“You Probably Just Misplaced It.” “I Do Not Misplace Rare Books.”
I let some time go before returning for the final two Mystery Woman movies I’d recorded off the TV. While it was nice to see another case for the characters, time didn’t make me feel any more fondly toward the franchise when I watched Redemption.
This movie finds Sam (Kellie Martin) getting involved with a customer dies. The man (John Ratzenberger) claimed to be just passing through town, but he then left behind something he wanted Sam to pass on to his estranged daughter. As Sam begins to investigate, she can’t help but wonder what it might have to do with his death. Is there a connection to the recent theft at the store? And what is the connection to the rehab program/shelter in the area?
Honestly, there is a lot going on in this film. Probably a little too much. Yes, it does all come into play eventually, but it was very distracting early on until I could see the pieces moving into place. In fact, once I did, I identified the killer early on. I just had to wait to see if I was right.
The movie was also overly ambitious in the story it was trying to tell, which goes back to when characters were fighting in Vietnam. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that be part of the backstory, and I had to remind myself this movie originally came out in 2006, just about 20 years ago. That makes it easier to picture.
But this just show just how far Hallmark movies have come in that time. They might still have writing and acting issues, but some of the dialogue here was laughable. Not to mention abrupt. And the acting wasn’t much better.
Granted, it’s been a while since I’d watched a movie in the franchise, but I couldn’t quite understand how Chief Connors was behaving here. It’s probably just my faulty memory, but I didn’t think he was always this hostile.
On the other hand, I did enjoy getting to see John Ratzenberger and David Lascher here. I hadn’t looked at the guest stars before I started watching, so it was fun to see them pop up.
And I do like the relationship Sam has with her employee Philby (Clarence Williams III). They are a great team for solving the cases they stumble into.
This isn’t a movie or franchise I’d recommend to anyone but the biggest of Hallmark fans. If that’s you, you’ll enjoy catching Redemption.
This isn't a series I've ever been able to get into which is a bit odd as I do typically enjoy Kellie Martin. I think it sounds like I should continue giving it a miss.
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