Theater Rival Murdered
At this point, I’m a little surprised that the Hannah Swensen movies are pretending that they are based on any particular book. The characters and storylines are so different from the books it’s more like inspired by than based on. I’m talking the mysteries as well as the character subplots. Then again, maybe if I read some of the books I’d see more similarities than I am remembering. Anyway, we have a new movie – Pie to Die For. This is the second in the franchise for 2025. It was okay, but not the strongest.
Hannah’s mother Delores (Barbara Niven) has taken to the local theater. She is loving performing, but she has developed a bit of a rivalry with Victoria (Laura Soltis). Victoria is always trying to upstage Delores, and Delores’s ego just won’t stand for it.
When Hannah (Alison Sweeney) goes to delivered an order of four banana cream pies to Victoria, she finds the woman dead. And Delores is the prime suspect. Can Hannah clear her mother’s name?
As far as supporting cast goes, this one felt a little light. We have Lisa Durupt’s Andrea and Juliana Wimbles’s Lisa, the latter of whom is busy planning her family reunion. We are missing Michelle, Lonny, and Norman, although I’m sure they will pop back up in future installments.
For those wondering, yes, we do get more of Chad, as played by Victor Webster. In fact, his romance with Hannah heats up quite a bit, which is fun for those who have been rooting for that. Personally, I’m still wishing they’d given Norman his due as Hannah’s love interest, something that has definitely been under cooked in the movies.
So, what about the mystery in this one? It was okay. Hannah did something incredibly stupid at one point. Like too stupid to live stupid. I get taking risks, but this was just…no. I did feel like the mystery would have been better served by a rewrite, although everything did make sense at the end, and I loved way the climax played out.
The acting was a bit more over the top than usual here, which I didn’t enjoy. And yes, I am saying this knowing I was watching a Hallmark mystery movie.
As to comparisons with the book (which was Banana Cream Pie Murder), I don’t remember Delores being a suspect. Then again, she never got into theater in the books. Victoria was a neighbor. But I couldn’t tell you who any of the suspects were.
I have to geek out a minute. Zak Santiago has a cameo in this film. As a fan of Hallmark’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered franchise, I loved seeing him. But then his reference to his cousin in Denver really tickled me. Then I saw that Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, who stars in the franchise, directed this film. Nice fun Easter eggs.
Also of note, series star Alison Sweeney wrote this entry, which isn’t the first time she’s done that.
Pie to Die For isn’t the strongest in the series. Fans will still be glad they watched, but I’m hoping the next is better.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for stopping by. In order to combat spam, I moderate most comments. I'll get to your comment as soon as I can.