Banker Carpenter
Anne Harding (Charisma Carpenter - A Christmas Promise), a hair dresser, hasn't been widowed long and the insurance money from her husband's death hasn't arrived. This is a problem as she doesn't earn enough as a hair dresser because her daughter, Denise (Sarah Grey - The Wedding March 2: Resorting to Love), is a talented high school soccer player and that costs money. On top of that her stepson, Kyle (Adam DiMarco - Site Unseen: An Emma Fielding Mystery), has got himself in to trouble with a money lender having become addicted to gambling and has amassed the sort of debt which sees people hurt. In order to help Kyle out of trouble Anne has got a secret, she is robbing banks for the money lender, trouble is Denise is becoming increasingly suspicious about what her mum is up to.
As movies shown on "Lifetime" go "Mommy's Secret" is that mix of intriguing, entertaining and utterly ludicrous. On one hand the whole idea of Anne pulling off bank jobs in a less than convincing fake beard is more than ridiculous as no one in their right mind would fall for the disguise. But then you genuinely wonder how "Mommy's Secret" is going to play out with Denise realising that her mum has a side line in robbing banks and is in cahoots with a shady looking guy. You can sort of guess how it might work things out so bad guys get what they have coming to them whilst protective mums get away with things but the set up is different enough to make this made for TV movie keep you involved and wondering.
Of course there is a certain level of predictability to "Mommy's Secret", what made for TV movie with a criminal theme doesn't end up with a climactic battle with someone in deep danger. There are also some familiar faces such as Charisma Carpenter and Sarah Grey who in fairness deliver solid performances and in many ways contribute to the movie's watch able nature despite the characters having some serious flaws, one of which is not being in the least bit memorable.
What this all boils down to is that "Mommy's Secret" was more entertaining than I expected with a more original set up than you would normally find in a made for TV movie along with a surprise or two. But in the end there is nothing particularly memorable about it and certainly nothing which makes you want to watch "Mommy's Secret" a second time.
