Line #28 Film/PsychoBFF


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bff_7.jpg]]
2
3	''Psycho BFF'' (also called ''American Psychos'') is a 2019 TeenDrama {{Thriller}}, produced by Creator/TheAsylum but aired on Creator/{{Lifetime}}, directed by Jared Cohn and written by Andrea Ruth.
4
5
6	Deandra (Juliana Destefano) is a high school student and talented writer who dreams of living in New York with her father but instead moves to the suburbs with her mother Renee (Kate Watson). As soon as she arrives at her new school she's bullied by AlphaBitch Adele (Paige [=McGarvin=]), but gets rescued by the somewhat EmoTeen-ish Olivia (Alexandra Doke), and Deandra quickly becomes her best friend. Olivia gains Deandra's sympathy by telling her about the rough life she has: her father died, her stepfather abuses her, and her former BFF Liberty died. But as Olivia starts to become more controlling of Deandra, goading her into mischief, Deandra discovers a much darker side to Olivia.
7
8	!!''Psycho BFF'' contains examples of:
9
10	* AbusiveParents: Olivia tells Deandra that her stepfather hits her. [[spoiler:Renee then learns that this is a bald-faced lie, since Olivia has no stepfather, but a stepmother instead.]]
11	* AlphaBitch: Adele is about as exaggerated an example as there can be, a narcissistic blonde glam girl who pours a whole bucket of SugaryMalice over Deandra.
12	* ArcWords: "I trusted you!" from Olivia.
13	* BasedOnATrueStory: There's a "based on true events" banner at the start of the movie, but no one seems to have identified what exactly the true story might have been that inspired the movie. If anything, the plot is basically ''Film/MeanGirls'' crossed with the Lifetime chestnut ''Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?'', with a GenderFlip performed on the villain and the {{Yandere}} being a best friend rather than a lover.
14	* BatmanGambit: Olivia's loosen-the-bleacher-railing prank depends on Adele always sitting at the top of the bleacher, and she ultimately does.
15	* BetaBitch: Lilith plays the role for Adele, right down to telling her "nice one, Adele!" when she insults Deandra. But their relationship is on shaky ground, with Adele briefly dumping her.
16	* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: The story revolves around this trio, with blonde Adele, brunette Deandra and redhead Olivia.
17	* BullyHunter: Olivia wins Deandra's friendship by confronting Adele, most memorably at Adele's party.
18	* BullyTurnedBuddy: By the end, Deandra and Lilith have become friends.
19	* ChekhovsGun:
20	** Olivia steals a wrench from the school custodian and keeps it with her for the rest of the film, to help commit various pranks, to break the sink in the girl's room when she throws a fit about Adele, and it ultimately becomes the proof that Deandra has run away with Olivia when Renee finds it on Deandra's bed.
21	** Olivia's "insurance policy" when they run away turns out to be a gun.
22	* ConsummateLiar: Olivia flagrantly makes up false stories to gain sympathy.
23	* CoversAlwaysLie / NeverTrustATitle: The alternate title (''American Psychos'') and The Asylum poster (which depicts two pairs of legs that have left behind bloody trails of footprints) suggest that the movie will be about a ''pair'' of psychotic best friends.
24	* DarkerAndEdgier: The final act is very much more in the wheelhouse of Creator/TheAsylum than Creator/{{Lifetime}}, with violence, suicide and attempted rape becoming themes.
25	* DeadpanSnarker: Olivia makes sarcastic quips to everyone throughout the story.
26	-->'''Security Guard''': (''after catching Olivia and Deandra wearing their shoplifted clothes underneath the ones they wore to the store'') Ladies, your shirts look a little fuller.
27	-->'''Olivia''': Rude!
28	* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: It's ultimately revealed that Olivia's mother, who she idolized, committed suicide, with the implication that her possessive friendships are an attempt to fill the void.
29	* DeathByFallingOver: In the opening scene, Olivia kills Liberty by pushing her off a bridge during an argument.
30	* DidntThinkThisThrough: Deandra calls out Olivia for planning to run away across the country with only $300. [[spoiler:It's revealed that the running away story was a front for Olivia's proposed SuicidePact.]]
31	* DirtyCop: Olivia gets out of the shoplifting charge by slipping drugs to a police officer she already knows.
32	* DramaQueen:
33	** Even by AlphaBitch standards, Adele is a pretty extreme example. She has a near-meltdown when Deandra bumps into her and causes her to spill juice on her shirt.
34	** Olivia is a more subdued, menacing example, prone to fits of SuddenlyShouting.
35	** Renee isn't immune to this. She claims that "someone could have died" when Adele fell maybe four feet onto the gym floor and broke an arm. She's also startled enough by an alarm clock to drop a glass of water on the floor.
36	* DramaticIrony: We know from the opening scene that Olivia is dangerous, so the suspense is waiting for Deandra to figure it out. Problem is, Deandra is very easy to manipulate, so even when she does, she's still susceptible to Olivia's scheming.
37	* EmbarrassingNickname: Adele's childhood nickname was "Smelly Delly", which Olivia uses to taunt her.
38	* FiveFingerDiscount: Olivia drags Deandra along to a clothing store and they try to sneak out while wearing shoplifted clothes underneath their regular ones, but a clerk catches them.
