***MAJOR SPOILERS*** Supposedly based on a true story the made for TV movie "Engaged to kill" is so off the wall and unbelievable that, if in fact it did happen in real life, it goes to prove the famous saying that "Truth is in fact stranger then Fiction".The movie starts off with a run of the mill kidnapping of pediatrician Abby Lord who's kidnapper demands from her husband-luxury boat salesman-Robert a cool million dollars if he even want's to see his wife alive again. Not going to the police but going broke in rustling up the ransom Robert together with his 14 year-old son Corey drop off the cash, in an out of the way garbage can, in the designated spot that the kidnapper told him to. Whaterver believability the movie had up until then totally evaporated with the actions of both the kidnapped victim and the kidnapper.Abby, who was supposed to be released anyway, makes her escape from the kidnapper's trailer with the kidnapper's girlfriend Sally getting killed, by falling out of the trailer and getting crushed, in trying to prevent her from escaping. It's then that the kidnapper decides to get even not only with Abby but her entire family by secretly bankrupting them as well as causing Abby to lose her job at the hospital! This is all done by the kidnapper getting Abby's patients with the help of his accomplice-Sullivan- to accuse her of malpractice.****SPOILER*** It's when the kidnapper, whom were not supposed to know who he is, finally shows up on the scene it becomes obvious just what he's planning to do. Get in good by being Abby's daughter's, Maddy, boyfriend and destroy the Lord family from within! Of course this sleazy and smirking lowlife isn't up to accomplishing his mission by himself he has help in this mindless goon-Sullivan-that he hired to do most of the dirty, as well as murders, for him!Everything is so predictable, especially the identity of the kidnapper, that there's no suspense at all in the movie. The only thing that surprises you is just how ridicules the kidnapper was and how he was able fool, among his victims, anyone in the first place. I for one couldn't understand the attachment he had to his airhead girlfriend Sally since he used her, like he did everyone else in the movie, for his own advantage and nothing more. As for the Lord family it was only Abby who finally got the drop on him but not in her realizing that he was in fact the person who kidnapped her! But in Abby finding the smirking psycho playing- a game of internet poker- with her son's Cory's personal computer! The ending of the movie was a totally mindless confrontation between the kidnapper with both Abby and her daughter Maddy whom he planned to slice up and force Abby to watch bleed to death. It's then that the crazed lunatic for no reason at all, but just to show how crazy he is, dropped his gun only to end up getting clobbered, with a polo stick, and put to sleep until the police came to finally put him away!

I watch this movie each time it is repeated on Lifetime. I thought it was engaging to watch with all the ups and downs the family went through. I do agree however that some of the editing did not make sense, and some of the plot lines were left hanging. With this being a true story about Abby Lord, I felt the movie concentrated too much on the daughter and not that of Abby and family. I initially watched it the first time because Joe Lando (who played Sully on Dr Quinn) was in it. I recognized others in the movie as I watched it. The one who plays Nick was also in the movie Vampire Wars with Joe Lando. I recommend this movie to anyone who likes true stories with happy endings. It is no worse than any other made for TV movie on Lifetime, but better than some.

I probably should just desist from commenting on this flick. The few previous comments which commend it have high approval marks from those accessing them, except for the one from overseas, which was 0-for-11 previously.However, I caught this film on a Friday after a pretty hectic week, and with a busy weekend approaching, so just laid back for a couple of hours mid-day.I did miss the kidnapping portion, but not difficult to infer what had occurred there, and with other comments - and was understandable that family would be a bit spooked and on-edge following.Still, there wasn't a single character with whom I could empathize or sympathize, and the twerp who entered their lives as the obnoxious daughter's love interest (Nick) was too insipid for me believe him capable of his chicanery. The lead couple, including "Abby," who was commended elsewhere, were a weak pair.And the whole nonsense regarding the financial transactions, the compromising of the father's credit card via internet poker, the ease with which Abby's reputation as a physician was besmirched, was all presented on the level of the silliest of soap opera fare.The back-and-forth emotional exchanges among the family members, in every possible one-on-one combination, or en masse, were also on the level of those seen in the weakest "soap" episodes.The snail's pace with which the police finally got some hard information was unbelievable - even given the ineptitude of the cops on most Lifetime fare.By the time things got to the inevitable 10 minutes or so of climax and revelation, I don't see how anyone could possibly care.(If you wished to insert something illustrating an example of the word "schlep" in a time capsule for future generations, a DVD of this flick would suffice. These folks - without exception - schlepped around throughout this story, from beginning to end.)The only thing raising this presentation from 1* to 2 is that the quality of production was better than most.

I watched Engaged to Kill while I was traveling, and happened upon it while channel surfing in my hotel room. I quickly became engrossed in the plot, and enjoyed the suspense, and this movie was SUSPENSEFUL, beginning to end. The fact that it was based on a true story prompted me to do a bit of Googling about the real-life story.The cast was recognizable, which was what initially caught my eye. The storyline was well planned, and the end was very satisfying. It's on again on June 11, and since I watched on a crummy hotel T.V. I plan to watch it again. Engaged to Kill was better than most T.V. movies. I enjoyed it.