Twisted Marriage Therapist – TUBI Review (2/5)

TWISTED MARRIAGE THERAPIST (2023) on TUBI is a psychological thriller with a somewhat predictable and kitsch storyline. Basically, it feels like a 1990s movie and is very much a guilty pleasure. It’s very over the top, but in a way that makes it seem intentional. Read our full Twisted Marriage Therapist movie review here!

TWISTED MARRIAGE THERAPIST (2023) is a new TUBI thriller. In fact, it’s a psychological thriller with a mystery and some wild twists and turns. Of course, it’s also very dated and feels like a movie that could’ve come out in the 1990s. In that sense, the twists aren’t too surprising.

However, I fully acknowledge that this TUBI addition will be a guilty pleasure for many. In general, it’s the kind of movie you’ll probably love or hate. And you’ll know if it’s for you within ten minutes because it is very honest about what kind of movie it is. I’ll definitely give it that much credit.

Continue reading our Twisted Marriage Therapist movie review below. Find it on TUBI from September 7, 2023.

The title is the plot

Twisted Marriage Therapist on TUBI has a storyline that revolves around a celebrity marriage counselor. And since she’s also the title character, we all know upfront that she is twisted. Now, I can definitely enjoy the way she plays these couples who are clearly so distrusting of one another that they believe a stranger.

However, I do not like that the goal of the marriage counselor is to steal the wife.

Mostly because the entire movie ends up perpetuating the whole “lesbian predator”-trope that has caused a lot of damage and homophobia. Not every lesbian dreams of stealing women away from their husbands. And, obviously, this movie isn’t saying that. But that is the storyline here.

Marija Juliette Abney plays a strong title character

Also, the lesbian character is a straight-up (pun very much intended) psychopath. Again, not something we need with all the hate and violence already targeted at LGBTQ people in the world today.

Having said that, this TUBI psychological thriller does feel dated in many kitsch ways, so I just hope viewers can look past that. Or understand that it’s “just” an element in a movie with a classic soapy and tropey plot.

I’ll also give the movie that having Marija Juliette Abney (Black Panther) portray the title character of the twisted marriage therapist is great casting. As Dr. Yo, Marija Juliette Abney plays the character in exactly the camp and overt way necessary to help us all remember that this movie is pure entertainment.

I also really like Pha’rez Lass as the husband. Unfortunately, I felt both Jennifer Sears, as the wife in the troubled marriage, and Bree Webber (Unbelievable), as the girlfriend and assistant of Dr. Yo, fell short in many ways. Their characters are more “straight men” to all the crazy going on, and this is damn difficult to portray. However, again, I did feel that Pha’rez Lass managed this.

Watch Twisted Marriage Therapist on TUBI now!

Booker T. Mattison is the writer and director of Twisted Marriage Therapist. If you’re familiar with similar movies on TUBI, you’ll have a good idea of what to expect. For TUBI, creating these TV movies that are definite guilty pleasures seems to be a hit.

And hey, as horror fans, we know all too well that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. You may not like these TV movies, but there are many people who love to relax and have fun with them. Just like some of us (me, as it were) love crazy horror comedies that others cannot stand to watch.

What I’m – not so subtly – getting at, is that a movie like Twisted Marriage Therapist isn’t really my jam. For more reasons than just the style and vibe, in this case. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t recognize that it’s a strong movie within the particular niche where it belongs. So, give it a shot on TUBI. Maybe you’ll love it and otherwise, you can always move on to something else.

Twisted Marriage Therapist is out on TUBI from September 7, 2023.

Details

Director: Booker T. Mattison
Writer: Booker T. Mattison
Cast: Marija Juliette Abney, Jennifer Sears, Pha’rez Lass, Bree Webber, James Bobo