Seeds of Deception (1994) starring Melissa Gilbert, Shanna Reed, Tom Verica, Shannon Lawson, Geoffrey Bowes, R.H. Thomson, George Dzundza directed by Arlene Sanford Movie Review

Seeds of Deception (1994)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Melissa Gilbert and Tom Verica in Seeds of Deception (1994)

The Baby Faker

Mary Bennett (Melissa Gilbert - Forbidden Nights) would love to have a baby but in their case there are some big risks which is why her husband Greg (Tom Verica) has been wary of it. But after Mary is told about Dr. Jacobson (George Dzundza - Basic Instinct) an expert in artificial insemination and how they could use an anonymous sperm donor so that no one would know the baby wasn't Greg's he agrees to a consultation. One thing leads to another and despite medical risks go ahead and have a healthy baby. But five years down the line Mary meets other successful clients of Dr. Jacobson's and not only notices a similarity between her son and theirs but also Dr. Jacobson himself.

I want to start this review of the true story movie "Seeds of Deception" a bit differently because of something I read somewhere else which questioned what the fuss was about when it came to Dr. Jacobson using his own sperm as he helped women have babies. Firstly there is the psychological effect on the baby's parents knowing who the father is, knowing that he also knows and if they ever saw each other there would be an awkwardness. Secondly there is the emotional side as in the case of Mary and Greg who like the idea of anonymous donor as then no one needs to know that biologically the baby isn't Greg's. But thirdly there is the risk of future medical issues if you have children who don't know they have the same father then becoming partners. All of these things are explained in a brief but effective manner during the first 20 minutes.

George Dzundza in Seeds of Deception (1994)

Anyway having said all of that "Seeds of Deception" which is also known by the much longer "The Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story" whilst telling an original story is your typical made for TV movie from the 90s. It has the same style and some of the same actors who dominated this sort of movie and runs at that comfortable pace which makes it easy to watch for those who don't want movies which demand too much of them. But at the same time it often feels distracted from the main storyline especially during the first half as rather than just focussing on Mary's story it brings in that of her friend Sue who has had trouble conceiving and had miscarriages in the past. Basically whilst it lays the way to highlight Jacobson's wrong doings including misleading people with ultra sounds seems to get side tracked a little too often.

Now as I said "Seeds of Deception" stars some familiar actors who appeared in other TV movies during the 90s such as Melissa Gilbert. Now I am a fan of Melissa Gilbert and she brings her likeability and warmth to the role of Mary but it is an anonymous character which fails to have real depth. It is the same through out be it Shanna Reed as her friend Sue or Tom Verica as Greg as their characters have no depth. The only actor who makes an impact on the movie is George Dzundza who makes Dr. Jacobson a man who is full of himself be it as a man who has advanced medical research or by his deceptive use of his own seaman to impregnate his clients.

What this all boils down to is that "Seeds of Deception" is nothing more than a typical made for TV movie which tackles a true story with a regular style and regular actors. It is interesting because of it being about a true story but as I said nothing special.


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