Reviewing a Hat Trick of Villainesses from "Deadly Cheer Mom"

I've really loved that Tubi has been releases these original movies, because--for the most part--they're Lifetime movies that neither the main network nor its sister station, Lifetime Movie Network, have aired (as of yet). The latest one, Deadly Cheer Mom, centered on the cheerleading squad at Bridgebay High School, which had Beth Hartford as their newly appointed captain. It helps (or rather, it doesn't help) that the coach is Beth's mother, Deb Hartford, and we see Beth receive an earful from fellow cheerleader, Ashley, who hurls the nepotism accusations.

Ashley is not alone, as her mother, Marisol, made the same accusations to Deb, with the added reveal that Deb and Marisol were once cheerleaders together. Nevertheless, things are going well for Beth, as she is vying for a cheerleading scholarship at Carmel University, but all of a sudden, her goals are threatened by a video of Beth drinking tequila and bashing her high school, her cheerleading teammates, and even her mother. Ouch! Well, at least it would be an "ouch" if the video was real. The video was a deepfake; Beth was actually saying complimentary things and drinking an energy drink, meaning that someone created the vid and later released it to ruin her.

It gets worse for Beth, as another video was released where Beth appears to state that she would sleep with and drug a recruiter to get the scholarship, and during a school dance, a third deepfake was released, this time featuring both Beth and Deb talking about harming the other cheerleaders to get what they wanted, with "deepfake Deb" dropping the name Tonya Harding! Oooh boy! The school clearly abides by the words of Chris Berman--"one's an accident, two's a trend, three's a problem"--as Beth ended up suspended and Deb was fired as coach, with Marisol taking over.

Beth had her suspect list, with Ashley and Marisol being her main two on the list. She also suspected her boyfriend, Grant, due to his desire to spend more time with Beth, and also confronted her friend, Violet, who was cut under Beth's recommendation. Violet told Beth that getting cut was the best thing to happen to her, and she not only denied the claim, she (along with fellow cheerleaders Sarah and Liv) would help Beth in her quest. Beth and Liv went into their principal's office to inspect the security video from the gym, and sure enough, they saw a hooded figure insert the deepfake video. To the surprise of both girls, the culprit was revealed as Rebecca Daniels, Liv Daniels' mother.

We saw Rebecca continue to defend both Beth and Deb against Marisol's rants earlier in the film, but as it turned out, it was a front for Rebecca's role as a sinister villainess. There's more. Liv voiced her trepidation over Beth's plan to confront Rebecca, but it turned out that there was a reason for that: Liv was the true mastermind. Liv wanted that scholarship, and she and Rebecca colluded on the videos to destroy Beth, and it was during the villainous mother-daughter duo's confrontation that Rebecca's true demeanor was exposed, as she lashed out at Liv for panicking and showing any form of emotion. Beth's confrontation with Rebecca saw the sinister mother admit to everything, while accusing Beth and Deb of running the entire squad together.

Beth attempted to call the police, only for Rebecca to take the phone from Beth while knocking her out in the process. Rebecca calls Liv down from her room, but unbeknownst to Rebecca, Liv had her own plans. Liv kills her mother with a bat, and puts on an act when Deb (who realized Rebecca's true role) arrived at the Daniels' home and saw both Rebecca and Beth. Liv feigned shock as police were called, but all of a sudden, Beth ended up in handcuffs, as Liv portrayed Beth as Rebecca's killer. We later see Liv happily accept the scholarship and thank her late mother, and it's followed by Deb contacting Beth in her cell, with Beth admitting that she screwed over her friends to get ahead, while Deb admitted to her nepotism. The final scene ended up revealing a third conspirator: Violet, who helped create the first videos and told Liv that she still needed to pay her for her services. Liv is asked about Beth killing Rebecca, with the evil mastermind referring to her mother's death as an "accident" before partying with Grant and Sarah.

Interesting movie with quite an ending that definitely has me asking questions. All the while, here are the villainesses:

Rebecca Daniels: It's a Friday miracle: Ashley Scott finally portrayed a Lifetime(-esque) villainess! Deadly Cheer Mom (aka Cheerleader Conspiracy) hit Tubi on March 25, 2022, and after appearing as (lead) protagonists in a plethora of Lifetime films spanning a decade (her first such film was 2012's Unstable), Ashley Scott finally turned heel and showed her talents for playing evil with her role as the scheming Rebecca Daniels. This was a good first villainous role for Scott, as Rebecca was a true Bitch in Sheep's Clothing. She appeared to show support for Deb and Beth, appeared to be the only one on their side, but it was all a lie. Rebecca was deranged, jealous, and ruthlessly fiendish, and as we saw in the reveal scene with Liv, she was emotionally abusive as well. Scott acted out both sides of Rebecca very well: the friendly demeanor in the first half, and her venomous nastiness in the climax.

Other than her Lifetime films, Ashley Scott is best known for playing Helena Kyle (aka The Huntress) on The WB's short-lived series, Birds of Prey--a role she would briefly reprise during the Arrowverse's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover. Scott also acted alongside John Cena in 2009's 12 Rounds, and has appeared on shows such as CSI: Miami and NCIS.

Check out Rebecca Daniels' profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

Olivia "Liv" Daniels: I had my suspicions about Liv Daniels at some point, and just like Justin Tucker's field goal kicking, my gut was accurate. Another one in the Bitch in Sheep's Clothing trope, but even more so than Rebecca, Liv was introduced as a close friend for Beth, only to be revealed as a ruthlessly ambitious villainess. I'll be honest, though; I did have trouble wondering who was the lead in this whole thing, because it truly looked like Rebecca was behind the wheel. It wasn't until Liv swung for the fences at Rebecca's head that I truly realized that Liv was the mastermind. This was all her plan, and killing her mother and framing Beth was the final piece. Liv was truly twisted and sociopathic, and she was played by an amazing actress in Alexa Sutherland.

Alexa Sutherland's performance as Liv was quite stellar, especially in her reveal. Regarding her other credits, Sutherland has appeared in episodes of American Housewife, Speechless, and The Baxters, and I hope to see her in more Lifetime movies. As amazing as she was as a villainess, Alexa Sutherland would also be golden playing lead protagonist as well.

Check out Olivia Daniels' profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

Violet: So Beth was right all along: Violet was involved in this whole scheme. I found Violet's eleventh-hour heel turn interesting, as it showed that maybe, just maybe, she really was bitter at Beth for getting her cut from the team, and wanted revenge on Beth. If that's the case (and it appears that it was), then Violet was truly a cold-blooded villainess. Definitely not as diabolical as Liv or Rebecca, but Violet was quite evil in her own right. Violet was played by Alie Urquhart, who has been seen as Esme on The CW's series, Naomi. Urquhart acted out Violet's friendly nature to Beth quite well, and her performance in her surprise reveal was also terrific. I would love to see Alie Urquhart in more Lifetime films; I truly believe she could shine as a true Big Bad if given the chance.

Check out Violet's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!

Now, more about the film's Karma Houdini ending. I still can't help but think about that final moment when Violet, Sarah, Liv, and Grant are all partying together. It has me wondering if Grant and Sarah were involved as well, as they didn't seem too broken up about Beth being locked up for something she didn't do. Even so, with that scene, as well as Beth admitting to her own ambitions, and Deb admitting to her nepotism, it seems to me that the only truly savory characters were the two red herrings, Marisol and Ashley. Mind blowing, isn't it?

If you like this story and review, click the heart, and click the subscribe button for more of my stories! Tips and pledges would be greatly appreciated, but only if you want to do so!