V.C. Andrews’ Dawn Review: Cutthroat Cutlers, Granny Dearest & Sexy Bro Woes

Oh sure, Lifetime is again overlaying one other V.C. Andrews Saga.

And we’re again with our evaluations of this utter insanity. We’re kicking off the cutthroat Cutlers saga with V.C. Andrews’ Dawn this time.

And the generational battle of the badass blonds was deliciously epic and entertaining.

It would not be a V.C. Andrews particular with out scandalous household secrets and techniques, shady wealthy folks, incestual relationships value side-eying, and deliciously evil girls.

But dare one say they had been pretty gentle on a few of these issues, which was a little bit of a shock.

Another shock was simply how pleasant Dawn Longchamp Cutler (?) was as a protagonist.

No offense to among the different V.C. Andrews’ girlies, ahem, HEAVEN, let’s be actual, it is freaking Heaven, however for probably the most half, Dawn no less than appeared like she had full management of the mind cell always, should you catch my drift.

The woman was sassy, savvy, fearless, and undeniably fierce.

Listen, Brec Bassinger was fabulous on this position, and her efficiency is value wanting ahead to for the next three components of this film occasion.

Bassinger had a frightening process forward of her taking part in off towards the iconic Donna Mills, however rattling if she did not maintain her personal!

A woman may watch these two fabulous girls play off each other for hours! Every scene they shared collectively had me dipping into my popcorn bowl, eyes glued to the display.

Their fixed recreation of backwards and forwards and energy battle was actually on the heart of this movie, and it was all the higher for it as a result of Dawn and Lillian had been simply enjoyable to look at.

Everyone else was taking part in checkers whereas these two girls had been taking part in chess, and it was evident that nobody had ever challenged the HBIC that’s Lillian Cutler.

By the top of the movie, she even revered Dawn for having the gumption to carry her personal towards her. Dawn had that Longchamp sweetness to her at the beginning of the film, however she proved to have a ruthless, cutthroat Cutler streak, too.

In our Brec Bassinger interview, we spoke about how freaking fierce Dawn was, and there was no scarcity of that as we watched her go from a seemingly candy, loving woman from the fallacious facet of the tracks going through off towards snobby brats to combating for her life in that lodge of horrors.

Life was okay for Dawn, besides she and her household had been hovering on the poverty line and bounced round often as her sizzling Zaddy chased after new jobs.

Speaking of the recent zaddy in query, it got here as a hell of a actuality verify that Jesse Metcalfe may simply casually play the lumberjack daddy of an adolescent. When did that occur?

The solely factor extra distracting than processing that John Tucker himself was even sufficiently old to tug off this position was that obnoxious Bostonian accent of his.

But alas, a woman may ignore it as a result of he pulled off the bearded ’70s look fairly properly.

Ormand appeared cool sufficient, only a bit naive about every little thing round him. He was a loving household man, hardworking and fairly, however only a smidge dumb AF.

When you are by some means concerned within the disappearance of a fairly, wealthy blonde woman, the very last thing it’s best to do is go wherever close to the place the deed occurred. I’m 100% “Free Ormand,” and would fortunately get a t-shirt made, however I want Ormand to be wiser about his decisions is all.

They had “Wanted” posters of Ormand and Sally plastered on bulletin boards. They ought to’ve hauled ass as quickly as they realized their children had been on the similar faculty because the Cutlers.

Ormand additionally royally screwed up by not dragging Sally kicking and screaming to the hospital when her cough obtained critical, they usually would not have needed to fear about her dying from tuberculosis.

Even within the ’70s, healthcare sucked for poor folks.

But even Sally’s dying did not come as a shock because the solely characters that fare worse in these collection than walking-dead mothers are the random infants and youthful siblings who disappear into oblivion, by no means to be seen or heard from once more.

What’s the over/beneath on us ever seeing Fern once more?

They positively stayed on Dawn’s neck with this one when you think about from the time her mom died — she was on a gentle path of all of the sh*t getting thrown at her directly with actually no time to course of a single rattling factor.

Sally wasn’t even chilly but, and Ormand was getting hauled to jail, and a few detective dropped Dawn off on the Cutler residence like he was doing our woman a rattling favor.

And, positive, possibly on the floor, it will seem to be a dream come true to be taught that you’ve got risen from squalor to filthy wealthy, however hell, they had been nonetheless treating Dawn just like the literal assist your entire film, and he or she did not even get to bond with any of her newfound household.

Before we realized that Lillian had organized for Dawn’s disappearance so she would not be a stain on the household identify, one puzzled why they even bothered having her return to that place!

They had NO love for Genny from the Block. From the second she stepped foot out of that automotive, it was evident that she may’ve stayed “dead.”

In all of their minds, she smelled like poor, could as properly have been raised by wolves, and did not belong of their household in any respect.

Dawn had no transition interval and went into this home of vipers with out assist.

Clara Jean hated her, and never even studying that they had been siblings helped in any capability. Dawn needed to go from attending faculty with the Mean Girl who bullied her to residing along with her.

Strangely sufficient, Clara Jean would simply often float in to fire up the alternative of fine hassle after which disappear once more and total simply lacked actual presence.

She rocked the pigtails properly, however it will’ve been good to have a greater thought of how she ticked and even know what she contributed to the lodge since Lillian insisted everybody needed to work in some capability.

It did not seem to be Clara Jean was beneath Lillian’s thumb like everybody else, however so far as plot units go, she did what she needed to do.

Philip did not have any actual reference to anybody outdoors of Dawn.

