Lifetime Review: 'Deceitful Dating'

A widowed father of two girls, John Logan (Derek Hamilton) wasn't expecting to be dating six months after his wife's death. But after meeting new neighbor Alice King (Christine Chatelain), an unlikely attraction blossoms between them--much to the discomfort of eldest Logan daughter Chelsea (Karis Cameron). While she wants her father to find love again, she can't help but feel this new neighbor isn't as wonderful as she seems.

Even as Alice grows closer to the Logans and begins trying to bond with Chelsea, her suspicions remain. Aided by family friend Jillian (Lisa Marie DiGiacinto), Chelsea looks into Alice's past and discovers some concerning inconsistencies. Then some violent incidents happen and Chelsea is concerned Alice might be responsible. Could John's second chance at love end up putting him and his daughters in danger?

In her first Lifetime movie of 2021, Karis Cameron goes from playing a troubled teen in Cheer Squad Secrets to playing a teen whose father winds up inviting trouble into their home in Deceitful Dating. "Teen Girl Becomes Suspicious of Parent's New Love Interest" isn't a new storyline for Lifetime, and has been done with both mother/daughter duos and father/daughter duos. When it comes to where Deceitful Dating stands in this Lifetime subgenre, it can at least boast that it doesn't slip below the likes of The Wrong Mr. Right. But at the same time, there are plenty of flaws that bring the movie down below the stronger entries to this section of Lifetime's film catalog.

The biggest problem plaguing Deceitful Dating would have to be its pacing. Already working with an oft-charted storyline, writer Adam Rockoff was seemingly content on reserving all the big moments for the final 20 minutes. Until then, Deceitful Dating is just us watching Chelsea form her quick suspicions about Alice and begin working to uncover the truth about her dad's new girlfriend. While it never gets unbearably boring, it's still dull enough that you might find your attention wandering. That third-act action spike isn't even totally effective at making up for the bumpy road to get there. The plot twist is telegraphed pretty heavily in advance, and the climax is so starved for time that there's hardly any thrilling action there. At least there's some surprise emotional weight to be found, especially in the ending that deviates from the "Flashforward to Happily Ever After" template.

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

To go into further detail about the finale, Lisa Marie DiGiacinto makes up for its short length with a surprisingly moving performance. On the surface, Jillian isn't a particularly uncommon type of surprise Lifetime antagonist. For the most part, she's a standard romantically obsessed nut intent on destroying Alice so she can have John to herself, with a fairly standard (but still serviceable) pre-reveal performance to match. But once her character reveals her dark side, DiGiacinto plays Jillian's emotions in a way that allows you to see a semblance of a heart beneath her character's psychotic front. For all appearances, Jillian was truthful in saying she loved the late Sara Logan like a sister and struggled--if only for a few moments--with whether or not killing Chelsea (a girl she'd come to view as a daughter) was worth covering her tracks. She ultimately goes down the typical direction and the whole exchange isn't nearly as poignant as what was seen with a similar character in Saving My Daughter. But with what time she's given to work with, DiGiacinto brings a touch of emotional resonance to an otherwise basic villainess.

Similarly, the way Deceitful Dating wraps up provides some cushioning for the all-too-brief and fairly anticlimactic chase scene between Jillian and Chelsea (made worse by how Lifetime's promos spoil the outcome). Rather than flashing forward to the Logans and Alice happy and thriving again, we end with John, Chelsea, and Alice sharing a group hug after Jillian's accidental demise. With Jillian's status as a lifelong friend, her betrayal and death are sure to leave a lasting impact for the Logans to deal with. Plus, the ending also leaves us to wonder about the future of John and Alice's relationship. While we last see them embracing, the fact that John (however briefly) believed that Alice might be capable of murder is likely to be a hard thing to get past.

Spoilers Over

With most of Deceitful Dating's action being character-based, a good cast is necessary to keep the viewer invested. While it's not perfect, the acting crew does well at making you sympathize with their characters. Derek Hamilton does this the best as John Logan, giving him a good mix of endearing charm and "tired dad energy." While not a lot of time is spent exploring John's grief for his wife, Hamilton makes strong use of such moments to convey John's quiet mourning and fluctuating security about whether or not it's right for him to start dating again. Christine Chatelain is similarly appealing/emotive as Alice King, striking chemistry with Hamilton as John and Alice's fast friendship turns into something more.

While her character makes a bad first impression by becoming super suspicious of Alice with virtually no provocation, Karis Cameron makes up for that by playing Chelsea's suspicions with a likable spin. While she's initially upset at Alice for "trying to replace her mom," she later admits to knowing her father deserves to find love again and shows genuine remorse to John for her out-of-line behavior. Cameron plays Chelsea's emotions well during this arc, allowing you to see her as a concerned girl struggling with residual grief rather than just an irrational brat lashing out. Still, it can't be said that younger sister Sophie's scene of chiding Chelsea for being rude to Alice isn't a cathartic moment; one performed well by newcomer Peyton Amelia Feltham as part of an overall lovable performance. Deceitful Dating also marks budding made-for-TV regular James Drew Dean's first Lifetime movie of 2021, appearing in the role of Chelsea's boyfriend Derrick. Too bad that role turns out to be so bland and Derrick's subplot about his and Chelsea's relationship troubles so extraneous and rushed that Dean is left with zero room to make any impression.

The biggest hurdle Deceitful Dating has comes in the form of its story. Being such a familiar tale of a parent's new love interest attracting suspicions from their child, the way the plot stretches itself thin and restricts all the major drama to the last few minutes will take its toll on a viewer's patience. To counteract that damage, we have a cast that brings likability and sympathy to their characters and some speckles of depth that are sprinkled throughout parts of the narrative. Karis Cameron deserves specific praise for keeping Chelsea from becoming an unbearable protagonist. So while it's nothing to cancel plans for, Deceitful Dating has good acting and engaging characters to keep its poor pacing from becoming a total deal-breaker.

Score: 6 out of 10 jellyfish stitches.