39	* GambitPileup:
40	** A running thread throughout the movie is that Olivia and Adele are clashing because they're both targeting Deandra for mental abuse, but in different ways--Adele is the AlphaBitch using her as a punching bag, while Olivia, despite her more supportive front, is really TheSvengali looking for someone to dominate.
41	** In the final act, Deandra is ultimately trying to see her dad in New York, the guy who picked them up and his buddy obviously want sex from her and Olivia, while Olivia [[spoiler:wants her and Deandra to kill themselves and "go out in a blaze of glory".]]
42	* GoodTimesMontage: Featuring Deandra and Olivia after they cement their friendship.
43	* HalfwayPlotSwitch: After being a dark ''Film/MeanGirls''-inspired {{Dramedy}} for its first two acts, the final acts ramps up the {{Thriller}} element, with Deandra grappling with Olivia turning psychotic, and fending off the sexual advances of the guys who picked them up.
44	* HasAType: Olivia craves the friendship of shy girls with long, dark hair, with Deandra and Liberty both fitting that type, as does [[spoiler:the girl at the mental hospital she befriends in the final scene.]]
45	* HereWeGoAgain: In the final scene, Olivia [[spoiler:is a patient at a mental hospital and approaches a brunette who resembles Liberty and Deandra to make friends with.]]
46	* HypocriticalHumor: Ultra-narcissist Adele mocking Deandra with "impressed with yourself much?"
47	* InformedAbility: Deandra is supposed to be an amazing writer, but we only hear one rather mundane short poem she wrote in class.
48	* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: Pleasant, level-headed Deandra (Light) befriends intense, moody Olivia (Dark).
49	* LiteralMinded: In her fight with Liberty at the beginning, Olivia seems to view Liberty calling her a BFF as some kind of loyalty pledge on Liberty's part.
50	-->'''Olivia''': I thought you were my friend! "Best friends forever!" You said it: "best friends forever!"
51	* MagicFeather: Olivia invokes ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'' to explain that she took the gun out of the handbag before she gave it to Deandra, to make her brave.
52	* MaliciousMisnaming: Adele constantly calls Deandra "Dial-Up", based on her older cell phone. She also calls her "Deidre" at one point.
53	-->'''Adele''': It's a dial-up phone for a dial-up girl!
54	* ManipulativeBitch: Olivia uses "you're so amazing" flattery, guilt trips, and sympathy ploys to keep Deandra under her thumb.
55	-->'''Olivia''': (''to Deandra'') I hate everybody! I hate everybody in this world! Except you.
56	* NaiveEverygirl: Deandra is sunny and good-natured, but is totally outclassed by Olivia, falling for her manipulations constantly, even long after she should've caught on and run the hell away.
57	* TheOner: A whole bunch of uninterrupted SteadiCam shots in the movie.
58	* ReplacementGoldfish: Olivia uses Deandra as one for Liberty. Emphasized in the scene where Deandra reads Olivia's poem (about Liberty) aloud, and Olivia pictures Liberty in her place.
59	* TheRunaway: In the final act, Olivia convinces Deandra to run away with her, with the goal of visiting Deandra's father in New York.
60	* SacrificialLamb: Liberty only appears in the opening, where she gets killed by Olivia, then briefly reappears when Olivia pictures Deandra as her.
61	* ShrinkingViolet: While not especially shy, Deandra is very self-conscious going to a new school, and Adele's bullying turns her into one of these, which makes her easy pickings for the confident, edgy Olivia.
62	* StalkerShrine: Olivia's stepmother Solange shows Olivia's bedroom to a horrified Renee. She's taped up dozens of pics of Deandra on the wall.
63	* SuicidePact: In the climax, [[spoiler:Olivia proposes that she and Deandra kill themselves, along with lines suggesting that she's been plotting HereditarySuicide for a while, and that the altercation that led to Liberty's death started when Liberty rejected a similar suicide pact proposal.]]
64	* TeensAreMonsters: Adele and Olivia provide contrasting examples, with Adele as the conceited, merciless bully and Olivia as the disturbed petty criminal.
65	* ToxicFriendInfluence: Olivia gets Deandra in trouble for shoplifting, causing a disturbance at a party, and being an accessory in her plot to injure Adele.
66	* VillainOverForDinner: Deandra is horrified to see Olivia palling around with Adele after the party.
67	* WatchWhereYoureGoing: On Deandra's first day, Adele purposely positions herself so that Deandra bumps her and Adele can whine about this and generally start getting on Deandra's case about everything.
68	* WeUsedToBeFriends: Olivia and Adele were friends in elementary school, but now (mostly) antagonize each other.
69	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After falling from the bleachers, Adele disappears from the movie.
70	* WildTeenParty: Olivia climbs into Deandra's bedroom late at night and convinces her to sneak out to one. Unfortunately, it turns out that it was hosted by Adele at her house.
71	* WorldOfHam: As you might expect when The Asylum and Lifetime converge, there's a distinct lack of subtlety here. Deandra is the only somewhat subdued character in the main cast. Everyone else hams it up, especially Adele and Olivia in her unhinged moments.

Context Film / PsychoBFF