AMISH STUD: THE ELI WEAVER STORY 6 out of 10 stars Time to Read: 2min

BASIC PLOT: Eli Weaver (Luke Macfarlane) is a narcissistic Amish man, who thinks the world owes him a good time. He doesn't abide by Amish law, and often uses vehicles, cell phones, and other forbidden items. He also fancies himself a ladies man, cheating on his wife Barbara (Miranda MacDougall) and even using and online dating site, where his handle is "The Amish Stud".

Eventually, he grows tired of his wife and children, and begins soliciting murder from his many girlfriends. Only one is amenable, a taxi driver named, Barb Raber (Kirsten Vangsness). Eli wants her to kill his whole family, but Barb only agrees to murder his wife.

Detective Bruce London (Brent Stait) and Detective Michael Maxwell (Mark Krysko) are assigned to Barbara Weaver's case. Can they uncover the dark underbelly of the Amish community in time to get justice for Barbara's sister (Clare Filipow), and children (Ryder Miller, Lilliana Rose Nekrash)?

WHAT WORKS: *BEAUTIFUL CINEMATOGRAPHY AND DIRECTION This movie uses the lovely Amish countryside as a backdrop, and it does it well. All the shots are well framed, and set the mood. Excellent job by Stacey N. Harding (director) and Jimmy Wu (cinematographer).

*LOVELY COVER ART That's a rarity for TV movies these days, and deserves a mention. I wish I could give credit to the artist, but it's impossible to find.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *PACING IS A BIT SLOW AROUND THE HOUR MARK It's not a huge mistake, but a minor hitch.

*BARB ASKS FOR A LAWYER, BUT THE DETECTIVES QUESTION HER ANYWAY This is a clear violation of her constitutional rights. Anything she did say, would be thrown out, since they did not get her a lawyer when she requested one.

*ELI TESTIFIES "BARB SHOT MY WIFE." This would be objected to by Barb's lawyer. Eli had left the house by the time his wife was shot. He could testify to the planning of the murder, to his leaving the door open for Barb, but not to the actual shooting. He had no direct knowledge, and therefore it would just be his supposition.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *I would definitely recommend this film to fans of made-for-tv movies, movies based on true events, and fans of Luke Macfarlane and Kirsten Vangsness. It's a great time waster, and a beautiful piece of filmmaking.

CLOSING NOTES: *This is a made-for-tv movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. This review was NOT written in full, or in part, by a bot. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews (less trolls and fanboys), and better entertainment. Hope I helped you out.

The guy from the Hallmark Christmas movies playing a real life Amish murderer? Just incredible!

Luke McFarlane plays Eli, the Amish Stud. And yes, it's a BOATS. Based on a true story. Because, frankly, you couldn't make this up.

And the best part? Penelope from Criminal Minds is the killer! Didn't Kristen make enough from CM? Or is she doing this just for fun? Enquiring minds want to know. No matter, she is absolutely incredible here.

And to see Luke butching it up with all the ladies here is so much fun.

Find this movie and watch it. This is an all time great Lifetime mivie. Just don't tell Hallmark that's he's moonlighting.

It was good to see Luke MacFarlane playing against type and doing a great job at it. He also did another film in a similar vein.

Eli Weaver is unhappy in his marriage to his wife Barb, and so is she. However, they can't get out of the marriage without being shunned. So, if Eli is a widower that makes it a lot easier to keep the life he's always known

Eli is played as very charismatic and charming as the real life Weaver must have been. With the help of a secret phone, he is able to run his store in the Amish community and play house with other women. One such woman is Barbara Raber who works as a taxi lady for the community.

Barbara Weaver knows he is being unfaithful and tries to find a way out with her religious community but they fail her too. She must submit to her terrible husband

Raber and Weaver are caught being intimate in his hunting store and later Eli convinces Raber to murder his wife while he's out fishing. She does so and later both are charged with Mrs. Weaver's murder. Weaver and Raber are sentenced 15 and 23 years to life respectively, and eligible for parole in 2024 and 2032.

The film is well done, and you get at sense of how life in this community is even if you haven't watched other docs on closed communities like this one. This one makes me feel like a fly on the wall.