The Surrogate (2013)

Don't Believe the Hype

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Before the opening credits, an attractive young woman has a terrible fight with an older man. She kicks him in the goody holders and drives away… After the credits, we meet cute college professor Cameron Mathison (as Jacob Kelly). He is obviously not the man in the opening. Also a famous novelist, Mr. Mathison is happily married to attractive realtor Annie Wersching (as Allison). Due to health and age concerns, Ms. Wersching is unable to bear children. She has, luckily, one viable frozen embryo left in the fridge. The only thing left for Mathison and Wersching to do is find a surrogate for their baby. This being a "Lifetime" TV movie, you know what that means...Drooling over Mathison, Amy Scott (as Katherine "Kate" Randall) maneuvers her way into a job at the college. The young woman we meet in the violent opening minutes, Ms. Scott is determined to be selected as "The Surrogate" and carry Mathison's child. Surrogate mothers are marvelous foil for psycho TV movie women. This story follows a predictable formula, but adds some events you're not likely to predict, especially during the last minutes. A pregnant woman shown "water breaking" has become acceptable viewing on US TV, but director Doug Campbell and his crew top it off with an astonishing and wacky look at what could possibly follow that function.***** The Surrogate (1/1/13) Doug Campbell ~ Cameron Mathison, Amy Scott, Annie Wersching, Matthew Alan

Script is far fetched that anything could actually happen in reality. A nice couple want a child through a surrogate, who is sweet and excited about the request. Enter a bimbo who is just a bitch in all ways. She drugs the surrogate and kills her. Then pursues being the surrogate instead. The actress is so bad that she never convinces us anything but that she is pure rotten to the core. So after 2 hours of watching this bimbo's bad acting we are forced to go through the trauma the couple go through, And of course the husband is not the brightest victim. Typical LMN where women have the upper hand and the guys are stupid.

A couple hires a surrogate named Remy, things don't work out so well with her. Kate, a co-worker of Jake's, asks to be the new surrogate. I enjoyed the movie, but it was not without many flaws. The script requires the wife, Allison, to be the kind of idiotic character that you end up being unable to root for at any point. Cameron is always good, so no problems there, but his character is slightly annoying here. Kate, the psycho, is the kind of psycho that they want you to feel sorry for; but I did not. Sorry. Not going to happen. The woman is a killer, and likely a "rapist", that is what a man would be called if he pulled the stunt that Kate pulled on Jake. Mind you they didn't show the scenes, but there is no way Jake was able to put Kate off the idea of sex for at least six months when she was "in love" with him and wanted to get started right away.