MovieChat Forums > The Lie (2020) Discussion > Britney's dad doesn't get a "dumb" pass....

Britney's dad doesn't get a "dumb" pass... (Spoilers)

posted 4 years ago by whatwazdat (418)
1 reply | jump to latest

So in reading around here, I think we all agree Kayla's parents made some really mind numbing stupid things. Here are some things I can think of:

* If you're going to lie about your daughter being in the hospital, maybe tell your daughter that, so she's in on it. The first instance of Britney's dad talking with the mom had me thinking... Kayla's about to go..."Mom!" and the whole lie will be spoiled. But she didn't do that, so they got off. The 2nd time was when Kayla's dad met Britney's dad for the first time, and sh*t hits the fan. I know Britney's dad shows up unexpectedly, but that's why you need to tell everyone your lie, so everyone can be in on it.

* Kayla's dad keeping Britney's purse and phone. LOL!

* The planting of the cell phone at Britney's dad's house. This is so comical. Like two teenagers running around oblivious that it's 2021, and most likely several homes have you on their surveillance. I mean it looks like a wealthy or at least upper middle class neighborhood. They just strolling in planting phones without a thought about surveillance cams. LOL!

* Britney's dad.. he turns off lights of his house, then moves like a ninja to sneak up on Kayla's mom? LOL!

* Why in the hell would you run over Britney's dad?????? Lets double down? What is the thinking here?

* Lastly, and the reason why I say Britney's dad doesn't get a pass... What the hell are you doing walking in front of a speeding car? It's coming your way, you have plenty of time. This contrived stupidity and death is needed for the movie's twist ending. The whole planting of the phone thing which leads to his death is contrived. The characters Ignoring and not taking into account surveillance cameras was contrived to begin with. LOL!

[–] Wuchak (8774) 2 years ago

1. Kayla's mom, Rebecca, was intentionally keeping Kayla from talking to Britney's father, Sam, because Rebecca & Jay knew she'd break under pressure in light of the dire circumstances and Kayla's shaky condition. As you point out, Britney's dad showed up unexpectedly and Kayla walked out of the house not knowing he was there. Even if Rebecca informed Kayla that she was supposed to be at the hospital, which is very possible, the lie would've been exposed at that point.

2. Kayla's the one who found Britney's purse, which had her phone in it. Jay evidently wasn't conscious of having the purse in his car (or apartment) and, if he was, the seriousness of the situation caused it to slip his mind. He's a simple rock musician, not Sherlock Holmes.

3. They didn't go to Sam's house to commit a crime, but rather to simply plant Britney’s phone in the ground near her house (theoretically, no one would find the phone since it would be hidden in the ground during winter; and if the detectives ‘pinged’ it they’d simply discover it’s located in the area of Britney’s house). Since no crime would be committed in doing this, no one is likely going to be motivated to scan through hours of dull surveillance footage.

Also, the phone wouldn't likely be found until the Spring -- assuming it was found at all -- and, by then, surveillance footage would've been long deleted.

4. Something suspicious was going on near his house in the middle of the night and Sam naturally wanted to find out what. His actions were perfectly understandable.

5. Running over Sam wasn’t planned. Rebecca & Jay were leaving the scene after getting rid of Britney's phone, driving relatively slowly down the residential street (in an area where there was no surveillance cameras), when Sam suddenly jumps out to stop the vehicle. In a split second of passion & insanity the mother decides to step on the gas and mow him down. It wasn’t a premeditated thing, but the culmination of her frustration in the situation. She hadn't got much sleep in the last 2-3 days and was no longer in reasonable state of mind.

It's a morality tale -- "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when at first we practice to deceive" -- which is augmented by the fact that Jay & Rebecca were lying out of love for their daughter and her future. He should've called 911 as soon as it was discovered that Britney was missing (regardless of Kayla intentionally pushing her off the bridge and the potential ramifications), but we know this is how a lot of parents would react -- cover up the truth to protect their child.