The Truth About Chatterama.com
Julia was a tough-as-nails FBI agent, who was forced to kill her partner, a dirty cop, in a shootout. But she paid the price when the son of the deceased partner returns to kill her husband. Ten years later, the son seeks more revenge by wooing Julia's sixteen-year-old daughter Abbey from a correctional facility on an ap called Chatterama.com.The naive Abbey believes that she has met her true love in Gavin. Frustrated that her mom remarried and the new husband brought two kids in tow, Abbey is used to being pampered by her overindulgent mom. Clearly, Julia has overcompensated in her child rearing due to the trauma of little Abbey witnessing the brutal beating of her father. In an early scene in the film, we see a spoiled brat who is given a birthday present of a new Chevy SUV.
Unbeknownst to her mother, Abbey has developed a two-year online relationship with Gavin on Chatterama.com. Little does Abbey know that his real name is Wesley Sherman, Jr., the son of Julia's corrupt partner. In reality, Wesley, Jr. is a predator and a pervert, luring Abbey to come live with him in Arizona. The starry-eyed teen jumps in her brand new Chevy and heads to Prescott.
The race is now on for Julia to get back in the saddle with her investigative work and to track down the nefarious creature who has taken advantage of her daughter. The most dicey scene in the film is when Wesley, Jr. attempts to seduce Abbey, but acquiesces to her request to "go slowly." The mom gets a lucky tip from a bystander and makes a beeline for Wesley, Jr.
The most interesting character in the film was Wesley, Jr. who was capable of laying on the charm. He seemed to have a genuine soft side that was never given the opportunity to blossom because of the death of his lout of a father. He then misplaced the blame on Julia without taking a look hard look at the flaws of his father.
The filmmakers made the choice of presenting Abbey's odyssey with some beautiful panoramic footage of Arizona. The saga of Romeo and Juliet is mentioned once by Wesley, Jr. in a grotesque distortion of the reality of his predatory relationship with young Abbey. For her part, Abbey seems contrite enough after the heroic action of her mom. But when the sixteen-year-old makes the vow of "No boys until I'm eighteen" at the close of the film, one senses the hollowness of that resolution. If only she can refrain from logging on to Chatterama.com!
score /10
lavatch 10 March 2020
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw5540140/34881
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