Television Review Jackie K Cooper
"Baby Sellers" (Lifetime Channel)
Kirstie Alley and Jennifer Finnegan star in the Lifetime movie "Baby Sellers". This movie is about the scourge of selling babies on an international scale. It is a story that needs to be told and is one that most people, especially prospective adoptive parents, don't want to face. Still it is a part of our culture today and only the work of tireless law enforcement individuals will bring it to a halt or at least slow it down.
Alley plays Carla Huxley, the head of an adoption agency that obtains babies from places around the globe and matches them up with prospective adoptive parents. On the surface Carla is a saint, a woman who has an adopted child herself and wants nothing more than to serve as a means by which those searching for a baby to adopt find that baby and are made into a whole and complete family.
The true story is that Carla is a cold hearted woman who thinks nothing of stealing children from their natural parents and then selling them to the highest bidder. She has her tentacles in places such as India, Brazil and Mexico where she scouts out those most vulnerable and takes away one of their happiest moments - the birth of a child. Then through unscrupulous doctors and nurses the family is told the child has died and the baby is sold.
Nicole Morrison (Finnegan) is a government agent who is trying to stop this trafficking of babies. Discouraged in one case after another she manages to lock her radar on Huxley and is determined to bring her to justice. Her efforts take her all over the globe.
Alley is excellent as the treacherous Carla. It is an odd role for her as she is usually the loveable, likeable person in a movie or sitcom. Still there is something evil she is able to project to make Carla as venomous as possible. You can see it in the thin veneer of civility on her face and the iciness of her behavior that creeps in from time to time.
Finnegan is also good in her role. She is all intensity and fight as she tries to rescue the babies of the world. She is dedicated to her job and to the people she is trying to protect, and she lets her heart show even as she tracks down and fights the bad guys.
"Baby Sellers" tells an important and timely story. Alley and Finnegan help make it entertaining as well as informative. "Baby Seller" premieres Saturday, August 17 at 8PM on Lifetime. It will air at various times on different dates throughout the month. Check your local listings for these dates and times.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com