This movie is like most of the Lifetime "he/she seems nice but is really a psychopath" types that are entertaining and good for a laugh. There are some familiar Lifetime actors, including Shannon Sturges, who overdoes her phony sweetness, and Perry King and William R. Moses, both probably underrated because of their association with Lifetime movies. Michelle Greene adds spice in the scene outside the kitchen at the brother's funeral. I just wonder, since there are no goofs listed, if anyone else wondered, in one of the movie's early scenes, why Greta the housekeeper is complaining that the new wife has been mistreating her for three months, when the happy couple has returned from their honeymoon just minutes ago.

In THE PERFECT WIFE, Lesley Anne Down stars as a divorcée whose ex-husband has married a gal half his age and with something more in mind than matrimony. Turns out the new wife is seeking revenge in the death of her brother, and she believes the doctor had something to do with his death. Down starts to figure things out about halfway through, but no one will listen to her. Perry King plays the doctor, and Shannon Sturges is the new wife. No one exactly knocks themselves out in the acting department, and the plot tends to drag. Save this one for a rainy night. If you're me, you sometimes watch these things to see how much a given actor has aged.

Globally this was a pretty good TV movie but certainly not to be recommended for those with a weak heart. The character of Liza is one of the most evil and scheming I have ever seen, and quite frankly, frightening. The only annoying thing was the apparent naivety of Robert who seemed quite oblivious to all those dying around him and not having a hint of suspicion that his new wife had something to do with it. That said, the methods of killing used by Liza are pretty twisted .... administering of lethal drugs, falsifying labels, anonymous phone calls. Quite frankly the only person I really liked in the story was his first wife Helen and Greta the maid. In some ways I thought that Robert was so stupid, short-sighted and naive that he deserved what was coming his way. The end could have taken place when he managed to get the car out of the garage and Helen arrived. The final scene seems to have been tacked on and was totally superfluous and risks leaving the spectator remembering the silly end to what was in fact quite a suspenseful film. Seriously though this is not for the faint hearted as there is a lot of nervous tension for the duration of the work !

THE PERFECT WIFE was pretty suspenseful for a television movie. Shannon Sturges made one bitchy psycho, and Perry King was good as her husband. It had a lot of tension, but it was sometimes hard to watch because the husband was so oblivious to what she was doing. At times I just couldn't believe he was missing things and would yell things out to him, as if it would help. But that's what a good thriller does, making us care about the person who's the victim even though they themselves don't know they are. A tad slow at times, but the final hour was pretty tense, and the performances helped sell the standard revenge plot. Not bad for a TV movie.