Earlier this year, it was announced that Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig were going to star in a Lifetime Movie, and many thought that this was an elaborate prank, especially since the announcement was made one day after April Fools' Day.
But earlier this month, Lifetime released the official trailer for the TV movie titled "A Deadly Adoption," and while the trailer hints at something ominous in the film's plot, many have been wondering if the "Saturday Night Live" stars were going to play it straight or if they were going to satirize the movie.
When "A Deadly Adoption" premiered on Saturday, June 20, it instantly became clear that the "Anchorman" actor and the "Bridesmaids" star were sticking to the network's tried-and-tested formula. Both actors played it straight while allowing subtle satire to nip away at the edges of the story, which was a surprise to fans of the duo.
The story revolves around Ferrell and Wiig, who play married couple Robert and Sarah Benson. Their marriage suffers after Sarah nearly drowns, killing their second, unborn child. The two, who are already parents to a little girl named Sully — who has Type 1 diabetes — decide to adopt a baby. Enter Bridgette ('90210" alum Jessica Lowndes), a very attractive young woman who says she's six months pregnant and wants the Bensons to adopt her baby.
The couple takes to Bridgette and invites her to live with them. However, Sully discovers that she's not really pregnant and that she's wearing a fake, padded belly. It turns out that Bridgette is after Robert, who writes finance books for a living, and is very obsessed with him. In the past, Robert slept with a purple haired Bridgette, who introduced herself as Joni at the time. Bridgette kidnaps Sully, who starts feeling poorly because she doesn't have her insulin with her. Robert saves Sully, and he and Bridgette face off on a bridge, but it's Sarah who shoots Bridgette dead.
The movie ends with the Bensons dancing gleefully around their kitchen, as if the events that happened six months ago never took place.
After the film aired, Twitter exploded with different reactions about the movie, as one Twitter user wrote, "Did Ferrell and Wiig dare each other? Lose a bet? OD on irony?"
Another proclaimed the film to be "brilliant" while Twitter user 4KitKat12 hoped that Lifetime will have " a 2 hour special with out takes."
Lifetime's official Facebook account was inundated with questions as to when it will air again, with many people expressing their admiration for the movie and for Ferrell and Wiig.
"This movie was pure genius," wrote Facebook user Bee Emme. "Should have known you had something up your sleeve when you cast these two, especially him, in a Lifetime movie."