Thankfully, not like different protagonists, Dawn didn’t let her hoo-ha rule her, and her man-picker wasn’t damaged past restore.

We can forgive her for the preliminary attraction to Philip. Baby Boy had that timeless sort of hotness that is enticing in each decade.

He was alleged to be serving us ’70s hotness, and he did, however he additionally had that comparable “bad boy” look that might’ve had of us weak within the knees within the ’80s, ’90s, and a very unsure time through the early 2000s.

The hair, the smile, that jawline, Philip was serving appears. But he was additionally giving peak Nepo child vitality, and he was true to type with that, given he was pressuring the heck out of Dawn to get down her pants earlier than he came upon she was his sister and upped the ante when he realized the reality.

There’s nothing just like the entitlement and sexual deviancy of wealthy white boys who by no means needed to face a consequence.

Philip genuinely believing that every one the women that fought him off throughout his sexual assaults had been simply partaking within the “song and dance” of seduction was sufficient to make a woman scream.

Dawn pulling his quantity the second she stepped foot in that home was a blessing, however then there’s the entire dicey Jimmy factor.

Jimmy was my boy. Yellowjackets’ Khobe Clarke was charming within the position. Jimmy was cute, candy, and knew how one can throw fingers in protection of his fake sister, and I respect that.

But he was delusional if he actually sat in Dawn’s face and stated that he solely simply began serious about her as a girl and never his sister after the reality got here out.

Did he not know what his face seemed like when he was watching Dawn within the lavatory whereas carrying that low-key see-through nightgown that highlighted her silhouette?

The boy was parched! And he needed to climb into mattress along with her each night time and faux like he wasn’t getting sizzling and bothered over his rattling sister.

I’m all for platonic mattress sharing, however, like, even I can not make hormonal teenaged siblings in precisely there sleep apparel sharing a pullout sofa mattress acceptable.

Sharing a room? Sure, no matter, however a mattress? Heaven’s no!

It did not assist issues that Jimmy completely nailed no matter you name the ’70s equal of that look a dude offers you 5 minutes into Netflix and Chill.

The heart-eyes had been heart-eying. Shockingly, Dawn did not decide up on that in any respect.

But, like every little thing else, she barely had the time to adapt to the notion that the man she thought was her brother for 16 years wasn’t anymore earlier than he was spitting his recreation to her and lowkey taking pictures his shot too.

Credit the place it is due, Jimmy-kins needed to be sincere with Dawn and never make a transfer. And he was greater than keen to bounce to keep away from issues being awkward.

It meant he was lightyears forward of pervy Philip.

But Dawn’s coping along with her newest traumas and corrosion of her life consisted of falling lips first into Jimmy, taking their trauma bonding to a different stage by simply casually accepting that since they’re not associated, they will simply soar one another’s bones.

It makes them probably the most regular and least problematic romances within the V.C. Andrews Universe, but in addition, how does one magically ignore that they had been raised as siblings with somebody for 16 years?

Is he her blood? No. Is he nonetheless her brother? Dammit, he’s. And I stand on that ten toes down.

But our woman Dawn had her head on straight sufficient to finesse the hell out of the scandalous secret about her kidnapping and thriller paternity to haul ass out of there and pursue her desires, so I’m going to let the shenanigans with Jimmy slide.

There wasn’t a single Cutler in that home that wasn’t the worst.

Randolph and his horrible hair and ascot mainly let his mom neuter him, and he was pathetic.

Can we pour one out for a way uninteresting Jason Cermak’s Randolph was right here when he was serving us type of horny, depressed uncle-lover vitality in V.C. Andrews’ Dark Angel not that way back? A tragedy.

It truly got here as a little bit of aid that Randolph wasn’t biologically associated to Dawn. I imply, she’s Stargirl, and he is simply Randolph.

And Laura Jean was coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs. But I can not lie; I, too, would relatively disguise away in my room with a taxidermy cat than spend a second getting glared down by these piercing blue peepers of Lillian, The Ice Queen.

It’s truthfully a surprise Lillian did not have Laura Jean taken out for her infidelity and foolishness.

Lillian was simply gangsta sufficient to tug it off.

And that is why frankly, though she was a terrifying presence and did some unspeakable issues to Dawn (as a result of that strip-down search most likely violated the Geneva Convention), she was so depraved it was good.

When you get a load of the opposite Cutler lot, it is no surprise Lillian is working sh*t. I can not assist however respect her for it. I genuinely liked all of the OG Dynasty vitality she radiated!

And can we take a second to understand how a lot of a rattling GILF Donna Mills was on this position? Was Lillian terrible and evil? Undoubtedly.

Was she additionally serving LOOKS, sizzling AF, and stealing each rattling scene she was in? Yes, child! Auntie Donna is GOALS, you guys! We ought to solely be so rattling fortunate to radiate that sort of regal vitality sometime.

Mills and Bassinger carried Dawn on their backs, and I used to be 100% right here for it! Get our women a therapeutic massage, pronto! They’ve earned it.

I even have to provide a shoutout to Mrs. Boston, who was spilling extra tea than the Boston Harbor however so slyly that she did not come off as a gossip. She was fairly the scene-stealer.

Dawn performed her card, actually compelled Lillian to place some respect on her identify, and is off to review music in the very best faculty within the nation.

Are you able to observe her subsequent chapter? Because we’re on this for the long term, so we’ll be there in case you are. And remember to maintain your eyes out for extra exclusives, too.

Over to you, V.C. Andrews Fanatics.

How a lot did you take pleasure in Dawn? Are we rooting for Dawn and Jimmy? Did they pull off this saga properly? Hit the feedback.

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