Have you seen a movie where two moms compete to get their high-achieving daughters into a prestigious university? Things take a dangerous turn when one of the methods they use spirals out of control, leading to life-threatening situations. Nightmare School Moms (2023), directed by Danny J. Boyle, features a talented cast. Aside from Rachel Walters, who didn’t convincingly portray Nicole Settle, the rest of the actors, especially Crystal Allen as Lacy Settle, delivered excellent performances. The film humorously exaggerates the lengths Lacey Settle goes to secure her daughter Nicole’s admission to Whittendale College. Despite the humor, the movie still manages to maintain tension and suspense, making the story intriguing. Now, we will delve into it in detail.
Nightmare School Moms (2023) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis:
It begins with a little birthday party at their family’s place. Lacy and her daughter Nicole sing to their beloved grandparent, who wishes for Nicole to go to a prestigious school called Whittendale. Nicole is a legacy as her great-grandfather and grandfather were alumni there. Unfortunately, Nicole’s mother, Lacy, couldn’t get the grades to enter the school, and it’s a lasting source of disappointment for her father. Parker Williams is another student applying to Whittendale, and he has the same class ranking as Nicole. They are competing against each other for the position of Class President.
Parker’s mother, Mandy, who has experience in national politics, is helping her with the campaign. Mandy and Lacy were classmates before. Lacy holds a grudge because Mandy got her spot at Wittendale, and she’s determined to prevent it from happening again. Mandy is competitive, and her husband advises her not to become too obsessed. They moved back to their hometown to help reduce Mandy’s stress.
After Parker wins the election, Lacy asks for a recount because she’s concerned about election fraud due to Mandy’s past campaign in Wisconsin. Speaking of election fraud, Lacy cheats by adding fake votes for Nicole in the ballot box. During the recount, both mother and daughters are present. Even after the recount, Parker still emerges as the winner. Nicole feels humiliated as it looks like she didn’t handle losing well, and her mom’s interference adds to the discomfort.
Lacy asks her dad to speak to the school on Nicole’s behalf, but he disagrees, believing she should earn the spot herself. In a shocking turn, Lacy suffocates and kills him when he outright refuses. Then, she rehearses her 911 call before actually making it. Lacy meets with Bill Yellen to assist her daughter in getting into Whittendale. They propose that Nicole should retake a test, and maybe a donation of $10,000 could be a good idea. Lacy doesn’t have much money, but she persuades Bill to help more by implying she might sleep with him. But she has no intention of actually doing so.
The night before the test, Nicole secretly leaves her house and goes to a party. At the party, she talks to Parker and shares her frustrations about her mom. Parker advises Nicole to enjoy herself and not stress about their moms’ actions. The next morning, Nicole wakes up feeling sick after partying at Parker’s house. Mandy drives Nicole back home, and Lacy accuses Parker of deliberately getting Nicole drunk. Mandy is surprised by Lacy’s impolite behavior.
Since Nicole is unable to take the test, Lacy disguises herself as a teenager and pretends to be her daughter. The test proctor is confused but allows her to take the test anyway. He calls Bill to check it out, and he takes a picture of Lacy taking the test as leverage. He later uses the picture to get what he wants from Lacy.
Nicole gets a 98% on the CTE scores, and Lacy is super excited for her. But Nicole doesn’t want to celebrate because she feels she didn’t earn it. She’s embarrassed when the principal announces the scores at school. Parker calls her mom and shares the perfect score news, raising suspicions. Later, Mandy meets with Bill who makes a disturbing proposition to improve her daughter’s scores. Now, Mandy fully understands Lacy’s intentions, but Lacy is still unaware that Mandy knows the truth.
Lacy sets up a meeting with Bill, bringing money and a tool to tenderize meat. He tells her about Mandy’s doubts regarding Nicole’s test scores and asks for more money. A fight happens, and Lacy accidentally kills Bill with an iron. To get back at Mandy and Parker, Lacy buys drugs and hides them in Parker’s backpack. The school finds the drugs, and Parker gets in trouble with the principal.
Nicole talks to her mom, making sure she didn’t have anything to do with Parker’s situation. She’s worried about Mandy’s heart problem and doesn’t want them to face more stress. Later, Mandy meets with the principal and becomes very upset, experiencing heart pains. After the meeting, Lacy sees Mandy and happily remarks on her appearance, even though Mandy doesn’t look well. Mandy and Sean both take a drug test and check security footage from a cafe. Mandy watches the footage. Detectives approach Mandy and question her about Bill, who was found murdered.
They also question Lacy, who seems to have answers for everything. Nicole feels uneasy because her mom’s alibi turns out to be a lie. An admissions representative from Whittendale meets with Nicole and Parker, but it feels more like a meeting for the moms. Nicole confesses to the rep that she didn’t take the test. This revelation causes Lacy to freak out and make a big scene.
Lacy ties up Mandy and Parker in chairs, pours gasoline on them, and threatens to light a lighter while complaining about life being unfair. Mandy gets so stressed that she faints and experiences heart issues. Nicole finds her mother in this distressing situation and tries to stop her until the police arrive and take Lacy into custody. As Lacy is dragged away, she screams for her daughter, and Nicole can only watch and cry.
Nightmare School Moms (2023) Movie Ending, Explained:
How does Nightmare School Moms end?
One evening, the police visit Lacy’s house, but her daughter Nicole can’t find her there. The police suspect Lacy of being involved in Bill Yellen’s death, trying to keep him quiet about a test she took. While waiting at Mandy’s house, Lacy becomes out of control and takes both Mandy and her daughter hostage, planning to harm them because she believes they separated her from her daughter. In a desperate attempt to diffuse the situation, Parker reveals that she never really wanted to go to Whittendale. This revelation angers Lacy even more because she regrets her actions, and if she had known it in the first place, she wouldn’t have done the things she did or even killed someone. Just as Lacy is about to harm them, Nicole arrives and stops her. The police soon arrive and arrest Lacy, who has become completely unstable due to the circumstances.
Why did Lacy become so desperate to get Nicole into Whittendale?
Lacy is very desperate to get Nicole into Whittendale because she thinks her life turned bad when she couldn’t go there herself. Instead, she had to go to a regular college and work a regular job. Lacy’s life took a negative turn when she got involved with a man who left her when she got pregnant. Since then, she has felt lonely and has had to deal with constant taunts from her father for not getting into Whittendale. Lacy strongly believes that her life would have been much better if she had gone to Whittendale. This is why she now hates Mandy, as she thinks Mandy somehow stole the opportunity from her. Lacy is convinced that if her daughter can’t go to Whittendale, her life will be just as bad, and she is willing to do anything to prevent that from happening.
Did Nicole or Parker get into Whittendale?
In the end, neither Parker nor Nicole will attend Whittendale, but they have been accepted into other good colleges. Mandy has become like a parent for Nicole, and they are all very happy together. Nicole still communicates with her mom in prison, who now helps other prisoners prepare for their tests. It seems like she might have received counseling, but she hasn’t given up her competitive spirit.
