A Deadly Adoption | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

14% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 23% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings

Things go awry when an author (Will Ferrell) and his wife (Kristen Wiig) welcome a pregnant woman (Jessica Lowndes) into their home, with plans to adopt her baby.

Critics Reviews

View All (7) Critics Reviews
A Deadly Adoption | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Keith Uhlich The Hollywood Reporter Beyond Ferrell, Wiig and company's superficial assurance at keeping the one-joke premise going (right up to a climactic musical number that elicits a chuckle or two), the film feels disconnected and utterly disposable. Jun 22, 2015 Full Review A Deadly Adoption | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Joshua Alston AV Club Adoption is a fun oddity instead of the minor cultural moment it could have been. Rated: B- Jun 22, 2015 Full Review A Deadly Adoption | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Brian Lowry Variety So with apologies to all concerned, what on Earth was the point of that? Jun 22, 2015 Full Review A Deadly Adoption | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Andrew Galdi Movie Bitches It was like they didn't know the script before that minute. Apr 28, 2020 Full Review A Deadly Adoption | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Avaryl Halley Movie Bitches It's a failed experiment. Apr 28, 2020 Full Review A Deadly Adoption | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Melissa Camacho Common Sense Media Despite the movie's best intentions, it fails to deliver most of the expected humor that you'd think would come from watching Wiig and Ferrell play it straight. Rated: 2/5 Jun 22, 2015 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (57) audience reviews

Jerod S It felt like it would break into an SNL skit at any moment. Wiig and Ferrell were given cheesy lines. The whole feel was a joke. Rated 1.5/5 Stars • Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 11/10/23 Full Review Ashton T Was awesome to see this cast in a lifetime movie. I enjoyed the plot and acting. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Even 10 minutes of this was an utter waste of time. This is "Plan 9 From Outer Space" bad, without a hint of Plan 9's irony. I believe this was meant to be an attempt to sendup of the old movie blackmail trope where the joke was meant to be that the acting was so bad. It didn't work on any level. Think of the most awkward thing that has ever happened to you, multiply by 2, then convince a whole cast to ruin their careers acting it out, and extend it one hour and 24 minutes. I bet even the Craft Services catering was bad. A better use of the money used to make this movie would have been to use Scotch tape to create rolls of toilet paper. I wondered why Will Ferrell and Kristin Wiig went a little quiet in the last few years. Why does comedy talent and stardom always seem to devolve in the hubris that produces a long a long string of obviously shitty movies (obvious from the first paragraph of the script) before fading to black or Christmas specials. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Very corny movie , do not recommend Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Absolutely brilliant. Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig play it completely straight. Critics of this movie are looking for jokes when the real punchline is the fact that two of the funniest people on the planet made a freaking Lifetime movie! And it's 100% Lifetime. They've strictly followed the Lifetime formula and the result is the perfect parody. The entire thing is underscored with a subtle irony that really works. It's cheese with a side of cheese. And it's perfect. Oh, and Will Ferrell's hair deserves it's own Emmy. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member The story was not very authentic and believable. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews

A Deadly Adoption

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Cast & Crew

Rachel Lee Goldenberg Director Will Ferrell Robert Benson Kristen Wiig Sarah Benson Jessica Lowndes Bridget Alyvia Alyn Lind Sully Jake Weary Dwayne Tisdale
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A Deadly Adoption

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Synopsis Things go awry when an author (Will Ferrell) and his wife (Kristen Wiig) welcome a pregnant woman (Jessica Lowndes) into their home, with plans to adopt her baby.

Director
Rachel Lee Goldenberg

Producer
Adam Silver, Fritz Manger, Max Osswald

Screenwriter
Harper Steele

Production Co
Gary Sanchez Productions, MarVista Entertainment

Rating
TV-14 (L|V)

Genre
Mystery & Thriller

Original Language
English

Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 23, 2020

Runtime
1h 30m

Sound Mix
Stereo
A Deadly Adoption | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)
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