005)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Barbara Niven in The Perfect Neighbor (2005)

Neighborly Attraction

Donna Germaine (Barbara Niven - Stranger in My Bed) has a secret, she murdered the man she was having an affair with when he decided he didn't want her anymore and was returning to his wife. It is why she leaves Kansas and heads across country to live with her aunt, Grace (Linda Darlow - Beyond Obsession). Unsurprisingly it doesn't take Donna long to become infatuated with William Costigan (Perry King - The Perfect Wife), the handsome executive who lives next door with his wife, Jeannie (Susan Blakely - Crash Point Zero), and daughter, Trish (Lila Bata-Walsh). And as Donna cooks up a scheme to seduce William she is convinced she can steal him as she not only learns that a few years back William and Jeannie had marriage issues but she can see that William isn't averse to some flirting, especially with his attractive new assistant Ashley (Anna Silk).

So yes "The Perfect Neighbor" is not only another movie in the collection of made for TV movies which start with "The Perfect..." but another where we have a woman who ends up being incredibly dangerous when she becomes obsessed with a man. As such there is an incredibly obvious side to "The Perfect Neighbor" as we watch Donna not only getting carried away with a romantic fantasy but we also see that she is both scheming and deadly. And yes that means not only does Donna plan to destroy the Costigan's marriage but she will remove other obstacles from her way even if means murdering them.

Susan Blakely in The Perfect Neighbor (2005)

But there is a side to "The Perfect Neighbor" which is actually semi decent and that is the back story which explains Donna's penchant for married men. We learn that as a child the father she doted on left and not only does she blame her mother for him leaving but seeks someone who is just as good as her daddy was and so that means married men. But what also works is that Barbara Niven really sells those scenes where she loses it, be it fantasising about William or when she sets about removing someone who realises what she is up to.

What this all boils down to is that "The Perfect Neighbor" is just another in a long line of made for TV movies about someone who becomes dangerously obsessed with a married man. But thanks to Barbara Niven this one ends up a lot more watchable than some.


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