The marketing geniuses at Lifetime pulled off a major internet coup with A Deadly Adoption. They cast comedic stars Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig and allowed audiences to speculate. Would the film be a parody or a straight-up Lifetime movie? The answer is “both.”
All of the usual Lifetime tropes appeared in this typically overdramatic film. Ferrell and Wiig invite a mysterious pregnant lady into their home, and things go very wrong. Wiig says, “I think we’re going to be really happy,” as Lady Satan plots to ruin their lives. There’s an ominous lake, overzealous use of slo-mo, several instances of life-threating peril, a dead cell phone, a sick child, and a glorious cat fight. Oh, and dancing.
Twitter tuned into the movie, and reactions poured into the collective stream. On Saturday night, #ADeadlyAdoption stood as the top trending tag. All of this fuss for a completely normal Lifetime movie. Here’s how Twitter clapped back:
MESMERIZED by #ADeadlyAdoption…it's like Sharknado for moms…
— ʞɔiwbɿɒH ꙅiɿʜƆ (@hardwick) June 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/johncampea/status/612530414817832960
“Your mommy is dead. I’m your new mommy.” – 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to the great part! #ADeadlyAdoption
— Tim Goodman (@BastardMachine) June 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/llawsy/status/612493316425297920
You know what would make #ADeadlyAdoption better? More cowbell.
— lizzy (@thinlizzy17) June 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/jasonrobert/status/612412163844632576
Will Ferrell looks like he's wearing his Unabomber costume from SNL. #ADeadlyAdoption
— Doug 😷🌍✌️ (@dougclose) June 21, 2015
"You know the dangers of diabetic ketoacidosis!" #ADeadlyAdoption @savvysloth97
— Kelly Marie (@sparklingmoose) June 21, 2015
So far the lack of sugar in the household is the scariest thing. #ADeadlyAdoption
— Matt Mitovich (@MattMitovich) June 21, 2015
So someone tried to kill us? Dance party. #ADeadlyAdoption
— Terissa Kelton (@TerissaKelton) June 21, 2015
Slow clap for Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig. You did it guys. You did it, whatever this was. #ADeadlyAdoption
— Philiana (@insidethetube) June 21, 2015
Not sure what to think. Was it a satire, parady, comedy, melodrama, or drama?? Not sure..lol..confused!!😞 #ADeadlyAdoption #Lifetime
— Zulena Staton (@SweetLadyZulena) June 21, 2015
Let’s let Lifetime have this last word. They earned it.
And they all lived happily ever after! #DeadlyAdoption #ADeadlyAdoption pic.twitter.com/IzLZmjDjQ8
— Lifetime (@lifetimetv) June 21, 2015