Rob Morrow, Kay Panabaker and James Denton in "Custody"
courtesy of Lifetime
"Custody" (Lifetime)

Lifetime has a new original movie titled "Custody" that it is airing this month. This film concerns the fight over a teen-age girl between the man who has raised her as his daughter and the man who is her biological father. James Denton, Rob Morrow and Kay Panabaker star in this interesting but not necessarily involving movie.

Amanda Gordon (Panabaker) had always thought David Gordon (Morrow) was her father. He has been the one constant in her life, and is all she has since her mother died when she was six. But David Gordon had a secret he didn't tell Amanda. A man named John Sullivan (Denton) was her biological father. He and Amanda's mother had divorced when she was pregnant with Amanda.

None of this would be important except John Sullivan re-enters the picture when Amanda is thirteen. He makes himself known to her and asks for visitation and later shared custody rights. David is beside himself with fear that John might actually take his daughter away from him altogether.

David is a professor of English while Sullivan is a business tycoon. Therefore Sullivan can afford bigger and better lawyers should he decide to pursue the custody thing. Plus David doesn't know whose side Amanda would take. She is very angry with her father for not being totally honest with her.

Rob Morrow does an excellent job of acting in this movie. He is the epitome of the slightly addled, stuffy professor. Panabaker is animated and precocious as Amanda. Denton is the only actor off his game. As Sullivan he is bland and boring.

The movie follows a predictable road with no true surprises. A little twist here or there might have added to the enjoyment and to the emotional involvement. The movie is interesting but doesn't really draw the audience into its world.

Still the film is worth seeing because of Morrow's solid performance and Panabaker's engaging one. 

"Custody" premieres on Lifetime, September 8 at 9PM.
 

 

 

 

 

©2007 Jackie K. Cooper

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