A Recipe for Seduction is a 2020 romantic Short Film that premiered on Lifetime and was sponsored by Kentucky Fried Chicken. Yes, you read that right.
The film is about a woman named Jessica (Justene Alpert) falling in love with her family's new private chef, Harland Sanders, as played by Mario Lopez. Unfortunately for the two of them, Jessica's mother Bunny is desperate for her to marry her current boyfriend, Billy Garibaldi III, as his wealth will save their family from impending debt.
Compare to another romantic-KFC-themed work, I Love You, Colonel Sanders!.
Tropes featured in this movie:
- Abusive Parents: Bunny spends the film demanding that Jessica marry Billy despite hating him, forcing her daughter to be with a man she dislikes just to keep the family out of debt. Then it's revealed that she's having an affair with Billy, and is willing to murder someone just to make sure Jessica does what she wants her to.
- "Begone" Bribe: Billy offers Harland half a million dollars to get him to leave, but Harland refuses to take the money.
- Bound and Gagged: Harland is tied to a chair and gagged with duct tape during the climax, where Bunny and Billy plan to kill him.
- Exact Eavesdropping:
- Bunny is eavesdropping on a phone conversation with Jessica and Lee, in which she discovers she's in love with Harland and that Harland has a "secret chicken recipe".
- Lee is at the bar while Billy and Bunny are having a conversation, allowing him to learn exactly what they're planning and how they want to get rid of Harland.
- A Family Affair: During a discussion at the bar, it's revealed that Bunny and Billy had an affair. One of Bunny's motivations for having Jessica marry him is so she can continue being with him as well.
- Jerkass: Billy puts on the façade of being a gentleman when he's trying to propose to Jessica, but he's actually a scumbag who grabs her roughly, gets easily jealous, and cheated on her with her own mother.
- Lifetime Movie of the Week: A Lifetime movie sponsered by KFC, no less. It has the usual plotline of the good woman (who in a twist, wants to marry the good Colonel Sanders looking man) being forced to marry an evil man by her evil mother.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Bunny and Billy conspire to get Harland out of the way so Jessica can't be with him. First they just try to bribe him, but then they escalate it to attempted murder.
- Rejected Marriage Proposal: The first scene of the film involves Billy proposing to Jessica at a dinner party, which flusters her and makes her leave. Her mother and Billy are not happy she chose to run off the way she did.
- Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor: Billy is the rich suitor, coming from a powerful family and being Jessica's Jerkass boyfriend at the start of the film. Harland is much less wealthy and gets mocked by Billy, but he's charismatic and kind, and quickly starts to appeal to Jessica.
- Sequel Hook: The film ends with Billy approaching Bunny, who is now in some sort of rehab, to proudly announced he's "found" Harland and Jessica, implying more to come.
- Supreme Chef: Harland is presented as an excellent chef, first working at an exclusive restaurant before becoming the new chef for Bunny and Jessica. He boasts about having a secret chicken recipe he wants to change the world with, and at the end his new restaurant becomes successful.
- Tap on the Head: In the climax, Lee knocks Billy out by hitting him with a broomstick.
- Trailers Always Spoil: Practically every plot point in the movie can be gleaned by watching the trailer itself.
- Twofer Token Minority: Jessica's best friend Lee doubles as both a Token Black Friend and a Gay Best Friend, being the one she calls to gush about Harland and also being completely devoted to helping her throughout the film.
