Movie Review: Too Much to Lose - The Jane Mysteries

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Good mystery with fun characters

Cons: Typical low budget cheese at times

The Bottom Line:

Missing Reporter

Appeared on pun themed game show

Another good flick

Hunt for a Missing Reporter

Hallmark has finally released the final Jane Mystery to cable.  And Too Much to Lose was a return to form for this franchise.

If you’ve missed the series, it features Jodie Sweetin as Jane Da Silva, a singer who has returned to Baltimore to help run the charities her late uncle was part of.  One of those is looking at old criminal cases and trying to solve them or free those wrongfully convicted.  When she does that, she works alongside Detective John Cameron (Stephen Huszar).  Rounding out the main cast is Jane’s aunt Sadie (Paris Jefferson).

As this movie opens, Sadie is gearing up for a fundraising gala that is supposed to help a local children’s hospital.  While Jane is all in to help, she gets sidetracked by a very active case.  Reporter Irene March (Sherry Miller) has gone missing after winning a pun themed game show.  With the police reluctant to do anything, Jane starts nosing around.  What will she find?

This movie engaged me from the start, and I appreciated the fact that we were starting off with a missing person case instead of a murder.  I always enjoy a variety in the plots even if most mysteries wind up dealing with a dead body at some point.  This one didn’t wind up going where I thought it might, and I appreciated that.  But everything made sense at the end.

Considering Irene was on a pun related game show, I wish the movie had included some better puns.  I mean, there is no such thing as a bad pun, but these still could have been more original.  Granted, we didn’t see much of the show itself, which was probably for the best.  What we did see was pretty bad.  Yep, it was the worst of the low budget cheese in this movie, but not the only example we got.  But as long as you know to expect that going in, you’ll be fine.

We really don’t have any supporting characters, just the three leads.  And, naturally, the romance between Jane and John.  I enjoyed watching that play out here.

And we got to see Jodie sing again here.  And she plays dress up thanks to Sadie’s extensive costumes, which is always fun.

All told, Too Much to Lose was a fun addition to the franchise.  I’m glad I finally got to see it.  If you’ve enjoyed these movies, you’ll want to watch it.  I haven’t heard anything about any more, but if we do get more, I’ll be watching.