Since the Great American Family channel is trying to mirror Hallmark Channel, I figured it was only a matter of time before they started to create mystery movies. It certainly helps that Candace Cameron Bure is the Chief Creative Officer for the channel. So I wasn’t surprised that she is starring in the channel’s first movie franchise – the Ainsley McGregor Mysteries. A Case for the Winemaker is the first movie, and it is off to a good start.
The series is set in Sweet River, Texas. Ainsley’s moved there after an incident in Chicago, where she was a consultant with the police department as a criminologist. Now, she’s teaching criminology at a nearby college and working to open Bless Your Art, an artisan market for local artists to sell their products. Ainsely is thrilled that the market is finally ready to open.
In order to celebrate the market’s successful first day, her friend Shannon (Caitlin Stryker) invites Ainsley over for lunch. Shannon and her husband, Michael, have a winery, but it isn’t doing as well as they think it should be doing, and someone is trying to buy it from them. After lunch is over, the two find the potential buyer dead on the winery floor. The police are quick to look at Michael. Can Ainsley figure out what really happened?
The movie got off to a rough start. The first issue is super obvious and super awkward exposition. Yes, it gives us the background on the characters we needed, but it was so obvious what the writers were doing. Then, after the body is found, we get a flashback to give some more background. You know how much I hate flashbacks in this form. Fortunately, this was just back one day, so it didn’t take us long to catch up to the present.
Once the movie got going, I started to really enjoy it. The characters are fun and charming. They are a little eccentric, but they are supposed to be. This is a cozy mystery movie, after all. I especially liked Jake (Aaron Ashmore), the love interest. Their budding romance was cute.
The writing still needed a little work even at this point. Some of the character relationships seemed overly harsh. This was true of Ainsley’s relationship with her brother, Ryan (Robin Dunne), who also happens to be the sheriff. Overall, I did like their relationship. You can tell the two love each other and yet irritate each other at times.
So, how was the mystery itself? It was good. I did key in on the killer early, but there were enough red herrings to keep me entertained, and I didn’t have the motive figured out. Everything made sense when we reached the climax, and I appreciated the way it played out.
The actors did a good job of bringing their characters to life. There were some moments that felt a little awkward, but I blame that more on the writing than the acting.
The biggest question is will I come back for another one. Absolutely. Yes, I’ve picked on the writing. Overall, I really did enjoy the movie. The characters are charming, and I want to spend more time with them. I hope the writing improves as the series goes along, but it wasn’t bad enough to ruin the movie.
One commercial I caught during the run of this movie talked about the second in the series coming in 2025. As far as I am concerned, that’s great news. I enjoyed A Case for the Winemaker, and I will be back to see what happens next to these characters.
I enjoyed it also. Fun movie!
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