Layover (2012)

Set in Detroit, Michigan, USA, though filmed in Los Angeles.Suzanne and Rebecca are driving to a charter flight for Suzanne. That falls through. Rebecca arranges a commercial flight, and gets fired for it. Sigh. Foul weather lands Suzanne in Detroit. Suzanne's reputation keeps her out of the better hotels.Suzanne ends up in a fleabag motel. She pounds on the wall when the neighbors are noisy, and ends up seeing something she should not have seen, namely Russians who kidnap American women as meat in the (involuntary) sex trade.Although fired, Rebecca stays on the case. Really?Rebecca gets Elliot on the case, and Elliot goes to Detroit with her to investigate. They find enough evidence to stay interested.The Russians finally look at Suzanne's ID, then make a ransom call. Elliot calls the FBI, who jump on the case.Elliot and Rebecca work on the clues Suzanne sent during the proof of life telephone call. The money drop is made. The FBI trails the mobster who picked up the money. Suzanne manages to escape the handcuffs. One mobster is full time after her.After the FBI's plan to use a transmitter on the money fails, will Elliot and Rebecca get there in time? -----Scores-------Cinematography: 9/10 There was a little camera wobble, but otherwise fine.Sound: 9/10 Sound quality could have been better on the incidental music.Acting: 7/10 Lauren Holly was fine, as were Joe Lando and Gerald Webb. Kaylee DeFer was much better than she was in the wretched Darkroom, 2013. Still, that is treading water compared to being at the bottom of the ocean.Screenplay: 7/10 Rebecca stays on the case after she's fired? I find that very difficult to believe. It was too bad that the chip-in-the-dog was not remembered until late in the game. Also, the FBI was written as being pretty lame.

This should be the type of movie you can get drunk and laugh at, but the acting is even too poor for that--so poor it's actually embarrassing and uncomfortable to watch. Wasted a full bottle of wine on this. The plot is thin and really absurd. It goes beyond the realm of suspending disbelief. Even for a made for TV movie it was just awful. It starts out quite boringly, and the "climax"--if you can call it that with a straight face--was just preposterous. I don't want to delve for those of you who might prefer to watch it, don't want to be a plot spoiler. But if you do watch it prepare to be disappointed and perhaps uncomfortable. It's kind of like watching a drunk, recently dumped chic make a complete fool of themselves at a party begging everyone for attention--you just feel embarrassed on their behalf.

This is a well made for TV comedy thriller that is worth one watch. A 'Devil wears Prada' type boss played by Lauren Holly gets kidnapped by some sex traffickers. Her assistant helps rescue her.Kaylee Defer from Gossip Girl and the slightly changed but still attractive Lauren Holly are the main cast members.It's quite amusingly written especially with the Detroit "models" and Detroit jokes. The Russian jokes are a bit thin.The story is moderately predictable but liked the dialog and the way things unfolded and was filmed.It could have been painful but it isn't. Not bad.

I liked this movie. I didn't have high hopes in it because it wasn't promoted like most of the network's movies, so I am pleasantly surprised how much I liked it. I think it is because the lead character was a smart lady who wouldn't give up in finding her "boss from hell" played convincingly by Lauren Holly. She really was very demanding and rude to her assistant, even blaming her for the weather and the reason she had to have a Layover in a city of Detroit. She was very lucky her assistant didn't believe she was fired and could tell she was in trouble somehow when she didn't get the usual phone call berating her for something out of her control. It was good to see Joe Lando in this film as Elliot, the security person. Unfortunately not enough scenes with him, in my opinion. SPOILER: And, it does have a happy ending.I would definitely watch it whenever it airs again on Lifetime. I hope this one will also go to DVD for purchase.