Burned by Love (2023 TV Movie)
8/10
"You Smell Like Cheap Motel Soap!"
19 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Ashley Morris is a talented artist working in the medium of tile. She gets her first big break when she is hired to complete a large panel for the opening of a posh restaurant. But she may be thwarted in her career plans due to matters of the heart.

Ashley has had terrible luck with men. Her marriage to her husband Roger ended when he blundered in with another woman on a surprise birthday party Ashley had planned for him. Next, she is scammed by an dating site hustler named Marco, who cons her out of $8,000. But Ashley and her friend Tess respond by exposing him on the internet.

The film succeeded in its tongue-in-cheek approach to a serious subject. Thankfully, when Marco sought to salvage his "reputation" by harassing Ashley, there were no murders, and the quick-thinking Ashley hatches her own revenge plan. Marco roughed up Ashley's ex-husband Roger, and he took Tess hostage in a motel. But both characters escaped serious harm.

One of the best lines was when Ashley told Marco, "you smell like cheap motel soap." This occurred at the gala opening of the restaurant where Marco is finally is forced to confront his victims.

The most outlandish component of Marco's character was his sincere attachment to a Harlequin romance novel, from which he extracted lines to use on the women he was duping. There was a thoughtful denouement in which Ashley finally discovers true love in the kind character Grant, and Ashley must be wrenched away from her own Harlequin romance novel.

The action was well-paced with snappy dialogue and a nice performance by the actress playing Ashley.
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