House of Versace, the made-for-TV movie that's screening in the US tonight, could have been so wonderful. Sadly, signs emerging over the last 24 hours all point to an almighty disaster.

The first warning came from the design house itself, which issued a statement to WWD yesterday: 'Versace has neither authorised nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming TV movie about Mrs Versace. Since Versace did not authorise the book on which it is based, the movie should only be seen as a work of fiction.'

Then it was time for the American television critics to weigh in, using the most colourful fashion metaphors they could muster to express just how truly bad they found the film. Reviews described it as 'a mass-market knockoff of a luxury brand' and 'a gilded guilt fest certain to leave viewers with 24-karat regret... The flimsy script... wears as badly as a cheap polyester blend'.

But most poignantly, The New York Times' Cathy Horyn wrote about her personal experiences of the Versace family (who she describes as 'sweet and considerate') and the sadness she felt on seeing the movie: 'It’s pretty awful. Not even so bad that you can laugh at it; just awful.'

She goes on to criticise the portrayal of Donatella Versace ('in moments, Ms Gershon comes across as Donatella from New Jersey and not Milan') and the depiction of the family home ('not even remotely close'). She adds 'Gianni was a man of renowned taste, in art and fashion, and the first designer to link to the music world, through artists like Elton John, Prince and Sting. But from the movie, you would never know that.'

A bad film is one thing. But for the fashion world – in which the Versaces are valued not only as a design house but as a well-loved family – an inaccurate portrait was never going to be forgivable. The film will be shown in the US tonight. If the reviews are to be believed, it's hard to imagine it reaching UK screens.